Speed Awareness Course

[Tom K]

Tom

This is going nowhere. I'm not accusing you of ever speeding but there are a great many people who say they haven't any points for any offence, it usually means they've never been caught. Neither does it mean they're speed merchants as sometimes it's a lack of concentration, distraction like kids in the car, radio, smoking (which should be banned while driving) or countless other reasons.

You don't know the stretch of road involved, the 30mph signs are outside the village as often is the case for obvious reasons, there are no houses or footpaths there and in all the years of driving through it I've never seen anyone even close to it, there's no reason for them to be there. That said I was over the speed limit and as I've stated numerous times I fully accept that and never tried to excuse it, however to say "whilst you hurtled through like a ballistic missile" is a ridiculous comment so I'll repeat. I was clocked at 34mph, in line with the 30mph sign and was under 30 within a very few yards. Hardly ballistic missile speed.

BTW. We were in Kent in June with the motorhome and our little runabout car so covered a fair number of miles (within the speed limits ) and I fully understand why it's sensible to drive at very low speeds. Your roads are probably the worst I've driven on in the UK with regard to potholes and collapsing verges, even the buses and lorries were steering as if they were on a slalom course. You have my sympathy

Thanks for the sympathy vote hopefully you have learned the error of your ways just as Mr Barnard obviously has and will slow down. Luckily for us Mr Khan has introduced more 20mph zones for our safety the Sth Circular is a particularly brilliant idea as is the 40mph limit on the A20 until you meet the Kent border then all hell breaks loose.

 

[John Brown]

but who cares, this is a woodworking forum allegedly and this is going nowhere fast so I won't waste any more time on it

And yet...

 

[Scruples]

No they will fail for driving too slowly and therefore not making good progress. You will not pass a motorcycle test if you ride at 40mph in a national unless there are horses or a tractor etc

And there, we must disagree.

 

[Tom K]

And there, we must disagree.

No disagreement that is the actual state of play you would never achieve a pass if you fail to ride to speed ergo you cannot chose to travel at a more sedate pace.

 

[Keith Cocker]

The rules are, after all, for the guidance of angels and the obedience of fools.

It’s not a rule. It’s the law and not for guidance. The fools are the ones who think they are angels.

 

[Scruples]

No disagreement that is the actual state of play you would never achieve a pass if you fail to ride to speed ergo you cannot chose to travel at a more sedate pace.

Again, I reiterate, The learner driver will more than likely be failed by the examiner if the actions of the driver, including driving speeds, indicate a lack of confidence or experience. Driving slowly throughout a test would indeed indicate the lack of training and confidence.

 

[Scruples]

It’s not a rule. It’s the law and not for guidance. The fools are the ones who think they are angels.

Well, speaking from 52 years experience, I would say that my philosophy works for me. The fools are the ones who don't think, right?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

It’s not a rule. It’s the law and not for guidance. The fools are the ones who think they are angels.

That's the problem with the Highway Code - much of it is advisory. I've long thought it should be only what is actually law.

 

[paulrbarnard]

That's the problem with the Highway Code - much of it is advisory. I've long thought it should be only what is actually law.

Yes too much left to peoples ‘common sense’. Sense is not something I’ve ever considered a common attribute where people are involved.

 

[Tom K]

Again, I reiterate, The learner driver will more than likely be failed by the examiner if the actions of the driver, including driving speeds, indicate a lack of confidence or experience. Driving slowly throughout a test would indeed indicate the lack of training and confidence.

No you will be failed for not riding essentially at the limit there is no discretion you don’t get to chose a speed you are comfortable with it not lack of confidence and it doesn’t have to be throughout the test

 

[John Brown]

No you will be failed for not riding essentially at the limit there is no discretion you don’t get to chose a speed you are comfortable with it not lack of confidence and it doesn’t have to be throughout the test

I'm confused. You two seem to be arguing while agreeing.

 

[Tom K]

I'm confused. You two seem to be arguing while agreeing.

