[Computerpro3]

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Originally Posted by ThomasJB /img/forum/go_quote.gif But as a new driver, I don't know how anyone can drive safely at over 85 mph or so even on a highway. .

From another thread you posted in:

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Congrats, and good luck on your test. I won't tell everyone here how many times I had to take it until I finally passed, but just know that it was more than I've ever heard of anyone else needing.

I think that speaks for itself!

 

[JSTpt1022]

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Originally Posted by ThomasJB /img/forum/go_quote.gif First, I agree that speeding tickets probably don't do all that much to actually discourage speeding. (Anyway, where else would the police departments get the money to actually prevent crime? The same people who complain about speed traps would complain even harder if they used taxes to cover all their expenses.)

A fraction of our ridiculous military expenditure would cover everything the cops are actually supposed to be doing. A little more reasonable allocation of funds is all that is required. I wouldn't mind my tax dollars going towards that end in the slightest.

 

[raymondlin]

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Originally Posted by oicdn /img/forum/go_quote.gif They should make EVERYBODY'S first vehicle, a motorcycle, MANDATORY for a year minimum. For several reasons. You're a safer driver when you're not in a cage. You do tend to speed, but you are a bit more alert. You're a little more hesitant to do stupid things when you have to think "my skin could be on that concrete..." You look for motorcyclists because you absolutely HATE it when people in cars don't see you. All in all, it'll also rid the world of more idiots...they'll drop like flies when they're acting stupid...

That is one of the most absurd thing i've ever read.

Riding a bike and driving a car require totally different driving style and licence (at least in the UK). And a lot of motorcycle accidents happen is not the fault of the motorcyclist but other drivers. Accidents that a car driver would normally survive, such as didn't see a stop sign and hit a car on the side, but hit a bike on it's side you'll most likely put the rider in a bad way. Riding a bike you learn not just look at where all the other cars are going but where the drivers are looking at and react to them and the car.

You'll also make maneuvers in a bike that you won't in a car, such as overtaking in places where a car just couldn't do due to space or the bike has much better acceleration. Do that in a car you'll cause an accident, vice versa, there are driving styles in a car you don't want when riding a bike.

The speeding limit is fine, there are not numbers plugged out of thin air, they are the limit that comes from decades of human accidents. You might think you are a safe driver, and you might, but it's other people you want to be worry about. Driving at higher speed will just give you less time to react to any mistakes, whether its yours or others, thus increase the likelihood of an accident.

 

[Trippytiger]

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Originally Posted by ThomasJB /img/forum/go_quote.gif First, I agree that speeding tickets probably don't do all that much to actually discourage speeding.

I beg to differ! Fear of a jillion dollar speeding ticket certainly helps keep me in line when I'm on the road. And that's not a bad thing; otherwise I probably would drive too fast a lot of the time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThomasJB /img/forum/go_quote.gif But as a new driver, I don't know how anyone can drive safely at over 85 mph or so even on a highway.

I think you would be surprised. Next time you find yourself on a nice big highway (hopefully that won't happen too soon, since you're such a new driver), I think you'll probably discover that 130 km/h (about 81 MPH) is really no big deal. I find it a very comfortable cruising speed. Of course, doing that kind of speed anywhere but a wide highway would be simply dangerous.

 

[pne]

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Originally Posted by ThomasJB /img/forum/go_quote.gif But as a new driver, I don't know how anyone can drive safely at over 85 mph or so even on a highway. I agree with MrSlacker in that you have a lot more time to react to anything if you drive slower.

that is because you're not used to highway driving and are probably using the same techniques as city driving, such as scanning the road directly in front of your car. You have to learn to adjust to the higher speeds by rasing your field of vision. there is a reason why race car drivers don't crash into each other and can make quick maneuvers at high speeds. It is obviously not beyond the human brain's reaction time/capability.

 

[coolshot]

i have been cut off by highway patrol doing 80 on 580. I guess he was in a hurry for lunch or something. All in all, im perfectly comfortable doing 85ish on clear freeways in my perfectly maintained 2006 car and my 26 year old reflexes/judgement . Having the same with some 16 yr old in a 1982 beater that hasnt seen a tuneup in 25k isnt so good though.

 

[10068]

Wow! I'm happy to see such a large range of responses

I will be responding to specific posts as I have time.


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Originally Posted by coolshot /img/forum/go_quote.gif i have been cut off by highway patrol doing 80 on 580. I guess he was in a hurry for lunch or something. All in all, im perfectly comfortable doing 85ish on clear freeways in my perfectly maintained 2006 car and my 26 year old reflexes/judgement . Having the same with some 16 yr old in a 1982 beater that hasnt seen a tuneup in 25k isnt so good though.

