Police getting tougher on speed tolerance

[pete376403]

Further to Spydas comment you also don't get to see that damn pothole coming at you from under the truck till it stuffs your rim the tyre blows and you have try and get safely stopped.

Talking about safety and inattention to the road.
Not so much a bikers as we generally pic our line in advance and watch the tarmac but even we can get caught with this one.
I wonder if anyone has done a calculation on how long you take your eyes off where you should be looking to watch that pothole go under your wheel track to avoid it.
Instead of maintaining your view up the road where it should be. There must be a huge blank in the time when Joe Bloggs car driver should be looking for oncoming Issues and is ensuring he/she doesn't wreck the car in the crater trying to be avoided.

Shifting the eyes focus between the speedo a few hundred mm away and the road ahead 10 or more metres away takes time. The reason why mirrors mounted near the front of the front mudguards of cars, as used to be the norm for Japanese cars back in the 70s, while appallingly ugly, were better than door mounted mirrors - less eye focus change and eye movement required. Or if you like, heads-up displays in fighter aircraft - keeping eyes on the target while monitoring the instruments.

[onearmedbandit]

as used to be the norm for Japanese cars back in the 70s,

That was more to do with limiting the overall width of the car than anything else, the benefit of not having to turn your head so much was just a bonus.

[pete376403]

That was more to do with limiting the overall width of the car than anything else, the benefit of not having to turn your head so much was just a bonus.

Maybe. The 1700 GTO Mitsi* my mum had was a JDM car and the mirrors wouldn't have been any narrower than the door mirrors of the later 2000 GTOs

*story we were told was that they were supposed to be sent to South Africa but ended up here and Todds sold them. Fun little car, would be worth something now.

[onearmedbandit]

The first answer paraphrases an article from The Japan Times. Unfortunately the link to the actual piece is dead.

https://www.quora.com/Why-were-the-p...ar-up-the-hood

Safety could be defined by either placing them there for width and/or visibility reasons. Based off my own dealings with Japanese imported vehicles my understanding was to do with the width.

[FJRider]

Ain't it funny that people almost always see the signs that allow them to go faster, but often fail to see the ones that require them to go slower.

Who are the "People" laughing ... when drivers get stopped for exceeding the posted (temporary or otherwise) speed limit ... ??

Not usually the ones that were stopped.



But it's hard to see the funny side with those flashing red and blues in your mirror ...


The only time I laughed ... was when they should have been parked a half hour back up the road ... but then it wouldn't be funny ...


For me as least ...

[FJRider]

Shifting the eyes focus between the speedo a few hundred mm away and the road ahead 10 or more metres away takes time.

No ... a good driver/rider should have taken time to get familiar with being able to know what speed they are going ... simply by the sound of the engine rev's, and by knowing what gear they're in at those revs. In or on whatever vehicle they are operating at the time.


Changing your focus on where you are looking ... will just slow you down ... and is dangerous.


An old Italian saying ... whats behind is not important. Slow down when you hear the sirens ... and can see the flashing lights beside you.


The real important stuff is in the 100 meters in front of you. stuff like ... where the road goes.


If you are paranoid enough about your speed to be looking around as you describe ... it might be safer just to keep under the speed limit.

[pete376403]

No ... a good driver/rider should have taken time to get familiar with being able to know what speed they are going ... simply by the sound of the engine rev's, and by knowing what gear they're in at those revs. In or on whatever vehicle they are operating at the time..

A good driver... a bit of a rarity these days

[FJRider]

A good driver... a bit of a rarity these days

The only Traffic Offense Notices I ever got ... were "Exceeding the posted speed limit.

In other words ... under 10 km/hr over the limit.


I must be a "Rarity" then ...


Practice the "Game" of guessing your speed as you ride or drive. Just using the rev counter. Mark the speed (in top gear) of the speed limit for your vehicle. Learn that sound at that speed. It is easier than you think.

And you can see the important stuff in your mirrors (ie:flashing red and blues) ... using just the corner of your eyes.

[onearmedbandit]

Don't even need to know the revs to be fair, in my car I can feel the difference through visual referencing between 50 and 55kmh for example. On another note, having just come back from holiday in Golden Bay and Kaiteriteri when you go from 80kmh zones to 100kmh, 100 all of a sudden feels a lot faster than you realise.

[Gremlin]

Ain't it funny that people almost always see the signs that allow them to go faster, but often fail to see the ones that require them to go slower.

One funny thing I've seen was the speed sign to enter a higher speed zone was larger than the sign for entering the lower speed zone (on the other side of the pole)... so when going faster it was a smaller sign to observe... didn't quite make sense to me, but then, sense rarely comes into the equation...

[rastuscat]

One funny thing I've seen was the speed sign to enter a higher speed zone was larger than the sign for entering the lower speed zone (on the other side of the pole)... so when going faster it was a smaller sign to observe... didn't quite make sense to me, but then, sense rarely comes into the equation...

It's the TCD, the Traffic Control Devices Rule. Signs for lower speeds are smaller than signs for higher speeds.

Unfortunately, this doesn't really allow for transitions. But in reality, you could place a flashing light with a siren on most signs and people wouldn't see them.

[nerrrd]

It's early days I guess, but the newly lowered 30km speed limit near me is having no impact on the traffic.

To the point where, when the local contractors were 're-sealing' a side street (ie scatter a whole lot of pea gravel and hope), they put up temporary reduced speed 30km signs at the start and 50km signs at the end - all INSIDE the newly reduced 30km area.

Maybe when the local school goes back people will start paying a bit more attention.

[Berries]

One funny thing I've seen was the speed sign to enter a higher speed zone was larger than the sign for entering the lower speed zone (on the other side of the pole)... so when going faster it was a smaller sign to observe... didn't quite make sense to me, but then, sense rarely comes into the equation...

It's the TCD, the Traffic Control Devices Rule. Signs for lower speeds are smaller than signs for higher speeds.

The faster you go, the bigger the mess.

If you are in a 100km/h zone going into a 50 it should be a big sign to get you to notice it. If you are in a 50 going into a 100 it can be a smaller sign because you should be travelling slower. Sign sizes are meant to be based on approach speeds, not the speed on the sign.

[FJRider]

It's the TCD, the Traffic Control Devices Rule. Signs for lower speeds are smaller than signs for higher speeds.

Unfortunately, this doesn't really allow for transitions. But in reality, you could place a flashing light with a siren on most signs and people wouldn't see them.

Reality ... A full size cardboard cutout of a Police car will be seen ...


Go figure ...

[jellywrestler]

Ain't it funny that people almost always see the signs that allow them to go faster, but often fail to see the ones that require them to go slower.

you may think that but a lot just don't want tickets so want to see them all.