Pirbright Bends

Author
Discussion

arun1uk

Original Poster:

1,066 posts

206 months

Wednesday 27th October 2021
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Best get out there and enjoy it quickly...
https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/surre...

AlexRS2782

8,178 posts

221 months

Thursday 28th October 2021
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Meh. The limit's been dropped there for long enough and everyone knows there's rarely any enforcement so those that wanted to speed (excessively i'll add) or drive badly just carried on as they did before, which nearly always leads to a further, more permanent, enforcement somewhere down the line. Not massively surprising, plus average cams seem to be popping up quite a bit around this way now, A31 Guildford bound with plans for Farnham bound in '22, those then tie in with the A3 Guildford stretch, possibility of another set on the A331 to Aldershot once the roundabout at the Hog's Back gets rebuilt, and there's always been the suggestion they'd end up on the Blackwater Valley from The Meadows to M3 when they dropped to 50.

But it is interesting that they've referenced the fact the speed will be a constant 40 rather than seeing if they could push for a blanket 30 and also noting that some of the current 30 stretch will be raised to 40 (although some 30's will be slightly extended - tbh i'm not sure i've ever seen anyone trying to push 40+ round that tight bend at the barracks as claimed on the article). Shame about losing the remaining 60 on the stretch that runs past the ranges, but I'll be honest, i was always surprised they never dropped that to 40 at the same time as the rest all those years ago.

In any case, i doubt it will change driving much down there. The last few times i've driven the stretch from the barracks to the Brookwood / Pirbright railway tunnel during the day, i've usually been glad if i made it over a constant 30 seeing as how that stretch seems to have become a go to for learners both in liveried & parental cars.

One thing i did find interesting on the link above. They say it's to tackle dangerous driving, but seem to have made sure the photo op pic features a heavily modded car clearly in the background, quietly suggesting to anyone reading that's the root cause - even though most of the bad driving / speeding i've seen down there over my many years of driving since the late '90's is normally courtesy of all kinds of vehicles not just the performance / modified kind. One of my old college mates crashed his mums Corsa into a tree on the bends back in '97 - and that was a 1.1, whilst he was drunk, doing less than 40 back when it was a 60 limit - idiot.

Edited by AlexRS2782 on Thursday 28th October 01:07

Terminator X

16,407 posts

212 months

Thursday 28th October 2021
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One fatal accident in 5 years, seems a tad OTT to me and presumably at significant (taxpayer?) expense.

TX.

Edit - revenue from SAC's, interesting!

"Having one limit throughout will allow enforcement through average speed cameras, to be installed within the next five months.

The £300,000 cameras are being funded by Surrey Police with revenue from speed awareness courses."

Sport_220

233 posts

182 months

Thursday 28th October 2021
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Will be interesting to see how many and where they put them, it still might allow people to give it some beans through some of the bends aslong as they ease up between the cameras, so no doubt there will still be accidents.

dreamer75

1,403 posts

236 months

Thursday 28th October 2021
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That whole thing frustrates me; any crashes I've seen on there have been bad driving rather than excessive speed. NSL is fine as long as you use appropriate speed for conditions etc. etc. etc.

Grrrr.

Dan_The_Man

1,090 posts

247 months

Thursday 28th October 2021
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Most cars seem to be in the ditches on greasy, wet or icy mornings, even the 30 limit made no difference to this as the corners are quite sharp.

Mr Tidy

24,459 posts

135 months

Thursday 28th October 2021
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I used to love that stretch of road especially when I had my 2.8i Capri back in the late 80s. Plenty of scope for some fun and in several years I was never close to leaving the road!

A shame it's getting dumbed down like so many roads in the area when cars are far more capable these days.

But I suppose it's because the drivers aren't! banghead

krisdelta

4,604 posts

209 months

Friday 29th October 2021
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The data doesn't appear to back the cameras - what an odd place to put them, no properties along the road (until you get into the 30 zone at Brookwood end) and no pedestrians. Since the limits have dropped from national to 40/30, I've not seen any cars in the scenery, it was relatively common before.

I regularly cycle the road (as well as drive) and having average cameras is going to make for slow and more dangerous overtakes I think - especially as over a KM of it is double white lines.

I don't even think its a money spinner, it's not a super fast bit of road anyhow.

When there aren't even pedestrian crossings outside local schools (despite years of campaigning), but they can put average speed cameras on a deserted country road - you really do have to wonder if people in power have banged their heads, or simply don't care.

Mr Tidy

24,459 posts

135 months

Saturday 30th October 2021
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anonymous said:
[redacted]
Thanks for that Mr Nimby. banghead

At least you won't be able to enjoy them for much longer, and how long will it be until the whiners like you in Elstead, Tilford, The Sands and Farnham get together to spoil your fun? Killjoy!



edc

9,318 posts

259 months

Sunday 31st October 2021
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Most of the cars I've seen in ditches have been fairly normal mundane cars not what you would consider an enthusiast type car. I drove those sections almost daily when I lived in Frimley and Farnborough. Ironically the only time I've come close to having a real incident was when I was on my moped and I thought I was carrying too much speed on the wet road on the bend by Deepcut and slithered off on the wet leaves and tipped over on the boggy side. I scratched my helmet but dusted myself down and picked up the moped and carried on my way to Guildford biggrin

Frimley111R

16,029 posts

242 months

Tuesday 2nd November 2021
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All it takes is one NIMBY councillor to think 'This will be good for votes' and that's it. Unless you are really lucky or up early you're mostly stuck behind someone doing 3-4o mph anyway. What a waste of £300k!

Where are they going to be? Surely not across all of it?

Frimley111R

16,029 posts

242 months

Tuesday 2nd November 2021
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anonymous said:
[redacted]
And what difference did that make? I remember the change but ignored it the same as everyone else seemed to.

rallye101

2,233 posts

205 months

Tuesday 2nd November 2021
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Dangerous stretch, trouble is the locals know it and agree when it's wet and slippery the accidents happen.... I had to follow my biz partner in his vroom vroom focus cc! In my 400/400 evo and called him a mentalist, just kept up....nasty but fun bit of road with zero run off.

Vickers_VC10

6,759 posts

213 months

Wednesday 10th November 2021
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Not surprised tbh I witnessed two people leaving the road whilst approaching a bend , had I been further down the road it would have been a new bike time, to my mind it's the tightening radius bends which catch alot of people out certainly the first time I ever rode a motorbike on them they were..... surprisingly tight...

amokwa

478 posts

205 months

Sunday 5th December 2021
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Saw a convoy on Deepcut Bridge Road an hour ago on my walk, anyone here ? Was too far from home to jump in my car and join the drive smile

ARHarh

4,297 posts

115 months

Sunday 5th December 2021
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Slightly off topic.

I used to drive those bends everyday on the way to work in the mid 80's. One icy morning I was following a nice shiny audio coupe thing round the bends, on an icy bit he slid off into the ditch and ended up almost upside down. I rushed over to see if he was OK. Took one look inside and it appeared to be carnage with blood everywhere. He said he was OK, but I was not convinced. Then he said he was fine but the pasta in tomato sauce his wife had prepared for his lunch and he had put on the passenger seat had wrecked the inside of the car smile Gave him a lift to work, so he could sort it out in the warm.

Vickers_VC10

6,759 posts

213 months

Sunday 5th December 2021
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ARHarh said:
Slightly off topic.

I used to drive those bends everyday on the way to work in the mid 80's. One icy morning I was following a nice shiny audio coupe thing round the bends, on an icy bit he slid off into the ditch and ended up almost upside down. I rushed over to see if he was OK. Took one look inside and it appeared to be carnage with blood everywhere. He said he was OK, but I was not convinced. Then he said he was fine but the pasta in tomato sauce his wife had prepared for his lunch and he had put on the passenger seat had wrecked the inside of the car smile Gave him a lift to work, so he could sort it out in the warm.
Isn't that the plot of Memphis belle .......

Frimley111R

16,029 posts

242 months

Monday 6th December 2021
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ARHarh said:
Slightly off topic.

I used to drive those bends everyday on the way to work in the mid 80's. One icy morning I was following a nice shiny audio coupe thing round the bends, on an icy bit he slid off into the ditch and ended up almost upside down. I rushed over to see if he was OK. Took one look inside and it appeared to be carnage with blood everywhere. He said he was OK, but I was not convinced. Then he said he was fine but the pasta in tomato sauce his wife had prepared for his lunch and he had put on the passenger seat had wrecked the inside of the car smile Gave him a lift to work, so he could sort it out in the warm.
hehe

PurpleTurtle

7,625 posts

152 months

Monday 6th December 2021
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When I did my motorbike intensive practical course in '97 I used a company based in that neck of woods, they used a lot of current and ex Army instructors who were doing it as a second job.

We got a big brick outhouse of a bloke turned up on the Saturday morning on a mint GSXR1110, great bike and a fantastic instructor, he was based at Pirbright barracks. On the Sunday he was unexpectedly replaced by an old chap on a shagged Honda CX500 that had done about a million miles.

"Where's yesterday's bloke?

"He binned his Suzuki on the Pirbright Bends going home from here last night so you've got me instead. I'll try to teach you how to stay on!" hehe

Mrkevuk

26 posts

123 months

Wednesday 15th December 2021
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Driving to work this morning and there was a Renault Clio in the ditch . No idea how they did that as that part of the road is straight with no bends . Grange road , near school lane . The guy was sitting in his car on his phone so it must have just happened.