petes wrote:StressedDave wrote:petes wrote:I'd agree with that. The best way forward in such circumstances is to campaign for a reinstatement of the original limit. Ignoring it merely puts us at risk of getting rozzered, then we really are the victims!
Good luck with that... when I see the dark overlord with a pair of ice skates, I'll know someone has been successful. No politician is going to do something that might increase the risk of death.
I thought the general consensus of opinion on this forum (or at least this thread) was that reducing speed does not increase safety?
no - that is to oversimplify and is symptomatic of what is so wrong so often in this debate...
people seem to like soundbites as it makes them sound authorative / right... and because it poses as a statement where to disagree would be to suggest you wish to go round killing the innocent...
but it is based on a fundamental fallacy that situations are never that simple - so no, you absolutely can't generalise in such a way - equally you can't generalise the other way either - to deny this statement does not make the opposite true - yet another common 'technique' or fallacy in this type of debate... make a statement which is obiviously wrong and then imply that the opposite must be right - nope, both can be wrong because it is not that simple...
as I posted the other day
- the same car / lots of different drivers...
- same driver / lots of different cars...
- same driver and car / lots of different scenarios
etc...
there are many many more variables at play than just speed...
e.g. I am tired today - if I drive up my local road at 80mph in a sports car, then I might have an accident... tomorrow I am refreshed, the conditions are the same, I could drive up that road at 120mph and not have an accident...
anyone who thinks that the speed debate in this country is based on logic or science has been neatly fooled - it is very political.
of course, leaving the car in the garage means you won't have a car crash - but other than that the factors influencing an accident / safety are very complex.
as I posted above - I had a pedestrian run into my car 10 years ago - had I been going faster he would have missed me - my driving at 20+mph in a 50mph zone meant that safety was actually diminished...
and there will be plenty of examples in other directions or where speed played no relevant part...
bluntly speaking, to try and create sound bites like this is dangerous - because from them policy is set and we all live with the frustrations / issues that brings...
if people were a little bit more intelligent about this debate they would admit what they know - that speed alone is not the issue - driving ability as a catch-all is much more relevant - and appropriate speed plays a role in that...
when I took the HPC course, Andy Morrison who is a fantastic driver and coach commented that the advanced driver will both driver faster and slower than the average driver... nothing to do with breaking speed limits / legality
Simply put an advanced driver will drive faster for a setting as they are more capabable (still within safety / legality) but they will also very often drive much slower as they are much more aware than the average driver and will reduce speed to compensate for a range of factors - conditions / car / road / other users / etc. etc.
if you want a sound bite it is simple in appearance and yet complex to unpack:
- Appropriate speed increases safetyand to unpack it - simply do the advanced driving training...
Alasdair