100mph. Wicked or not wicked??

100mph. Wicked or not wicked??

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Discussion

polycote

Original Poster:

23 posts

113 months

Thursday 2nd October 2014
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Why is it that driving at 100 or 125 or 150mph or ... regarded as so wicked when I can go to Germany and drive at 170mph pefectly happily?
Why can I drive in Germany at such speeds with no problem at all, yet here in England, when caught at such speeds you are regarded as one of the most terrible people that ever walked the earth? I thought we were all part of Europe. Surely if they are allowed to do it over there, we should be allowed to do it over here.
I live an extremely busy life and own a business in three countries. I have no time or waste 'trundling along an open road. I have a car that is built for safety and for speed and 100mph+ is second nature.
I believe we could remove the speed limits on large amounts of motorways! Yes, I can hear some of you do-gooders shouting and screaming already. I don't mean you do it everywhere and/or where it is busy, but why not where there are clear stretches of road and/or at night. The Germans haven't been right at everything but this is certainly one thing they have done to help their country.
I'm sorry, people that drive slowly are often far more of a menace on the roads. They don't concentrate, they don't look in their mirrors, wander all over the road and hog either the middle or third lane without a care in the world. They pull out to overtake with barely a wink at their rear view mirror. they pull out of side turnings without a single thought of joining the existing flow of the traffic, but chug off down the road causing everyone else to brake. These mostly seem to be the people with a chip on their shoulder and slam their brakes on or widely gesticulate, spending most of their time glaring into the rear view mirror rather than concentrating on their own eractic movements! Frankly, they cause all sorts of problems for just about every other road user.
Long live the autobahns, long live the people that enjoy using them and ban the wasters that cause 95% of the accident by driving at 50mph without due care and attention as mentioned above!!
I will enjoy the response, good, bad and indifferent!!

simoid

19,772 posts

157 months

Friday 3rd October 2014
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Purity14 said:
You don't necessarily arrive at your destination any faster when doing such high speeds over long distances.

I remember coming back from Poland one time on the autobahn.
I over took a convoy of cars towing some boats, at about 70/80mph?
I was doing between 130 and 150mph and flew past them.
90 miles later I stopped for petrol as my MPG at vmax was very poor.
After stopping, filling, paying etc, then setting off again I then came across the same cars towing the boats.
I flew past at 150mph again. I did encounter them again once more later on rolleyes
You need to fill up quicker...

barker22

1,037 posts

166 months

Saturday 4th October 2014
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Purity14 said:
You don't necessarily arrive at your destination any faster when doing such high speeds over long distances.

I remember coming back from Poland one time on the autobahn.
I over took a convoy of cars towing some boats, at about 70/80mph?
I was doing between 130 and 150mph and flew past them.
90 miles later I stopped for petrol as my MPG at vmax was very poor.
After stopping, filling, paying etc, then setting off again I then came across the same cars towing the boats.
I flew past at 150mph again. I did encounter them again once more later on rolleyes
Really? Even if they were doing 70 and you were doing 140 for say..70miles. It took you 30minutes to fill up and set off again?

LordFlathead

9,641 posts

257 months

Sunday 5th October 2014
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Yeah that does not stack up. "Holier than thou" springs to mind.

jbsportstech

5,069 posts

178 months

Sunday 5th October 2014
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Driving fast is still enjoyable but alot of the time I find maximising the fuel consumption good fun and challenging. Plus you dont have to worry about being caught speeding.

Many a time have I driven fast passed loads of cars only to stop at a roundabout and cars doing the limit arrive next to me in a matter of seconds you do feel a dick and instead of getting 60mpg you get 40mpg.

CarbonXKR

1,275 posts

221 months

Sunday 5th October 2014
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The thing I found when driving on the autobahn during our last Europe trip was I kept thinking "what if one of these slower cars pulls out without looking?"...... it bugged me so much that I reduced to a steady 100 mph to ensure my braking would be somewhat effective wink

creampuff

6,511 posts

142 months

Sunday 5th October 2014
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Purity14 said:
You don't necessarily arrive at your destination any faster when doing such high speeds over long distances.

