IAM lobbying

[TripleS]

Why this hang up about the NSL? Surely advanced driving isn't about how fast you can go but much more about staying safe and not being involved in others accidents.

Nigel

You must be a pal of that dth fellow.

Actually it's not a hang-up about the NSL. I am merely expressing my strong opposition to it. I do not believe it was right for it to be introduced in the first place, and I don't believe it has done us much good overall; not as much good as would have been achieved by other policies.

A far better policy would have been to put more effort into raising driving standards several decades ago, perhaps putting some added resources behind the (then newly formed) IAM.

Is there no antidote to this depressing greyness that is spreading over the motoring scene?

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[ExadiNigel]

Surely the place for excitement in driving is on the track? NOT on the public roads?

Nigel

[TripleS]

Surely the place for excitement in driving is on the track? NOT on the public roads?

Nigel

I quite agree. If I wanted excitement in my driving - which I don't - I would need to get involved in some form of closed circuit activity, but that doesn't interest me.

Apart from the slight difficulty with the NSL, I do not see what is wrong with what I do on public roads.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[TripleS]

My apologies to you all. Having seen what JC says about the start of the IAM, I think I have been oversimplifying the situation and misleading you.

Even so, the IAM started life about ten years before the NSL was introduced, and as such their members were quite free to use high speeds on public roads, as we all were. It was perfectly normal behaviour. Not everybody did it, partly because in those days cars with speed capability above about 90 mph were quite few in number.

Nevertheless there were some fast cars available at fairly modest cost - for example Jaguars with top speeds of 120+ mph - and most of their owners tended to use the performance quite freely, and the motoring community at large accepted this as normal.

Obviously they didn't see it this way, but I think the IAM failure to oppose the introduction of the NSL was a mistake. Those who point out that advanced driving is not about the use of high speed are quite right; and yet I continue to feel that the exclusion of high(ish) speeds from a driver's range of skills is devaluing the activity of driving as a whole.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[Big Err]

I can't see the IAM or RoSPA signing up to this one, this is the sort of rhetoric that tends to be spouted by the Association of British Drivers and that would be enough for me to have nothing to do with it!

Nigel

That's OK then.

You can cuddle up to Mary W at Huddersfield then. I think that's where BRAKE hang out. Bit of a disgrace actually, having a bunch like that in Yorkshire - but at least it's only West Yorkshire.

Come on Dave, no need for that. Just because someone says they don't like the way one organisation operates does it mean that they will 'cuddle up' with another....

[ExadiNigel]

Very true, though I can imagine BRAKE doing more for road safety than the ABD. To be fair, though, the ABD appear to be becoming less extreme than they were. They need to do so otherwise they will never gain any credibility!

Nigel

[TripleS]

I can't see the IAM or RoSPA signing up to this one, this is the sort of rhetoric that tends to be spouted by the Association of British Drivers and that would be enough for me to have nothing to do with it!

Nigel

That's OK then.

You can cuddle up to Mary W at Huddersfield then. I think that's where BRAKE hang out. Bit of a disgrace actually, having a bunch like that in Yorkshire - but at least it's only West Yorkshire.

Come on Dave, no need for that. Just because someone says they don't like the way one organisation operates doesn't mean that they will 'cuddle up' with another....

Aye well, maybe I'm getting increasingly frustrated at what I see to be less than inspiring attitudes. I'm still at a difficult age y'know.

So far as BRAKE are concerned though, I do think they're a negative asset to the cause of true road safety. All they seem to want are restrictions - of various types - rather than encouragement of more thinking, more skill, and generally better behaviour by road users.

If they get their way, rather than what I'm (perhaps vaguely) aiming for, our road travels - for whatever purpose - are going to be very slow and dull. I don't believe that is the only option.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[Big Err]

So far as BRAKE are concerned though, I do think they're a negative asset to the cause of true road safety. All they seem to want are restrictions - of various types - rather than encouragement of more thinking, more skill, and generally better behaviour by road users.

Like most organisations they only get airplay in the national media following an extreme/tragic event. In the case of Brake, they usually get quoted when some one is charged for driving at excessively high speeds or there is a multiple fatality where speed is considered a factor (right or wrong). So unfortunately for them the general perception is that they are an anti-speed campaign.

[TripleS]

So far as BRAKE are concerned though, I do think they're a negative asset to the cause of true road safety. All they seem to want are restrictions - of various types - rather than encouragement of more thinking, more skill, and generally better behaviour by road users.

Like most organisations they only get airplay in the national media following an extreme/tragic event. In the case of Brake, they usually get quoted when some one is charged for driving at excessively high speeds or there is a multiple fatality where speed is considered a factor (right or wrong). So unfortunately for them the general perception is that they are an anti-speed campaign.

I do accept that the reporting of serious incidents seems to prompt them to sound off, but I don't see them as primarily an anti-speed campaign.

They do make a lot of fuss about that, but they also seem intent on having a much wider range of constraints on drivers. At one point - probably as an extension of the mobile phone issue - they even floated the idea of drivers being forbidden from talking to passengers!

I say again: if BRAKE were to confine themselves to assisting the victims of road accidents, and leave others to seek sensible methods of reducing the number and severity of accidents, they would have my full support.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[nuster100]

BRAKE lost all credability in my eyes when they refused to say that the old woman doing 10mph down the motorway was dangerous.


When we train many car enthuiasts, we dont harp on about speed limits because 90% of the time, they wont be obeyed after they have passed the test.

Far more important imo is that a drivers observation and car controll skills are brought up to a level where they can predict most events and safety deal with them.


Jay

[Big Err]

BRAKE lost all credability in my eyes when they refused to say that the old woman doing 10mph down the motorway was dangerous.

Agreed. A few emails were sent their way regarding that one, but no replies were forthcoming....

[TripleS]

BRAKE lost all credability in my eyes when they refused to say that the old woman doing 10mph down the motorway was dangerous.

Agreed. A few emails were sent their way regarding that one, but no replies were forthcoming....

There you are then. Clearly they are not interested in other viewpoints.

They simply want to have their ideas imposed on the rest of us, with no discussion, let alone any attempt to accommodate the wishes of others and arrive at a fair solution overall. You can't work with people like that.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[ExadiNigel]

Well, you learn something new every day!

Nigel

[ExadiNigel]

....When we train many car enthuiasts, we dont harp on about speed limits because 90% of the time, they wont be obeyed after they have passed the test.

Far more important imo is that a drivers observation and car controll skills are brought up to a level where they can predict most events and safety deal with them.


Jay

Far more important than any of that is assessing &, perhaps, influencing the drivers attitude on the road.

Nigel

[vonhosen]

When we train many car enthuiasts, we dont harp on about speed limits because 90% of the time, they wont be obeyed after they have passed the test.

The decision to put themselves on offer is their own, what you shouldn't be doing is placing yourself in a position where they are able to say you were encouraging them to do so.