Is speeding socially acceptable?
Discussion
Strange question maybe but Hertfordshire Police have published this questionnaire canvassing the views of local residents about their attitude to speeding no doubt seeking justification for more rigorous enforcement. As i see it, these sorts of questionnaires are often very badly written and in this case lacking a lot of definition. Is speeding socially acceptable? Well, I suspect most of us do it at sometime so I would say a bit over the limit is socially OK - but it depends where. I don't think anyone would disagree that 60 in a 30 outside a school was socially unacceptable - but where do you draw the line. Just musing....
What a surprise - it's a terrible questionnaire.
No consideration of context, just a binary Yes/No to most of the questions. "Would you feel safe if the driver was speeding?"
If travelling at 61 mph on a clearly-sighted and empty NSL road in dry conditions? Or at 50 mph past a school on a foggy wet winter's morning?
I suppose this exemplifies the anti-speeding lobby - there can only be black and white, never any shades of grey.
No consideration of context, just a binary Yes/No to most of the questions. "Would you feel safe if the driver was speeding?"
If travelling at 61 mph on a clearly-sighted and empty NSL road in dry conditions? Or at 50 mph past a school on a foggy wet winter's morning?
I suppose this exemplifies the anti-speeding lobby - there can only be black and white, never any shades of grey.
Johnnytheboy said:
Where it's safe, yes.
I get that, dangerous at any speed is and should be socially unacceptable. So is it OK to say it's the dangerous rather than the speeding. If we could distill that down then there would be no requirement for speed limits. I think a small minority think speeding is evil but society as a whole is fairly pragmatic so it is socially acceptable in isolation. This is born out by the levels of compliance. 81% of cars exceed 20mph limits, 53 percent exceed 30 mph but only 6 percent exceed 60 mph on single carriageway it rises again to 43 percent on motorways. Those significantly exceeding 20 and 30 mph are pretty low. Our roads are relatively safe and only on the single carriageway NSL roads can speeding be shown to increase risk of being involved in a Serious collision. It would seem that behavior follows what is "Safe" and is usually indicative of what is viewed as acceptable.
) as possible? 
plenty said:
What a surprise - it's a terrible questionnaire.
No consideration of context, just a binary Yes/No to most of the questions. "Would you feel safe if the driver was speeding?"
If travelling at 61 mph on a clearly-sighted and empty NSL road in dry conditions? Or at 50 mph past a school on a foggy wet winter's morning?
I suppose this exemplifies the anti-speeding lobby - there can only be black and white, never any shades of grey.
I think primary school students may have compiled it...No consideration of context, just a binary Yes/No to most of the questions. "Would you feel safe if the driver was speeding?"
If travelling at 61 mph on a clearly-sighted and empty NSL road in dry conditions? Or at 50 mph past a school on a foggy wet winter's morning?
I suppose this exemplifies the anti-speeding lobby - there can only be black and white, never any shades of grey.
We have just had a brand new 5 mile stretch of lovely smooth, open dual carriageway open locally and hardly anyone is using it. My 74 yr old mother drove it the other day and was shocked when she glanced at the speedo and saw she was touching 90mph.
It feels perfectly safe when the road is designed properly.
It feels perfectly safe when the road is designed properly.
Red 4 said:
Nope ( to the second bit ).
It also depends on what you hit ( pedestrian, motorcyclist, etc ) or what hits you.
Faster increases the risk and the severity nearly all the time but that doesn't mean that when and where people exceed the speed limit they are more likely to be involved in a serious RTA than when and where they comply. The statistics indicate very strongly that is the case. Other than on single carriage NSL the percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limit is far in excess of the percentage of collisions where one or more vehicles were exceeding the speed limit. (3% or 15% depending on whether you believe the police or pressure groups). Given the mean number of vehicles in an accident has to exceed one it is very hard to come to any other conclusion. It also depends on what you hit ( pedestrian, motorcyclist, etc ) or what hits you.
CharlieH89 said:
Be interesting to know what people think is acceptable through a 20mph zone going through a village. Shops either side of the 20mph limited road.
People seem to think 40mph+ is acceptable as I see everyday. I’ve never seen a police speed camera set up.
Village is Rainhill, L35.
I thought you were describing a Cotswolds hamlet, then I read "Rainhill". A village??? From memory, it would have been a reasonable 30mph last time I drove through there on the A57.People seem to think 40mph+ is acceptable as I see everyday. I’ve never seen a police speed camera set up.
Village is Rainhill, L35.
Graveworm said:
Red 4 said:
Nope ( to the second bit ).
It also depends on what you hit ( pedestrian, motorcyclist, etc ) or what hits you.
Faster increases the risk and the severity nearly all the time but that doesn't mean that when and where people exceed the speed limit they are more likely to be involved in a serious RTA than when and where they comply. The statistics indicate very strongly that is the case. Other than on single carriage NSL the percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limit is far in excess of the percentage of collisions where one or more vehicles were exceeding the speed limit. (3% or 15% depending on whether you believe the police or pressure groups). Given the mean number of vehicles in an accident has to exceed one it is very hard to come to any other conclusion. It also depends on what you hit ( pedestrian, motorcyclist, etc ) or what hits you.
king clue what you are on about 
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