Being warned by other motorists......police camera van ahead

Being warned by other motorists......police camera van ahead

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The Mad Monk

10,474 posts

116 months

Sunday 25th June 2017
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pits said:
That said though if I see the community speed watch bellends with their visi-vests on, then I do usually annoy them by doing 20mph up to them and when I pass them just stamp the accelerator quickly on and off, so no speed is actually gained but they get a really loud bark from the exhaust, making them think I have just floored it off from them, which they will usually spin around quicker than a stripper on an oiled up pole, only to then measure my speed between 20-25mph. Yes, it is super childish but it will also make you chuckle for quite a while and it does throw them off their game for a brief second, you're giving them that power trip they crave so much only to snatch it away from them a second later hehe
Have you considered seeking psychiatric help?

Wacky Racer

38,099 posts

246 months

Sunday 25th June 2017
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The Mad Monk said:
pits said:
That said though if I see the community speed watch bellends with their visi-vests on, then I do usually annoy them by doing 20mph up to them and when I pass them just stamp the accelerator quickly on and off, so no speed is actually gained but they get a really loud bark from the exhaust, making them think I have just floored it off from them, which they will usually spin around quicker than a stripper on an oiled up pole, only to then measure my speed between 20-25mph. Yes, it is super childish but it will also make you chuckle for quite a while and it does throw them off their game for a brief second, you're giving them that power trip they crave so much only to snatch it away from them a second later hehe
Have you considered seeking psychiatric help?
laugh

Patrick Bateman

12,143 posts

173 months

Sunday 25th June 2017
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I've found this more common in the Porsche, even if I'm not horsing on.

spaximus

4,230 posts

252 months

Sunday 25th June 2017
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Jaguar Steve has mentioned many times it is inappropriate speed that kills but the reality is that local councils have lowered limits to inappropriate ones. This is a cause of frustration when roads that were NSL, with a good record of safety suddenly becomes a 40mph. Motorists need to feel it is the right limit, not one plucked out of thin air.

Around Bristol many have been reduced, against the advice of police, but vocal groups seem to win over by simply repeating if it saves one child and lobbying with heart breaking testimony, it is not right. Laws and limits must be seen to be fair not there because someone bought a house on a main road and now does not like cars driving past.

He also said the limits were there to protect us from drivers who make mistakes and then regales us with tales of his accident record, not sure if the limit is to protect us or him?

dcb

5,834 posts

264 months

Sunday 25th June 2017
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spaximus said:
Jaguar Steve has mentioned many times it is inappropriate speed that kills but the reality is that local councils have lowered limits to inappropriate ones. This is a cause of frustration when roads that were NSL, with a good record of safety suddenly becomes a 40mph. Motorists need to feel it is the right limit, not one plucked out of thin air.
Indeed. I'd be a lot happier if they used the 85% rule when setting speed limits, but they don't.
An evidence based approach to the setting of credible speed limits would gain a lot
of driver approval.

Most rural speed limits don't seem to make much sense, so when they are widely ignored,
who is to blame ?

I'd rather have folks driving carefully at 60 mph than not really watching what they
are doing at 40 mph.




The Mad Monk

10,474 posts

116 months

Sunday 25th June 2017
quotequote all
dcb said:
Indeed. I'd be a lot happier if they used the 85% rule when setting speed limits, but they don't.
What's the 85% rule?

wack

2,103 posts

205 months

Sunday 25th June 2017
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I rarely travel on A roads but since buying an MX5 I have started doing so, one thing i have noticed is the speed is set by the slowest driver , 40-45mph for miles is common because hardly anybody overtakes .

Saturday i was on the A49 going to oulton park , 8 cars following a tractor for 3-4 miles , no chance of a safe overtake in one go , couldn't even pick them off as they were so close to each other

40 and 50 limits have slowed 60 to the same speed because safe fast driving is a perishable skill and drivers are losing it due to the low speed constant stop start of modern roads.

I had to drive between lowton and bolton on friday, inc pelican crossings i counted 23 sets of lights in a 9 mile stretch , crazy

vonhosen

40,198 posts

216 months

Sunday 25th June 2017
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The Mad Monk said:
dcb said:
Indeed. I'd be a lot happier if they used the 85% rule when setting speed limits, but they don't.
What's the 85% rule?
A misnomer.

Boosted LS1

21,165 posts

259 months

Sunday 25th June 2017
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The Mad Monk said:
dcb said:
Indeed. I'd be a lot happier if they used the 85% rule when setting speed limits, but they don't.
What's the 85% rule?
A speed limit that 85% of the population are comfortable driving at. It's self enforcing and used to be a consideration when setting limits in the past. It's ignored these days by the powers that be.

Dr Jekyll

23,820 posts

260 months

Monday 26th June 2017
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Boosted LS1 said:
A speed limit that 85% of the population are comfortable driving at. It's self enforcing and used to be a consideration when setting limits in the past. It's ignored these days by the powers that be.
Historically it's worked very well indeed. Sometimes putting the limit UP to the 85% level has been followed by an increase in average speeds but even then there has still by a reduction in accidents. Implying that the really fast drivers who were causing the trouble ease off when find they are the only ones breaking the limit. On other occasions the average speed has come down, drivers who feel 45 is a reasonable speed may stick to a 40 limit but a 30 limit brings out the 'may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb' principle.

Local authorities now prefer the 50th percentile speed simply because they want a pretext for lowering speed limits irrespective of the effect on safety.

There is also an argument that the 85th percentile rule won't work anymore because it's always been measured when there is a speed limit therefore may be a different speed from what the 85th percentile would be in the absence of a limit. Since measuring the 85th percentile now would be subject to the same effect I don't see the problem.

dcb

5,834 posts

264 months

Monday 26th June 2017
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The Mad Monk said:
What's the 85% rule?
The speed setting where 85% of the drivers are under the limit and 15% are speeding.

It relies on measuring what the traffic is doing, then setting the limit, not just doing
it the Brit way of picking a random number.

The 85% rule has been show to minimise the crash risk, which helps
keep more people safe. Other settings, like the 50% rule sometimes used
by the Brits, tend to cause more crashes, deaths and injuries.

Much more detail here

http://legacy.abd.org.uk/speed_limits_85th.htm

There is a good graph in there (about 1/3 the way down) which shows how
the 85% point is the minimum point on a curve.


Jonno02

2,246 posts

108 months

Monday 26th June 2017
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I do agree with the sentiments about safety/if people are really pushing on then maybe a ticket is a good thing. But my natural reaction is to flash people and give them a warning. I rarely see camera vans dotted about though, so I normally flash for debris on the road etc.

mygoldfishbowl

3,691 posts

142 months

Monday 26th June 2017
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pits said:
In a 30mph zone

Where was this 30 mph zone? I've never seen one, I've seen 30mph limits but never zones.

threespires

4,289 posts

210 months

Monday 26th June 2017
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Recently reduced speed limits have more to do with improving air quality rather than safety.

bad company

18,483 posts

265 months

Monday 26th June 2017
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threespires said:
Recently reduced speed limits have more to do with improving air quality rather than safety.
Really???

How come there are so many 20 mph limits now then?

Dr Doofenshmirtz

15,184 posts

199 months

Monday 26th June 2017
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I regularly flash motorists from the roadside...I do get some funny looks sometimes though confused

silverfoxcc

7,683 posts

144 months

Monday 26th June 2017
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wack said

Saturday i was on the A49 going to oulton park , 8 cars following a tractor for 3-4 miles , no chance of a safe overtake in one go , couldn't even pick them off as they were so close to each other

and that is where the frustration really start. The reluctance to leave gap.....even a safe 2 sec gap..... so it stops the safe overtake, which sometimes results in a really unsafe one.

And the follow up. The shutting of the door as you pass them initially safely.but the gap you saw is no longer there because of this idiots actions


As for being done for perverting the course of justice, lets spin this one around

Man gets done for whatever action of warning drivers, flashing lights waving etc

Same man is walking along the road and sees a man brandishing a knife as though he may harm someone....... does nothing, because he remembers the last time he tried to stop someone committing an offence HE got done...so he lets the guy stab someone


Real extremes but the sentiment is the same

LocoCoco

1,428 posts

175 months

Monday 26th June 2017
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Here's a story that might change some of your opinions.

I flashed a white van to warn of a police speed trap in a local spot popular for speed enforcement. White van driver gave me the thumbs up, instantly stopped in his lane then reversed to the nearest side street and turned around to avoid the police altogether.

Now, it's obvious that I've just inadvertently tipped off somebody with something to hide (no insurance, drunk driver, dead hooker in the back).

Does saving X people from speeding tickets justify helping 1 proper criminal get away with it?

bmw320ci

595 posts

225 months

Monday 26th June 2017
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Lets just say I used to flash people, but when driving back through A12 or A11 from Beccles through to Ipswich I flashed oncoming cars, of which one was a un-marked police car with a rather pee'd Inspector on-board.


wack

2,103 posts

205 months

Monday 26th June 2017
quotequote all
LocoCoco said:
Here's a story that might change some of your opinions.

I flashed a white van to warn of a police speed trap in a local spot popular for speed enforcement. White van driver gave me the thumbs up, instantly stopped in his lane then reversed to the nearest side street and turned around to avoid the police altogether.

Now, it's obvious that I've just inadvertently tipped off somebody with something to hide (no insurance, drunk driver, dead hooker in the back).

Does saving X people from speeding tickets justify helping 1 proper criminal get away with it?
Probably had no insurance

Waze is the ultimate in warnings, it tells you where the coppers are 10 minutes before you get there as long as somebody has reported it.

I think most people are OK with speed traps in a 30 except when they've dropped the limit specifically to site the van there and despite what they say about safety it's obvious they do this to generate cash judging by the amount of villages that have had the 30 extended to 1/2 a mile either side




Edited by wack on Tuesday 27th June 12:02