Like many things it’s a nuance he says you will be failed as a lack of confidence is displayed and I say it is purely speed related you can’t choose to drive more sedately because it’s your preferred style or you feel it’s more sensible if it’s a national you must travel at 60mph give or take 2mph there is no choice or you would be failed!

 

[alf48]

I understand this is a very real issue; I recall reading an article discussing the testing of self-driving systems in the face of aggressive/bullying motorists and the results were not good - in the sense that it would cause a lot of issues on the road with the self-driving cars trying to take avoiding action.

Do we really need Ai on the roads, it may be useful in industry, but not driverless cars

 

[sploo]

Do we really need Ai on the roads, it may be useful in industry, but not driverless cars

I would trust an AI system written by a drunk 12 year old vs a lot of the drivers I encounter on the roads

 

[Jester129]

Sploo, you ought to come to Leicester! What with the one-way system and moron drivers, it's great fun indeed!!

 

[John on the Wirral]

My son was driving my Kia Niro PHEV on the M6 recently and I was a passenger. He was demonstrating how autonomous the car was and it was - possible to drive no hands,no feet. The car,of course told him to get his hands on the steering wheel as it is not legal but it was impressive until a lunatic was weaving throughout the lanes at 80mph as they do and our car took evasive action, This was a dangerous situation proving,to me,that autonomous cars can only work if EVERY car is autonomous. We need magnetic lanes that ensure cars are safe from idiots. In our local media those keeping to the legally established(ie red band on the signs) 20mph are referred to as the idiots and lots of horn blowin/aggressive actions! Quite alarming that there are so many road rage drivers on the road - a big mental issue!

 

[paulrbarnard]

My son was driving my Kia Niro PHEV on the M6 recently and I was a passenger. He was demonstrating how autonomous the car was and it was - possible to drive no hands,no feet. The car,of course told him to get his hands on the steering wheel as it is not legal but it was impressive until a lunatic was weaving throughout the lanes at 80mph as they do and our car took evasive action, This was a dangerous situation proving,to me,that autonomous cars can only work if EVERY car is autonomous. We need magnetic lanes that ensure cars are safe from idiots. In our local media those keeping to the legally established(ie red band on the signs) 20mph are referred to as the idiots and lots of horn blowin/aggressive actions! Quite alarming that there are so many road rage drivers on the road - a big mental issue!

Your car is only at the very bottom end of autonomy. It is considered a L2 system that provides driver assistance. It is not designed to deal with the situation you describe, hence it telling your son to hold the steering wheel. L3 systems (hands off, eyes off), like those from Mercedes (2024 EQS and some S-Class for USA) and BMW (2024 7 series for EU) have recently been approved for use on limited access highways. These can and do deal with the situations you described. These systems are many orders of magnitude more complex and expensive.
Too many people conflate driver assistance features with autonomous driving. Driver assistance features do not deal with all the wild and wacky situations that occur on roads when human drivers are in the mix.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

You'll never get morons off the roads. For years I often followed a Morris Minor for several miles - if I got behind him early in the ten mile trip it doubled the time it took to complete. He drove at most just under thirty mph on the open road until nearing the end of the journey there was a 30mph limit, where every single time he sped up to forty.

 

[sploo]

You'll never get morons off the roads. For years I often followed a Morris Minor for several miles - if I got behind him early in the ten mile trip it doubled the time it took to complete. He drove at most just under thirty mph on the open road until nearing the end of the journey there was a 30mph limit, where every single time he sped up to forty.

Round here they do about 37mph... everywhere. 60mph limits, 30mph limits etc.

I refer to them as 40-mph-f'wits.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

That AI will enable autonomous vehicles is IMHO inevitable. The only two questions are when flesh and blood:

• become cargo with no input to the process save identifying the destination
• cannot drive, being statistically more dangerous and less efficient than than AI driven vehicles

My guess - first bullet 3-10 years, second bullet 15-20 years.