100mph. Wicked or not wicked??

[polycote]

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!!

[jacksplat]

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!

[jacksplat]

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...!