Just in case you were refering to me, i'm actually 22

Granted, my car is not equipped with any airbags whatsoever being from 1985.

Someone earlier mentioned the fatality % increasing going 80mph versus 50mph... too true. Not that I have the desire to make people more afraid of going fast but here's a little tidbit:
My uncle works as a firefighter, and he said during a collision at or above 55mph, the chance you will die is VERY high. What happens is that upon impact your aorta rips away from your heart. Stopping the bleeding is virutally impossible and you will most likely die within minutes. IIRC this only applies in a car that is not equipped with airbags.

 

[10068]

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Originally Posted by pne /img/forum/go_quote.gif that is because you're not used to highway driving and are probably using the same techniques as city driving, such as scanning the road directly in front of your car. You have to learn to adjust to the higher speeds by rasing your field of vision. there is a reason why race car drivers don't crash into each other and can make quick maneuvers at high speeds. It is obviously not beyond the human brain's reaction time/capability.

Exactly.

I have a rash and radical idea: Test people's IQ before giving them a driver's license.

 

[Computerpro3]

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Originally Posted by Sduibek /img/forum/go_quote.gif Exactly. I have a rash and radical idea: Test people's IQ before giving them a driver's license.

IQ is not the greatest way of measuring intelligence. I have a very high iq and I'm beyond horrible at Math and Sciences. How do you know someone with high IQ wouldn't be horrible at driving as well?

 

[oicdn]

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Originally Posted by raymondlin /img/forum/go_quote.gif That is one of the most absurd thing i've ever read. Riding a bike and driving a car require totally different driving style and licence (at least in the UK). And a lot of motorcycle accidents happen is not the fault of the motorcyclist but other drivers. Accidents that a car driver would normally survive, such as didn't see a stop sign and hit a car on the side, but hit a bike on it's side you'll most likely put the rider in a bad way. Riding a bike you learn not just look at where all the other cars are going but where the drivers are looking at and react to them and the car. You'll also make maneuvers in a bike that you won't in a car, such as overtaking in places where a car just couldn't do due to space or the bike has much better acceleration. Do that in a car you'll cause an accident, vice versa, there are driving styles in a car you don't want when riding a bike. The speeding limit is fine, there are not numbers plugged out of thin air, they are the limit that comes from decades of human accidents. You might think you are a safe driver, and you might, but it's other people you want to be worry about. Driving at higher speed will just give you less time to react to any mistakes, whether its yours or others, thus increase the likelihood of an accident.

I dunno if you were reading it wrong, but you were pretty much agreeing with what I had to say.

Anybody who's grown up on bikes, are DEFINITLY more responsible drivers as far as alertness goes, like you said, watching peoples reactions, where they're looking etc. i.e. you're a BETTER driver on a motorcycle, atleast when it comes to weighing your options. Whether you choose to ignore those options is a totally different story, but atleast the thought process was there. For the non-idiot atleast.

 

[ThomasJB]

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Originally Posted by Computerpro3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif From another thread you posted in: I think that speaks for itself!

Too true.

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Originally Posted by pne /img/forum/go_quote.gif that is because you're not used to highway driving and are probably using the same techniques as city driving, such as scanning the road directly in front of your car. You have to learn to adjust to the higher speeds by rasing your field of vision. there is a reason why race car drivers don't crash into each other and can make quick maneuvers at high speeds. It is obviously not beyond the human brain's reaction time/capability.

Sure, I realize that I'm inexperienced, and I'll get better.

But, most Americans are not race car drivers, and can't drive like them. Most Americans can't play basketball like the professionals, either. That's not to say that the average drivers are for sure not capable of reacting that fast, but it seems to me that regular drivers don't approach the level of fitness and conditioning of professional drivers.

 

[craiglester]

Make motor vehicles - cars motorbikes trucks etc less powerful. That way we wont be racing them up to silly speeds on small roads, but we'll have plenty of room to get them up to speed on highways.

Lets be honest, no one NEEDS 250+ bhp in a commuter car.

(Oh and don't start with all that "I need the power to help avoid accidents" bull.)

Oh and as an added benefit, we might get some decent MPG then. It's shameful how bad the mpg on cars in this country (USA) is.

 

[pne]

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Originally Posted by ThomasJB /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sure, I realize that I'm inexperienced, and I'll get better. But, most Americans are not race car drivers, and can't drive like them. Most Americans can't play basketball like the professionals, either. That's not to say that the average drivers are for sure not capable of reacting that fast, but it seems to me that regular drivers don't approach the level of fitness and conditioning of professional drivers.

fitness has little to do with it. Driving in a straight freeway or interstate is different from racing where your body has to deal with lateral g-forces. I assume you probably haven't driven much highway milage. Lets say you are driving for a couple of hours on the interstate and pass through a city where the speed limit drops to 35. Usually you will slow down to what you perceive to be 35mph based on how fast the landscape is moving by, and look down to find you are actually going 50mph. That is because your brain/vision has adapted to driving at higher speeds. In the city, we are used to being lazy and only looking as far ahead as we need to, based on how far away the next intersection or light is. Because this is the only driving experience you have, travelling at 85mph would indeed be too fast for you to make fast reactions to. Most americans however, have driven on the interstate or freeway at least once in their life.


