Poll : Safe Speeding, Is there such a thing?

Just a show of hands...
If, so, When and WHere?

If not...Why?

Josh

 

The Northern Territory

The N.T has open speed limits and you don't see road deaths
everywhere. Admitidly there is a higher no. of deaths per head of
population. But when you take out the drunken abo's, drunken rednecks
and tourists who roll 4wd's or caravans on soft shoulders after
falling asleep or swerving to avoid roadkill. The numbers are
actually quite small. IMHO Territorians make better high speed
riders/drivers because of the amount of practice they get at high
speed compared to other states.

Rob (Who used to love overtaking police at high speed on the highway
'cause its legal)

 

Couple of years ago at the hospital where I work. Ambos were bringing in a
patient that had gone into cardiac arrest on the trip - his heart had
stopped. The ambulance was speeding to get the patient to Emergency Dept so
that serious resuscitation could be started. It hit a speed bump with such
a jolt that the patient's heart started again.

 

*Looks confused*...thats an enlightening story...i think.
Hows both the bikes going?. Long time no see...

Josh

Couple of years ago at the hospital where I work. Ambos were bringing in a
patient that had gone into cardiac arrest on the trip - his heart had
stopped. The ambulance was speeding to get the patient to Emergency Dept so
that serious resuscitation could be started. It hit a speed bump with such
a jolt that the patient's heart started again.

 

Silly question (seriously)
Do you work for the RTAs advertising agency ?

 

No speed is either absolutely safe or absolutely dangerous.

Only the RTA thinks 70kph (in a 70kph area) is 'safe' while 72 kph is
'dangerous'

 

Nah, just after some other opinions... i feel there is, in some
circumstances. Such as very common roads, roads are empty...
etc etc.

Josh

Silly question (seriously)
Do you work for the RTAs advertising agency ?

 

First, DEFINE "Speeding".

....exceeding the posted speed limit?

Or is it
..... travelling too fast for the conditions and skills of the rider?

Or...what?


In the first instance I can be travelling in a 100 zone at 80 kph at night in torrential rain, a strong cross wind, with poor
visibility and heavy traffic on an unfamiliar stretch of road.

Clearly I would consider that to be speeding, yet I would never be penalised for "speeding".

The next day I travel the same stretch of road; blue sky, minimal traffic, etc. at 111kph. I am clearly a significant threat to
society and myself, indeed a daredevil rapscallion and miscreant.

And so I am taxed for the deed.

Go figure....

 

Just so we know... by speeding i mean excedding the posted limits...if the
conditions permit.

Josh

Just a show of hands...
If, so, When and WHere?

If not...Why?

Josh

 

Just so we know... by speeding i mean excedding the posted limits...if the

Well, I understood that speed limits are really arbitrary levels set using
arbitrary criteria. My guess is that in the old days, they considered such
things as the average driver in the poorest handling vehicles, such as
trucks etc. to define limits - ie. perhaps a little below the average driver
in the average vehicle. Certainly a long way from appropriate limits for
Jim Richards in his GT3 (or of course the highly skilled aus.moto contingent
on our perfect handling high performance bikes...).

Perhaps these days, the 'scientific' "one speed and threshold for all
occasions" speed levels are also tainted by the recent emergence of a lust
for cashflow. Further, there are so many anomolies in the speed levels
set - where in a 1/2 hour ride you can be on a brand new 3-lane highway with
little traffic and an 80 limit (the challenge is to remain awake) or on a
treacherous narrow stretch of windy, ill-maintained road through thick bushy
territory with a 100 limit. Try to remain awake driving from Broken Hill to
Mildura on a clear morning at the set speed limit. Sometimes it just
doesn't seem fair if you ride/drive a high-performance vehicle and possess
some kind of skill.

Trying not to get too wound up about it all (as I often do), the answer to
your question is that it obviously depends, as Alx posted. By the
definition that "speeding" is infracting the set speed limits and not the
road conditions for a given driver/vehicle, then given that the speed limits
are set using other arbitrary criteria and averages, of course you can
'speed' safely in certain cases.

Cheers,
Dave ZZR600 => ST2 (stolen) => '03 XX

 

.... and in Melbourne, if you discount running red lights,
turning in front of other vehicles and loss of control going
around slimey corners, basically no-one crashes at all!

-----sharks

 

Hard call, if you're talking exceeding the posted limits then the answer
would be sometimes. Got to judge by the conditions and traffic.

It depends on the conditions. A few years back I was driving my company
wagon back to town when an almighty squall blew through. I was battling to
see 30 feet in front of the car and had to slow down to about 40. In those
circumstances 110 would have been ridiculously dangerous.

Unfortunately it all relies on common sense. A commodity that's been in
short supply since the 80s.
--
Deevo

Geraldton
WA, The Nanny State (® Corks)
http://members.westnet.com.au/mckenzie

 

Like i said before tho....im basically saying if the conditions warrant it.
And of course im not talking quiet empty suburban streets....i'm talking
motorways...highways etc...or other roads that are fairly straight and you
may know very well.

Cheers,
Josh

Hard call, if you're talking exceeding the posted limits then the answer
would be sometimes. Got to judge by the conditions and traffic.

It depends on the conditions. A few years back I was driving my company
wagon back to town when an almighty squall blew through. I was battling to
see 30 feet in front of the car and had to slow down to about 40. In those
circumstances 110 would have been ridiculously dangerous.

Unfortunately it all relies on common sense. A commodity that's been in
short supply since the 80s.
--
Deevo

Geraldton
WA, The Nanny State (® Corks)
http://members.westnet.com.au/mckenzie

 

Even that's a dynamic. What about all the roads who's limit were marked down?

For decades, the speed was 10Km/h higher (and safe), where suddenly it's now
dangerous.

 

hmm...nice...
especially when cars are meant to be braking quicker...handling better.....
have traction control, air bags, ABS...blah blah blah... Driver training is
supposed to have increased...(my dad paid for his licence)...I guess the
opposite argument is there are more distractions now then before??...But
roads are also safer and tyres are better, technology has come so far, yet
restrictions increase..

Josh

Even that's a dynamic. What about all the roads who's limit were marked
down?

For decades, the speed was 10Km/h higher (and safe), where suddenly it's
now
dangerous.

 

Speeding is "OK" when you are not going to do harm to others or property. I
think you have the right to kill yourself but even that is open to debate.
JB

 

Speedbumps save lives...

 

There's a recently-laid bitumen road near my place. It's in the bush, with
a couple of farmlet driveways, excellent vision. It's 80kmh limit.

At right-angles there is a fairly low-quality dirt road, with ridges along
it and corrugations and collections of deep gravel in places. It's 100kmh
limit.

Guess where I saw a copper with a radar/laser this morning?

 

[...]

Yep, great post. Probably too much intelligence in it for the politicians
and zealots to understand though.

j

 

But....when you know a road you know the road....it allows you to watch the
surface alot more because you know what corners etc. are coming. Are you
saying on, say, a straight section of highway you would not see a pothole
coming?.

Josh

You can never know a road very well. The highway you road on yesterday may
have a new pothole now, or there may be truck load of oil spilt on the road
up a head that wasn't there yesterday.