I remember coming back from Poland one time on the autobahn.
I over took a convoy of cars towing some boats, at about 70/80mph?
I was doing between 130 and 150mph and flew past them.
90 miles later I stopped for petrol as my MPG at vmax was very poor.
After stopping, filling, paying etc, then setting off again I then came across the same cars towing the boats.
I flew past at 150mph again. I did encounter them again once more later on rolleyes
You need a big turbo diesel that still gets 30mpg at 150mph.

jacksplat

Original Poster:

23 posts

113 months

Sunday 5th October 2014
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Interesting points made here. It is a fact that if you are to save any real significant amount of time, you have to drive fast all the way as well as not wasting time at the pit-stops.

My trouble is that I love speed. I have a 6.1 300C and the surge of a big engine suddenly accelerating from 100mph is a lovely feeling, especially when its a Porsche or TVR trying to stay in front!

Now I will probably horrify you...

...my only brother was killed in a car accident. The thing is he wasn't going fast at all. the next thing is that I have 5 lovely children, but... I still love the adrenaline of going fast.

Do any of you know of any (true) safety videos or warning videos that one can watch to scare me into slowing down? I did watch some once that referred to texting and/or use of mobiles, where both persons convicted/jailed and also those severely injured by other irresponsible drivers spoken openly as to the way the accidents caused had severely damaged their lives. I would like to make it very clear that this is not one of my crimes but..

...speeding is still a killer!

Anyone know of a video that will 'encourage' me / scare me into slowing down?

This is a genuine question from someone addicted to speed and I mean over 100mph every day. Please don't tell me to get rid of the car - that won't work. I want help with self control!







StressedDave

839 posts

261 months

Monday 6th October 2014
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jacksplat said:
This is a genuine question from someone addicted to speed and I mean over 100mph every day. Please don't tell me to get rid of the car - that won't work. I want help with self control!
Then go and seek the support of a psychologist...

Seriously, I doubt whether anything anyone here could recommend on YouTube is going to change your behaviour. I'd break out my large collection of 'spot the viscera' photographs (I was a forensic scientist for a decade specialising on RTA investigation and reconstruction) if I thought it would help.

I'd also get some training if I were you. I might be tempted to skip IAM/RoADAR and find someone ex-Police (and thus experience with high speed stuff) to train you. You may find that once you start concentrating on all the things that could go wrong and plan accordingly, the speed may come down naturally.

Foppo

2,344 posts

123 months

Monday 6th October 2014
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That is one of the reasons I don't have a fast powerfull car.To poodle along at 70mph in a car what can do double that speed wouldn't be for me.

I used to drive some fast cars testing for engine wear on different quality oil products .Got a few points on my licence not worth it in the U.K.

The Germans have a different outlook on speed and M/Ways it is their way.

RB5Bird

502 posts

194 months

Monday 6th October 2014
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jbsportstech said:
Many a time have I driven fast passed loads of cars only to stop at a roundabout and cars doing the limit arrive next to me in a matter of seconds you do feel a dick and instead of getting 60mpg you get 40mpg.
This is true, but when people catch me up at the next set of lights/roundabout etc, and they look at me as if I should feel like a dick, I just think "I may be a dick, but I've had fun".

Who Me

89 posts

121 months

Tuesday 7th October 2014
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This debate goes on and on. I agree with the OP in that there are far too many drivers on the road who pay no attention to their surroundings and cause mayhem to other drivers but changing lanes, slow filtering onto Dual carrigeways and alike, and it makes it worse when they honk or glare at you like you are the one in the wrong. Id be all for police in unmarked cars filming this and then pulling the driver to show them what they are doing wrong but its not actually illegal and just a hazard to others and so that wont happen.
I do 90 mph on a dual carrigeway and get pulled and points. Person pulls out in front of others, cuts you up at roundabout, sits in outside lane at 59mph refusing to pull over......and its all fine and goes unpunished.
Unfortunately this aint going to change, and when I sail down the outside lane at 150mph and mow into the back of someone who pulls out its of little value for me and him to have a discussion at the pearly gates as who was in the wrong.
Thats why we have speed limits, to make accidents less severe when they do happen.

