Acceleration is speed, according to Mayor/TFL
Discussion
This afternoon I heard an advert on the radio, which was focused on how inappropriate speed is bad.
Like many on here would, I nodded along thinking "FINALLY! Someone has put the word 'inappropriate' in there, they aren't claiming that speed by itself is bad!", but the ad then went on to claim that "accelerating harder than you need to is inappropriate speed". Just think about that for a second... Someone in a position of authority does not understand the basic mathematical fact that acceleration is the rate of change of speed, it isn't speed itself. I'm pretty sure this is covered by GCSE mathematics, if not earlier.
Putting aside the absolute mathematical fact that acceleration is not speed, how do you define "harder than you need to"?
I'm not being pedantic, and I'm standing by that!
(NB this advert was sponsored by the Mayor of London and TFL, but being broadcast on a DAB station that covers much of the country, and yes I have raised a complaint with the ASA... don't judge )
Like many on here would, I nodded along thinking "FINALLY! Someone has put the word 'inappropriate' in there, they aren't claiming that speed by itself is bad!", but the ad then went on to claim that "accelerating harder than you need to is inappropriate speed". Just think about that for a second... Someone in a position of authority does not understand the basic mathematical fact that acceleration is the rate of change of speed, it isn't speed itself. I'm pretty sure this is covered by GCSE mathematics, if not earlier.
Putting aside the absolute mathematical fact that acceleration is not speed, how do you define "harder than you need to"?
I'm not being pedantic, and I'm standing by that!
(NB this advert was sponsored by the Mayor of London and TFL, but being broadcast on a DAB station that covers much of the country, and yes I have raised a complaint with the ASA... don't judge
)OK so we know acceleration and speed are not the same thing, but there are many examples of inappropriate acceleration surely and isn't that what they are getting at?
Busy road, eventually you have to pull out as quick as you can in to the best space you can find (so you accelerate hard to match the road speed), but the person behind floors it when seeing you wanting to pull out to get on your tail to prove a point.
Someone joining motorway from slip road, floors it to join L3 in one move in just a few seconds... rather than doing it cautiously a lane at a time taking as much time as possible to indicate, observe, manoeuvre carefully etc.
Don't get me wrong I used to ride fast bikes and it was the acceleration not the speed that I liked but there was a time and a place for hard acceleration.
Busy road, eventually you have to pull out as quick as you can in to the best space you can find (so you accelerate hard to match the road speed), but the person behind floors it when seeing you wanting to pull out to get on your tail to prove a point.
Someone joining motorway from slip road, floors it to join L3 in one move in just a few seconds... rather than doing it cautiously a lane at a time taking as much time as possible to indicate, observe, manoeuvre carefully etc.
Don't get me wrong I used to ride fast bikes and it was the acceleration not the speed that I liked but there was a time and a place for hard acceleration.
ging84 said:
I wonder how often people need to accelerate harder than they could with about 70hp
People quite often need to accelerate harder than they could with about 70bhp.This is not usually as hard as someone who knows how to use a gearbox and throttle pedal could accelerate with about 70bhp.
To be fair I see so many people accelerate at a relatively silly speed only to slam the brakes on in 100-200 meters because of traffic or traffic lights
So to be a bit more judicial with application of the throttle is probably not a bad piece of advice to give.
However it doesn't matter IMO if you go from 0-30 in 1.5 seconds or 5 seconds in a built up area with a 30 limit.
So to be a bit more judicial with application of the throttle is probably not a bad piece of advice to give.
However it doesn't matter IMO if you go from 0-30 in 1.5 seconds or 5 seconds in a built up area with a 30 limit.
donkmeister said:
Putting aside the absolute mathematical fact that acceleration is not speed, how do you define "harder than you need to"?
Well, redlining the f
k out of every gear would be a very clear case of "harder than needed" but, and I'm fairly sure this can't just be me, do you not have a feel for how hard a car is working in order to get to your required speed?I have a couple of cars (3 including the missus' 207CC), one is a 2 litre TD and the other is a 5 litre V8. Obviously they all have vastly different rates of acceleration but I can quite easily drive all of them where they're accelerating but they are neither having the absolute balls thrashed off them nor are they asthmatically struggling not to stall. It just feels like the car's natural rate of acceleration.
So I would say his definition of "harder than you need to" would be anything above the car's "natural" rate of acceleration.
Certainly the throbbers that spend the summer in London in their foreign-registered Lambos and Ferraris would fall into that category.
Surely as the captain of my ship I determine what is deemed to be 'the need' ? Not some bureaucrat who is ferried everywhere by a taxpayer funded vehicle....
I NEED to experience the feeling of rapid acceleration (especially when entering and exiting a large empty roundabout) as it stimulates my senses, maintains my skills and confirms my godlike status as a driver and helps me to avoid slipping into a coma like so many of the dangerous fking morons cluttering British roads.
fk right off Khan ! Its my (overtaxed) fuel I'm burning !
I NEED to experience the feeling of rapid acceleration (especially when entering and exiting a large empty roundabout) as it stimulates my senses, maintains my skills and confirms my godlike status as a driver and helps me to avoid slipping into a coma like so many of the dangerous f
king morons cluttering British roads.f
k right off Khan ! Its my (overtaxed) fuel I'm burning !
Cerdo Espada said:
I NEED to experience the feeling of rapid acceleration (especially when entering and exiting a large empty roundabout) as it stimulates my senses, maintains my skills and confirms my godlike status as a driver and helps me to avoid slipping into a coma like so many of the dangerous fking morons cluttering British roads.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...king morons cluttering British roads.PF62 said:
Cerdo Espada said:
I NEED to experience the feeling of rapid acceleration (especially when entering and exiting a large empty roundabout) as it stimulates my senses, maintains my skills and confirms my godlike status as a driver and helps me to avoid slipping into a coma like so many of the dangerous fking morons cluttering British roads.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...king morons cluttering British roads.Cerdo Espada said:
PF62 said:
Cerdo Espada said:
I NEED to experience the feeling of rapid acceleration (especially when entering and exiting a large empty roundabout) as it stimulates my senses, maintains my skills and confirms my godlike status as a driver and helps me to avoid slipping into a coma like so many of the dangerous fking morons cluttering British roads.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...king morons cluttering British roads.PF62 said:
Cerdo Espada said:
PF62 said:
Cerdo Espada said:
I NEED to experience the feeling of rapid acceleration (especially when entering and exiting a large empty roundabout) as it stimulates my senses, maintains my skills and confirms my godlike status as a driver and helps me to avoid slipping into a coma like so many of the dangerous fking morons cluttering British roads.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...king morons cluttering British roads.Cerdo Espada said:
PF62 said:
Cerdo Espada said:
PF62 said:
Cerdo Espada said:
I NEED to experience the feeling of rapid acceleration (especially when entering and exiting a large empty roundabout) as it stimulates my senses, maintains my skills and confirms my godlike status as a driver and helps me to avoid slipping into a coma like so many of the dangerous fking morons cluttering British roads.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...king morons cluttering British roads.Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff