Speeding is safer

[Nose Nuggets]

I think it's hilarious that you think having a tyre blow out at 70 mph isn't serious. As for the policeman comment, well if a road traffic officer can't control it to your standard then what chance do the rest of us have? Therefore a blow out at 70 mph is serious.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=CiyjeRtArhI

Of course i'm sure it's the drivers fault!

im not saying it isnt serious. im saying its not as serious and life threatening as you all think it is. The average cop drives slightly better then the average driver (i know this because they used to do our driving school for free once a year). they have a little bit of class room instruction and i think a 3 day course that covers basic vehicle dynamics and car control. but unlike target practice they dont have to "qualify" with there vehicle every 6 months, as far as i know. taking the stance that if a cop cant do it im hosed is friggin pathetic! if you think you suck at driving go take a class. its not as though we are all handed keys and a car and told to do our best. you wouldn't go to china or mexico and just expect to pickup the language would you?

in your video you can see almost exactly what happens. it looks like the front left blows out and the driver SLAMS on the brakes. you can tell by the TWO large black marks in the far left lane (and HEAPS of smoke), and then one extremely dark skid mark from the right side (that vears into the right lane of traffic) so, this tells us a few things. First, the driver had an instinctual snap reaction to the scenario instead of a logical one. it also tells us that there was no ABS on this vehicle due to the solid black marks instead of chopped or hashed black marks. if this guy had been doing 70+ mph and slammed on the brakes with a loaded truck of that style, it would have been a handfull even without the tire blowout. all that weight in the back of the truck slides forward and reduces the weight and subsequently the available traction on the rear tires. this loose rear end is really easy to move around, that coupled with the reduced hight of the front left corner (due to the flat/blow out) makes it easy for the truck to topple over. there are other factors at work here as well, obviously those trucks have very high centers of gravity to begin with.

in this case, it does look to be the drivers fault. hes going almost dead nuts straight in medium traffic. he looks ok though. even after rolling and plowing into the concrete divider.

[Nose Nuggets]

^ I'm not having a go at you or anything. But as a professional driver I'm sure you can understand how deadly a car can be.

While you might be a great driver, showing yourself as being a professional driver, and saying speeding isn't bad, while all these young, invincible people are reading maybe the wrong thing to do.

You're giving them a mind set, that if you think you're a good driver (don't get me wrong, you probably are a great driver, but chances are they are not), you can drive at fast speeds safely.

Chances are, these people would have no idea what to do if something happened at high speed, just because it happens very rarely, doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Aircraft crashes happen very rarely, but pilots still need to know what to do. These drivers would have no idea.

Its all very well saying "slow down and pull over" at 120mph, with a busted tire, you are going to lose control, you are going to spin, and you will probably die.

I just can't see how people would want to condone something as dangerous as driving at such excessive speeds. It is nothing short of absolutely crazy.

And for the people who weave in and out of traffic at those speeds, you might aswell give up on life. You're either going to kill yourself, or rot in jail when you get done for manslaughter for killing an innocent victim because of your stupidity.

you make some good points here. however, im going to have to side with Darwin on this one. if you THINK you are capable of doing something that you arent, and do it anyway. you can only blame yourself. i cant make anyone do anything with text on a forum. all im saying is it is not nearly as bad as everyone thinks it is. its not that only a good driver can save a car when the tire goes, its that people freak out and make silly decisions simply because they are not tought what to do. thats really the main point im getting at. everyone on the road SHOULD know what to do if a tire blows. you shouldn't have to watch 5th gear for a synopsis on what transpires during an altercation you could experience while driving. it does NOT take an expert driver to act calmly under abnormal conditions. it does not take a pro driver to slowly bleed off the throttle and then slowly apply the brakes. it does, however, take a pro driver to put down lap times at a track that are respectable.

a busted tire in itself will not make you loose control, spin, and die. maybe without any intervention (ie being a passenger and doing nothing). however, making snap decisions like slamming on the brakes, will.

im not telling people to ignore the hype, speeding is 90% safer then the speed limit and your a fool to drive 65mph on the freeway. im not saying that. im just saying that peoples opinions about what will happen under the above conditions is for the most part wrong. it wouldn't surprise me if most of the people who have posted here think cars are inherently un safe at speeds exceeding 100mph. which is also false. im not going to deny that weaving in and out of traffic at 120 mph is dangerous. but 80 in a 65, or rather 15 mph faster then the flow of traffic is not that big of a deal. even weaving in and out of traffic.

edit:

now, please dont take that as 'anyone doing 15mph faster then the flow of traffic is a good safe driver'. im not implying that either. im just saying that 15mph over the flow of traffic is not in itself inherently unsafe. neither is 200mph on a clean bit of track in a race car.

Edited June 22, 2007 by Nose Nuggets

[bobbba]

whats all this talk about leet driving skills? has anyone here suggested they are a top notch driver?

You sure about that: ;)

"Its all about skill and experience. The average driver cant control the car at high speeds. Some of us can though."

"That's not a problem. Speeding tickets are $26 regardless of the speed. That's if they are determined enough to catch me, usually they just back off and figure it's not worth it."

"I drive very smoothly, my passengers rarely notice that we're speeding."

"I'm familiar with the limits of my car because I reach them often. Driving sideways is not rare or shocking in any way."

"I will be honest i always speed and havent been caught. I got the power in my Focus to do so."

"Some people I know are a danger driving at average speeds, I'd never sit with them at high speeds, and a few friends have great skill at high speeds."

[Nose Nuggets]

You sure about that: ;)

"Its all about skill and experience. The average driver cant control the car at high speeds. Some of us can though."

"That's not a problem. Speeding tickets are $26 regardless of the speed. That's if they are determined enough to catch me, usually they just back off and figure it's not worth it."

"I drive very smoothly, my passengers rarely notice that we're speeding."

"I'm familiar with the limits of my car because I reach them often. Driving sideways is not rare or shocking in any way."

"I will be honest i always speed and havent been caught. I got the power in my Focus to do so."

"Some people I know are a danger driving at average speeds, I'd never sit with them at high speeds, and a few friends have great skill at high speeds."

i stand corrected! i supose i should have said i dont think i have implied im a top not driver. which i am not.

[mapsbam]

i'm a tool

i want to end the lives of people who are a risk to others.

At least you can admit that you're a tool. I'd call you much worse.

Who put you in charge of traffic and safety on the road? Nobody. Get over yourself or become a cop. Speeding is dangerous and kills people, but how about next time I see you talking on the cell phone, bending down to pick something up, or looking away to adjust your radio I swerve into you? I guarantee these things kill as many if not more people than speeding.

[Nashy]

Personally I think I'm a great driver. I would still never drive at those speeds.

[beardedwonder]

The average cop drives slightly better then the average driver (i know this because they used to do our driving school for free once a year)

That police car in the first clip is not driven by 'average cops', as they were on the motorway (in the UK) it's most likely that they were part of a motorway policing unit and therefore trained to a much higher standard than you appear to think. Therefore much more prepared then the average person for such an eventuality, if they spin then it's quite likely that joe bloggs will spin as well and probably make more of a hash of it.

[Inertia]

I think that speeding everywhere to avoid accidents is stupid logic.

But having said that far more accidents are caused by driving without due care and attention than anything else, over 10x more than are caused by speeding.

I like to think i always drive with full attention, but If/When I am speeding i becoem much more 'edge of my seat' mode both hands locked to the wheel concentrating much more, its a natural reaction because the job at hand requires it more naturaly.

You could say that when you are driving faster you have very little chance of driving without due care and attention, therefore you arent falling into that huge percentage of accidents.

[Nose Nuggets]

That police car in the first clip is not driven by 'average cops', as they were on the motorway (in the UK) it's most likely that they were part of a motorway policing unit and therefore trained to a much higher standard than you appear to think. Therefore much more prepared then the average person for such an eventuality, if they spin then it's quite likely that joe bloggs will spin as well and probably make more of a hash of it.

oh yeah. your totally right. if a trained cop spins out in this scenario there is a 99.9999% chance a driver with no training will do the same. but that does not change the fact that this particular officer looks like he made that same snap response most drivers would. i cant say that with certainty as i can only see from an inside the cab perspective, i cant see what hes doing with the peddles or if he is attempting to correct with the steering wheel. but from the video, i can say with a fair bit of confidence that he made a bad choice.

You could say that when you are driving faster you have very little chance of driving without due care and attention, therefore you arent falling into that huge percentage of accidents.

thats a very good way to phrase it, i like that.

[beardedwonder]

but from the video, i can say with a fair bit of confidence that he made a bad choice.

I and i imagine others will continue with the viewpoint that it's more likely that a trained motorway policing unit officer knows a hell of a lot more about driving at speed and the related perils then someone who seems to be proud of speeding and revels in doing it. I just hope that when/if you have an accident you don't injure others.

As for my opinion on speeding, i think it's pathetic, and the vast majority of people that do it probably don't know their limits, the limits of the road or their cars limits. You're also breaking the law, what other laws should be broken just because people think they're good at something?

[Nose Nuggets]

I and i imagine others will continue with the viewpoint that it's more likely that a trained motorway policing unit officer knows a hell of a lot more about driving at speed and the related perils then someone who seems to be proud of speeding and revels in doing it. I just hope that when/if you have an accident you don't injure others.

As for my opinion on speeding, i think it's pathetic, and the vast majority of people that do it probably don't know their limits, the limits of the road or their cars limits. You're also breaking the law, what other laws should be broken just because people think they're good at something?

i used to work for Skip Barber Racing School, and teach people how to drive under these conditions (and more), so im basing my opinions on slightly more then my daily driving habits.

your opinion is well received, however the laglity of the subject imho, is not really the subject of discussion. but to answer your question;

personal use of drugs

gay marriage / sodomy

concealed carry of firearms

stem cell research

i could go on and on. just because something is legal or not does not mean its right, morally or otherwise. furthermore, the purpose of the topic i believe is to discuss/argue points surrounding the idea that traveling faster then the flow of traffic is safer or not. not if its legal or not, should be legal or not, or should be enforced or not.

[JiveMasterT]

i used to work for Skip Barber Racing School, and teach people how to drive under these conditions (and more), so im basing my opinions on slightly more then my daily driving habits.

your opinion is well received, however the laglity of the subject imho, is not really the subject of discussion. but to answer your question;

personal use of drugs

gay marriage / sodomy

concealed carry of firearms

stem cell research

i could go on and on. just because something is legal or not does not mean its right, morally or otherwise. furthermore, the purpose of the topic i believe is to discuss/argue points surrounding the idea that traveling faster then the flow of traffic is safer or not. not if its legal or not, should be legal or not, or should be enforced or not.

HAHAHA omg it just occured to me... you're Nose Nuggets from other forums as well. I had no idea you were a Neowinian.

[Nose Nuggets]

wrx fo life!

well... maybe not for life but untill i can afford a new bmw

:)

[darkz]

"faster, faster, till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death"

[WooSH]

you just brought back a 7-month old thread with a pointless comment. thanks.

[theyarecomingforyou]

That was the most pointless bump I've seen. Do people really have nothing better to do?

[Malophant]

That was the most pointless bump I've seen. Do people really have nothing better to do?

maybe google should stop caching the forums

[Lewism]

The OP crashed his car at 160 km/h yesterday.

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=618572

[darkz]

you just brought back a 7-month old thread with a pointless comment. thanks.

and so what. what do YOU have to do about it?

posting/reading in forums is quite pointless and time wasting itself

[Brandonlp89]

mmmm well statistics say over 75% of accidents happen in reverse, how fast can you go in reverse????

[SoCalledChaos]

The OP crashed his car at 160 km/h yesterday.

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=618572

That's what you get for being a punk ass.

[Colin-uk Veteran]

Please dont ressurect old threads.

Closed.