20 mph Speed Limit Rejected - A Rare Win

[bad company]

Devil2575 said:

bad company said:

Devil2575 said:

If you think a wide A pillar that can "hide 2 cars" is so dangerous then perhaps you need to question your own driving skills.

Really, seriously?

Yes.

Perhaps 'hide 2 cars' is a bit of an exaggeration but the 'elf & safety' brigade have clearly been influencing car design and not for the better IMO. As stated the pillars are often too wide and the wing mirrors are starting to look like elephant ears.

[Vaud]

Some A pillars are quite big. If you are short and sit close to the wheel then a larger cone of vision is obstructed than for a tall person who is sitting further back.

Don't bother me, I adjust my observations, but larger A pillars do compromise field of vision to some extent.

[Blakewater]

I'd rather drive a safe, modern car than something from the past. One of the things the Metro was sold on when it was first launched was a large glass area and the fact it was easy to see out of, which was great, but it performed woefully in crash tests and was killed off largely by its one star NCAP rating. None of is is immune to mishaps and other people's carelessness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0eN98IS_WY

[Devil2575]

If wide A pillars are a problem then you need to think about your observations. My first car was an Austin Metro BTW and I don't have more problems in modern cars than I did back then.

[Devil2575]

BlueMR2 said:

Don't the statistics also show that only 5% of accidents occur over the speed limit? So surely the statistics show your less likely to be in an accident if your above the speed limit.

No. That's not what they show.

[BlueMR2]

Devil2575 said:

BlueMR2 said:

Don't the statistics also show that only 5% of accidents occur over the speed limit? So surely the statistics show your less likely to be in an accident if your above the speed limit.

No. That's not what they show.

What do they show?

[BlueMR2]

Devil2575 said:

If wide A pillars are a problem then you need to think about your observations. My first car was an Austin Metro BTW and I don't have more problems in modern cars than I did back then.

Do you wear glasses with medium to thick arms?

[Devil2575]

BlueMR2 said:

Devil2575 said:

If wide A pillars are a problem then you need to think about your observations. My first car was an Austin Metro BTW and I don't have more problems in modern cars than I did back then.

Do you wear glasses with medium to thick arms?

No. I've never needed glasses.

[bad company]

Devil2575 said:

No. I've never needed glasses.

A trip to Specsavers could be a good idea for you.

[Terminator X]

Devil2575 said:

BlueMR2 said:

http://www.iam.org.uk/media-and-research/media-cen... not too great an example for how great they are.

You should critically examine that report and work out for yourself why it might not say what you think it does.

I'll give you a hand. Given that the number of 20 mph limited roads has increased a lot over the last couple of years do you think that the number of casualties on those roads would increase in absolute terms?

So you think that a 26% increase in serious accidents in 20 zones is a good thing? Definitely not a great advert for 20 zones as original post.

TX.

[Devil2575]

bad company said:

Devil2575 said:

No. I've never needed glasses.

A trip to Specsavers could be a good idea for you.

My eyesight is perfect thank, but then I'm not the one getting worked up about A pillars.

[Devil2575]

Terminator X said:

Devil2575 said:

BlueMR2 said:

http://www.iam.org.uk/media-and-research/media-cen... not too great an example for how great they are.

You should critically examine that report and work out for yourself why it might not say what you think it does.

I'll give you a hand. Given that the number of 20 mph limited roads has increased a lot over the last couple of years do you think that the number of casualties on those roads would increase in absolute terms?

So you think that a 26% increase in serious accidents in 20 zones is a good thing? Definitely not a great advert for 20 zones as original post.

TX.

Think about this hypothetical situation.

One year you have 100 miles of roads with a 20 mph limit. There are 20 serious accidents. By the end of the next year there are 200 miles of roads with a 20 limit. Would you expect the number of serious accidents on 20 mph roads to rise?

In the absence of any information on how the actual number of 20 limited roads has changed over the period of the increase in accidents the 26% is fairly meaningless.

[singlecoil]

Devil2575 said:

In the absence of any information on how the actual number of 20 limited roads has changed over the period of the increase in accidents the 26% is fairly meaningless.

I disagree. I believe it's completely meaningless.

[speedking31]

So someone needs to do a comparison between accident statistics for a town where 20 mph limits have been introduced and those for a similar town where the status quo has been maintained.

[anonymous-user]

speedking31 said:

So someone needs to do a comparison between accident statistics for a town where 20 mph limits have been introduced and those for a similar town where the status quo has been maintained.

That's fine and a good idea but you generally need a period of 3 years post-implementation to get a meaningful comparison. Seasons, term times, complacency, over- or under-familiarity with the road all counts. There will be decent analysis in a couple of years once places like Brigton has been well-established.

[Devil2575]

That would be a start.

[Blakewater]

I know it's a Daily Mail link but it's about something that has happened that I think has relevance here.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2956927/Ma...

[singlecoil]

Blakewater said:

I know it's a Daily Mail link but it's about something that has happened that I think has relevance here.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2956927/Ma...

What do you think the relevance might be?

[Funkycoldribena]

singlecoil said:

Blakewater said:

I know it's a Daily Mail link but it's about something that has happened that I think has relevance here.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2956927/Ma...

What do you think the relevance might be?

That the red trousered idiot who wasted millions introducing 20 zones is a massive hypocrite who should be fired out of a cannon at 120mph?

[Blakewater]

singlecoil said:

Blakewater said:

I know it's a Daily Mail link but it's about something that has happened that I think has relevance here.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2956927/Ma...

What do you think the relevance might be?

What do you really think?

If he feels so passionately about speeding then, however contrite he tries to be, exceeding the limit because he wasn't concentrating on his driving is pretty poor.

It shows how people who think of themselves as slow and careful drivers can be caught out because they see speeding as being on the brink of losing control and being dangerous and how other people drive, so they don't notice when they slip over the limit.

We're lucky enough in this country that speed traps are usually pretty visible so, if he wasn't concentrating, what else could he have missed seeing when he was speeding? We know that we have to look out for the little things like children's legs visible under parked cars and exhaust plumes from behind garden walls where someone might reverse out of a driveway, all the little clues a good driver notices well in advance of something happening that allow him to react sooner and avoid an accident.

I exceed speed limits but I know when I'm doing it and how much by and I'm still paying full attention to the road. I'm not defending it but neither am I advocating lower limits and more enforcement everywhere as absolutely necessary for everyone's wellbeing. If this guy believes a few miles per hour makes all the difference, based on the statistics we all now know about, and speed is so important in such a big way then the very last thing he should get caught out on for the sake of his own credibility, the credibility of his campaign and the safety of people in his town is speeding himself. To be breaking the speed limit it seems he doesn't think that it really matters in his case, he wasn't thinking about it as he was driving.