Keeping to the speed limit

[sussex2]

As someone who wants to see decent cycling infrastructure in the UK (i.e. https://lichwheeld.files.wordpress.com/ ... arion1.jpg ), and regularly walks and uses a bicycle for transport, I'd like to butt in and say that speed limits in built up areas aren't just to prevent crashes (and reduce the severity of them), but also to increase the subjective safety (how safe it feels) for people on bicycles and on foot, which is the main reason why I pay special attention to them. If you are walking, motor traffic rushing past you at 40MPH is very unpleasant. They also reduce noise levels and pollution, which makes the area nicer to live and stay in. The point about noise (and vibrations from large vehicles) especially applies to rural villages which have A roads cutting through them.

If drivers drove according to conditions, there wouldn't be the need for some of the unreasonably low speed limits that are creeping in on many roads.

The purpose of the basic driving test is simply to ensure that the most dangerous don't get a licence. If you fail it is because your driving is potentially or actually dangerous.
That or slightly above that is where the mental attitude to driving stays for the vast majority of drivers.
Hence the speed limits and other restrictions.

[GJD]

Not much Martin, but i have noticed it. From your experience does this ring true with?

The MPG comment wasn't meant to sound like a moan, it was purely an observation.

Sounds plausible to me. When I started AD training, I found it led me to use lower gears, higher revs, more variation in speed and - perhaps not so applicable in built up areas - wider throttle openings than I had previously. Like Martin, I don't think it's a major effect (perhaps it can be offset somewhat by better anticipation) and anyway, I would prioritise control over fuel consumption.

The variation in speed kind of helps with tailgaters sometimes. You mentioned about slowing earlier so that hazards had cleared before you got to them and that's part of what 'good progress' means in busy, built up areas. I wonder whether you also find you are slowing more, to a lower speed. In my experience, having slowed early to, say, 15-20 for some hazard and so collected a tailgater, positive acceleration back up to 30 can often get rid of them again. I'm not talking a full throttle blast, just a decisive intent that if I want to be back up to 30 I'm going to get back up to 30 now, not later. Seems that many people don't actually press the accelerator pedal, they just sort of breathe on it and wait, so the tailgating problem, at least temporarily, goes away. Not with everybody, but certainly a fair few.

[sussex2]

Slower in fast out...it usually sorts the matter.

[04smallmj]

As someone who wants to see decent cycling infrastructure in the UK (i.e. https://lichwheeld.files.wordpress.com/ ... arion1.jpg ), and regularly walks and uses a bicycle for transport, I'd like to butt in and say that speed limits in built up areas aren't just to prevent crashes (and reduce the severity of them), but also to increase the subjective safety (how safe it feels) for people on bicycles and on foot, which is the main reason why I pay special attention to them. If you are walking, motor traffic rushing past you at 40MPH is very unpleasant. They also reduce noise levels and pollution, which makes the area nicer to live and stay in. The point about noise (and vibrations from large vehicles) especially applies to rural villages which have A roads cutting through them.

If drivers drove according to conditions, there wouldn't be the need for some of the unreasonably low speed limits that are creeping in on many roads.

I don't think that it's necessarily to do with driving to the conditions. 30 MPH may be very suitable on a lot of roads, but wouldn't feel safe if you are walking or cycling, especially if the traffic is heavy.

[Slink_Pink]

Just to throw in the pot, something a defensive driver trainer once said to me (before my AD) was that if you found yourself travelling with a tailgater you can gently drop speed by 2-3mph and they probably wont even notice. It took me a while to believe this as I tended to keep a very close eye on my speedometer but experience demonstrated it to be true for the most part. It can be helpful if you find yourself driving faster than you like or if you need to grow the space in front a little. You can repeat it a couple of times with a short time between reductions. It's not flawless and might cause some followers to get even closer, but if you hold your ground they will usually back off a little but it's generally better just to let those ones past anyway.

Edited to add: I also find it helpful to remember that "you, the driver" to quote the highway code are pretty much responsible for everything that relates to the control of your car - you've worked to keep your licence (clean or otherwise). Another quote, from Roadcraft, is that YOU should never sacrifice YOUR safety for someone else's progress.

P.S. When I say quote above, what I really mean is something-approximately-like-this-from-memory.

[candriver]

Edited to add: I also find it helpful to remember that "you, the driver" to quote the highway code are pretty much responsible for everything that relates to the control of your car - you've worked to keep your licence (clean or otherwise). Another quote, from Roadcraft, is that YOU should never sacrifice YOUR safety for someone else's progress.
.

Totally agree, your safety is the most important on the road, not the speed