Phatboy317

801 posts

117 months

Tuesday 7th October 2014
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If you're the kind of driver who sticks to one speed, and doesn't adjust it appropriately according to changing road and traffic conditions, then it can be argued that you shouldn't be driving at ANY speed - let alone 150mph.
There are times and places when and where it's safe to do 150, and times and places when and where it's not.
Just like there are times and places when and where it's safe to do 70, and times and places when and where it's not.

Bradley1500

766 posts

145 months

Tuesday 7th October 2014
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jacksplat said:
This is a genuine question from someone addicted to speed and I mean over 100mph every day. Please don't tell me to get rid of the car - that won't work. I want help with self control!
There's nothing wrong with speed it's the situations in which you speed which can be the problem. If you feel the need to drive at 100MPH+ everyday then read the thread I've linked below.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

The posts from 10 pence short (I believe they start on page 3) are very sobering to read and they certainly slowed me down. I still like to drive fast and have fun but there's a time and a place for it.

Personally I usually drive slightly below the limit on motorways now. I don't find it enjoyable at all to do 100MPH+ on these roads, I find it much more relaxing to cruise along with the aircon on and music up and I don't arrive any later than I would have trying to VMAX between the traffic jams.

It also means I have more fuel when I'm on a nice clear B road I can actually enjoy!

jacksplat

Original Poster:

23 posts

113 months

Wednesday 8th October 2014
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Bradley1500 said:
There's nothing wrong with speed it's the situations in which you speed which can be the problem. If you feel the need to drive at 100MPH+ everyday then read the thread I've linked below.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

The posts from 10 pence short (I believe they start on page 3) are very sobering to read and they certainly slowed me down. I still like to drive fast and have fun but there's a time and a place for it.

Personally I usually drive slightly below the limit on motorways now. I don't find it enjoyable at all to do 100MPH+ on these roads, I find it much more relaxing to cruise along with the aircon on and music up and I don't arrive any later than I would have trying to VMAX between the traffic jams.

It also means I have more fuel when I'm on a nice clear B road I can actually enjoy!
Thanks Bradley, this is exactly what I was asking for. How many many times i could have caused an accident, but for God's mercy! There is NO real justification for doing what is wrong but so many times it happens when someone does something stupid...

There was a time when travelling home from Middlesborough down the A1, I'd got to the double bends just after the Huntingdon turn and came up behind a Jag. I'd only been doing 85-90 but as i caught him up, gave a quick blip or the lights to ask him to move over. Unfortunately the beam stayed on, by mistake, and long enough for him to flick the V's. So out he stayed and we tootled around the bends and then set of down the straight towards the long sweeping curve to the Buckden roundabout. Although I drive fast, I rarely get bothered by prats, my trouble is I get bored...! So halfway at least down the straight I started to undertake him. What i didn't relaise was that there was a break in the central barrieer to allow some cars from houses on the northbound carriageway to cross to the southbound lanes!
Reaching the speed of ninety and half way up his inside, a car pulls directly in front of me and would have been doing no more than 20mph! I had an absolute split second to keep my speed and what felt like AT LEAST a 45 degree turn possibly an inch from the guy directly in front and an inch from the pig headed prat on the outside lane. As I turned into the fast lane, I then had to straighten up in what was no more than a milisecond with a fast but exceeding definite left wrench of the wheel, I instantly felt the back struggle to maintain grip. I was driving one of the very last Rover Vitesse 827's before they changed them to the 2 litre turbos and the fact that i am writing this today is witness to the fact that we got through that very very tight gap, in a very very short space of time!
OK, I should not have undertaken but bear in mind, that straight is possibly half a mile and there was not a single other car in sight. There is probably hardly a place on the A1 these days where people can cross where there is not a definite junction. OK, i would have been the one in the wrong and i would be the one being sent to jail.
What about the 'prat' if you don't mind me calling him such who was equally pig headed, staying in the right hand lane when NOT overtaking and causing me to act irresponsibly? surely he should go to prison as well in such circumstances and as far as I'm concerned, serve an even longer sentence.
Having got through the gap, and have negotiated the impending Buckden roundabout to continue southward, i looked in my rear view mirror to look at my two very dear your boys - probably 3 and 2 years old, let out a sigh of relief and a quick prayer of thanks.
Furthermore, another few grey hairs for my poor wife!