Of course there is a limit of how fast you can go before you start to lose control. That is dependant on your skill level but for most people it is a great deal higher than the speed limit. I would wager that most people do not speed to get there faster, but rather they drive at what pace is deemed comfortable to them based on their abilities and road conditions. Often this speed is a good 10-15mph over the limit.


Quote:

Originally Posted by craiglester /img/forum/go_quote.gif Make motor vehicles - cars motorbikes trucks etc less powerful. That way we wont be racing them up to silly speeds on small roads, but we'll have plenty of room to get them up to speed on highways. Lets be honest, no one NEEDS 250+ bhp in a commuter car. (Oh and don't start with all that "I need the power to help avoid accidents" bull.) Oh and as an added benefit, we might get some decent MPG then. It's shameful how bad the mpg on cars in this country (USA) is.

i disagree. driving an underpowered car can be very dangerous if you suddenly need to make an emergency maneuver. What if you do not have the power to merge safely onto the freeway? If you think this is bull, explain to me what you would do in a situation where you are in the merging lane trying to get the an open spot a few car lengths ahead. You are in a econobox that makes 80hp. I'll take my 250hp car thanks!

If you have never been on a motorcycle, there are plenty of times when people swerve into your lane and your only escape path is to accelerate out of the way. The typical motorcycle engine is under 1L displacement and gets 35-50mpg.

 

[10068]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trippytiger /img/forum/go_quote.gif I beg to differ! Fear of a jillion dollar speeding ticket certainly helps keep me in line when I'm on the road. And that's not a bad thing; otherwise I probably would drive too fast a lot of the time.

True, but then again it's not as common as you think (getting tickets) I think the Cops are counting on fear to drive you to avoid speeding. Afterall fear is a powerful and effective tool.

In any case, I speed almost everytime I get in the car and I've only gotten 1 speeding ticket. Similarly, i've only been in 1 real accident and all I got was a tiny dent on my hood. Ironically this accident was at low speeds in bumper-to-bumper traffic not high speeds as you might expect based on my previous posts

There's a difference between fear and reality. In other words there's a difference between what COULD happen, what is LIKELY to happen, and what DOES happen.


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Originally Posted by Redo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your mileage drops substantially

I still get 29-33mpg at fill-up. Are you driving an American car?

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Originally Posted by Redo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Those "annoying" drivers that always seem to be going the speed limit, they are the smart drivers.

Well, actually they would be the conservative drivers. Which isn't necessarily the same thing as being intelligent. Although I agree that in this situation they could be considered similar if not synonymous.


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Originally Posted by JSTpt1022 /img/forum/go_quote.gif But then, after the light finally turns green again, we all take about 30 seconds to start moving?! Is it just me or is this behavior a little inconsistent? My theory is, and I'm sure many will disagree, that every car within sight of the light should start rolling the instant it turns green. Not quickly of course, just keep pace with the person in front of you. If everyone does this, we all make the light and we all shave 5 minutes off our daily commute.

Exactly. That's the whole point, it's not unreasonable. It's perfectly reasonable in fact. When the light turns green, you go. That's the whole point. Is it really that hard for people to push the gas pedal when they see green? Apparently...

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Originally Posted by SR-71Panorama /img/forum/go_quote.gif Everyone who drives slower than me is a moron. Everyone who drives faster than me is a maniac.

I love this quote.

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Originally Posted by pne /img/forum/go_quote.gif So you see, how I accelerate is based on what kind of milage the car I'm in gets.

Is that why all the SUVs and Minivans drive like ****? Sorry had to say it

In seriousness though, that actually makes a lot of sense.

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Originally Posted by pne /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would wager that most people do not speed to get there faster, but rather they drive at what pace is deemed comfortable to them based on their abilities and road conditions.

That fits me actually. Driving slow is boring and just doesn't feel right. Maybe i'm ADD or who knows what, but if i'm bored + driving = bad. Bored means I get lethargic, innatentive and irritable.

 

[Redo]

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Originally Posted by Sduibek /img/forum/go_quote.gif I still get 29-33mpg at fill-up. Are you driving an American car?

What are you driving? If you are flying at 80-85 and still getting 33mpg, you must be accelerating slow and driving a Mini.