If anybody out there acts the way 'the prat' did, PLEASE think for a moment...

... yes you're probably doing the speed limit and you might think you have some right to slow the idiot behind down, but just remember, by stamping on your brake, gesticulating wildly whist gawping in your mirror (consequently often making you swerve over the road due to looking behind rather than where you are going AND more importantly sticking your neck out by staying in the right hand lane when not overtaking tou are proving that ALL the THREE thinkgs all rolled into one are far more ignorant, immature and dangerous than the guy behind, who simply needs to get home quicker and may I add, possibly with a very justifiable reason...!

Just as much as these sad stories of serious accidents are to sober us and slow some of us down, can this story also help the pig headed ones to be a little more lenient.

Here's hoping for both of us...!


Bradley1500

766 posts

145 months

Wednesday 8th October 2014
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jacksplat said:
Having got through the gap, and have negotiated the impending Buckden roundabout to continue southward, i looked in my rear view mirror to look at my two very dear your boys - probably 3 and 2 years old, let out a sigh of relief and a quick prayer of thanks.
Furthermore, another few grey hairs for my poor wife!
The thread I linked to and your story show how quickly having fun can go wrong on the roads. As in your story it's difficult to stay calm and not react when met with people such as you've mentioned but this is what separates good competent drivers from idiots like those.

Your actions that day and no one else caused that close call. As frustrating as it is being held up by another driver who could easily give way to allow you progress it is best to not react. It maybe that your actions of approaching quickly and flashing your lights were taken negatively meaning that driver decided to purposely hold you up.

Now I am not one to bleat on spouting nonsense like 'think about the children' but how would you have felt that day if your impatience ended in an accident which caused harm or worse to your little ones and wife?

It maybe worth getting out on track a few times a year to vent your frustrations. A place where you can drive to the limits (and beyond!) in a relatively safe environment free from idiot drivers, speed cameras and traffic Police.



ETA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvLaTupw-hk check out that youtube video. I'm no angel and still like to drive fast on the road but there is a time and a place. It may not be your lack of driving skill that is the initial cause of an accident but someone else inability to judge your speed as in the video.

Think when driving on the roads how your driving the past 5 minutes would be judged by everyone you've just passed if you were involved in an accident further up the road. In the case of your story I can imagine both the idiot who wouldn't let you pass and the person who pulled out of that junction would of laid the blame in your court.

Edited by Bradley1500 on Wednesday 8th October 15:23

7mike

3,005 posts

192 months

Wednesday 8th October 2014
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In your other thread you want to know about up rating your car. Mate ffs, you are either trolling or seriously need to consider Stressed Dave's advice.

One other thing to consider, in the unlikely event that you don't kill yourself or some innocent third party your kids have grown up learning how they will behave when the get behind the wheel. If any of them end up wrapped around a tree don't go blaming their driving instructor.

StressedDave

839 posts

261 months

Wednesday 8th October 2014
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7mike said:
In your other thread you want to know about up rating your car. Mate ffs, you are either trolling or seriously need to consider Stressed Dave's advice.

One other thing to consider, in the unlikely event that you don't kill yourself or some innocent third party your kids have grown up learning how they will behave when the get behind the wheel. If any of them end up wrapped around a tree don't go blaming their driving instructor.
To be fair, Jack's behavior is no worse than I see everyday. The problem is that the driving described doesn't manage the expectation of others and that is where there is the potential for Captain f****p to pay a visit.

Speed in and of itself is not dangerous, but driving at a speed unexpected by others frequently is. That was the point of my suggestion. If you get some training in thinking about all the pitfalls that could result from your decisions, you'll be more likely to make an appropriate one. A bit of serenity goes a long way around your fellow idiots - driving mantra 0 states that everyone on the road is an idiot, including you, and trusting in you fellow road users to manage your safety isn't a good long term plan.


DocSteve

718 posts

221 months

Thursday 9th October 2014
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Bradley1500 said:
ETA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvLaTupw-hk check out that youtube video. I'm no angel and still like to drive fast on the road but there is a time and a place. It may not be your lack of driving skill that is the initial cause of an accident but someone else inability to judge your speed as in the video.

Think when driving on the roads how your driving the past 5 minutes would be judged by everyone you've just passed if you were involved in an accident further up the road. In the case of your story I can imagine both the idiot who wouldn't let you pass and the person who pulled out of that junction would of laid the blame in your court.

Edited by Bradley1500 on Wednesday 8th October 15:23
Two points here:

1. Driving skill is not just about handling your car and being able to drive it fast without leaving the road. Driving quickly on the road is far more difficult and dangerous than doing so on the track. Skill includes anticipating these sorts of situations and adjusting your speed accordingly. For example, don't approach a road junction that you cannot see to be clear at a speed that others may not reasonably anticipate you to be travelling at or at a speed or road position where you do not have a plan of action should an emerging road user make a mistake.

2. Try not to pass people like you're on steroids or provoke them. There is no need no "minimise the amount of time on the wrong side of the road" by buzzing someone if it is safe to be where you are and ease past them calmly. Wave at them as you pass if they comply; use signals carefully and unambiguously. Reserve full power and exuberance for when you are away from other traffic or hazards.

All very well in theory though - I often don't manage these things despite my best efforts!! Overtaking on well sighted bends is the most common reason for me irritating other motorists it seems. Others overtake on straights past poorly sighted junctions without evoking a response. This is just the nature of driver training and awareness unfortunately.

Steve

Edited by DocSteve on Thursday 9th October 00:17


Edited by DocSteve on Thursday 9th October 00:19

MatrixXXx

653 posts

151 months

Wednesday 12th November 2014
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polycote said:
Why is it that driving at 100 or 125 or 150mph or ... regarded as so wicked when I can go to Germany and drive at 170mph pefectly happily?
Why can I drive in Germany at such speeds with no problem at all, yet here in England, when caught at such speeds you are regarded as one of the most terrible people that ever walked the earth? I thought we were all part of Europe. Surely if they are allowed to do it over there, we should be allowed to do it over here.
I live an extremely busy life and own a business in three countries. I have no time or waste 'trundling along an open road. I have a car that is built for safety and for speed and 100mph+ is second nature.
I believe we could remove the speed limits on large amounts of motorways! Yes, I can hear some of you do-gooders shouting and screaming already. I don't mean you do it everywhere and/or where it is busy, but why not where there are clear stretches of road and/or at night. The Germans haven't been right at everything but this is certainly one thing they have done to help their country.
I'm sorry, people that drive slowly are often far more of a menace on the roads. They don't concentrate, they don't look in their mirrors, wander all over the road and hog either the middle or third lane without a care in the world. They pull out to overtake with barely a wink at their rear view mirror. they pull out of side turnings without a single thought of joining the existing flow of the traffic, but chug off down the road causing everyone else to brake. These mostly seem to be the people with a chip on their shoulder and slam their brakes on or widely gesticulate, spending most of their time glaring into the rear view mirror rather than concentrating on their own eractic movements! Frankly, they cause all sorts of problems for just about every other road user.
Long live the autobahns, long live the people that enjoy using them and ban the wasters that cause 95% of the accident by driving at 50mph without due care and attention as mentioned above!!
I will enjoy the response, good, bad and indifferent!!
Glad someone else thinks like me.

the most dangerous drivers on the roads are the slow drivers. I regularly see lorries and whole motorways having to maneuver around as slow car doing 50mph on the motorway.

Speed doesn't kill, guns don't kill, cars don't kill- its the human in control thats the cause.