talkmagic.co.uk

Trickyfied wrote:I am NOT complaining about the cameras, I am complaining about being sent on a course!

I am seriously considering if I should be apart of this forum, as much as I love it and have met some great people it is such hard work.

It is precisely because you were in the 'zone ' (i.e. 6 MPH over the limit) that you are sent on a course. You will not receive points on the licence, and you will learn some sobering stats.

As for fuel economy, cars are now geared in such a way that if you do 30 in third, you save petrol and keep to speed...you can add up to 50 miles more per tank...not bad, eh?

calm down Tricky, I don't think anyone was having a go directly at you. I think a course is a great idea. Fines and points are ok but they don't make people aware of what can happen if they speed.

Well said, Loms.

The speed awareness course is to teach you a lesson. Your 'drift to 36 mph for a moment' would be seen under any judgement that you are admitting loss of control. Not my terminology, yours!

Think yourself lucky that when you 'drifted' you also didn't hit someone or something.

There's far worse punishments than a speed awareness course... such as prison. Be thankful they didn't give you points, is all I say!

fair comments all around and in keeping with talkmagic tradition i think i can safely say our member don't condone speading.
and on topic I'm sure we don't condone classic palming coin's wilst driving as that could be distracting and definatly not doing the pass with cards.

DrTodd wrote:

Trickyfied wrote:As for fuel economy, cars are now geared in such a way that if you do 30 in third, you save petrol and keep to speed...you can add up to 50 miles more per tank...not bad, eh?

how recent? I have a 51 reg, is that too old? Or is it best to carry on doing 30 in fourth?

seige wrote:I abide by the speed limit, as I said, I respect the rules are there for a reason.

Third: Yes, if being self-righteous means being proud to observe rules and not bitch about punishments when rules are broken, then I'm guilty as charged.

Fourth: I didn't condone driving over the limit. I even will admit that although I try to abide, I'll admit that yes, sometimes I do look down and realise I'm over the limit.

Ok bit contradictory?

I looked down and realised I was over the limit by 6mph on a clear road with NO parked cars or other hazards and got sent on a course which I did today and it was utter nonesense, they should be using the resources to educate the children NOT to step out in front of moving vehicles. Bring back Tufty or the green cross code man! This type of course should be for the boy racers doing 45 in a 30.

Suggesting you will pass my original post to the family of a child who had been run over is out of order. Being so offensive to me but so polite and agreeable with Bycicle808 is unfair, what is your problem?

You don't have to do the speed awareness course - as someone who attended on of these earlier in the year, I recall that I had the choice of accepting the three points on my licence.

I found it to be a worthwhile session and one woman in the class admitted that she did a 200 mile journey and was snapped by six different speed cameras and her course was compulsory along with six points on her licence or it was a ban.

you may (I hope) have a different outlook once you've been along.

Good lord, Tricky... you still don't get it, do you?

I am not having a pop about your bloomin speeding... I was commenting that I couldn't understand you being so upset about a speed awareness course!

Like I said, if you WERE NOT AWARE that you were speeding, perhaps seeing the DANGERS of SPEEDING and BEING MADE AWARE of them in a SPEED AWARENESS COURSE may help you.

I abide by the laws, but agree (and if you read my posts, this is quite clear) that it's difficult sometimes to always be within the limit—for instance, the transition from a 40 to a 30 etc. I never SAID I don't go over the speed limit—but I did say I abide by the law and try to keep to them.

dat8962 wrote:you may (I hope) have a different outlook once you've been along.

is the long and short of it.

My comments to you were made because I felt—as I still do—that you've missed the point as to WHY you've been given the punishment.

It would seem you are still missing the point, even though myself and others have tried pointing it out to you with graphic vividness.

Trickyfied wrote:Suggesting you will pass my original post to the family of a child who had been run over is out of order. Being so offensive to me but so polite and agreeable with Bycicle808 is unfair, what is your problem?

Suggesting I pass your comments on was deadly serious. The family involved has since been at the forefront of several 'keep an eye on your speed' campaigns, and they are GRATEFUL for courses such as the one you are going to attend—as it is actually awareness which saved their child's life. In their eyes, your punishment is a good thing.

And no, I wasn't offensive, and neither did I favour Bicycle808. Mainly because he was aware of his offences and would see it fit to pay the price.

It was never your physical act of speeding which bothered me... it was your obvious blindness as to why the punishment you were given was befitting. And the mind still boggles...

tricky - you are obviously still quite angry over it all, maybe you even feel, deep down, angry at yourself for speeding...

calm down, do your course, you got caught..simple fact of life...i suppose the question you could consider having a cuddle with is this "if someone had knocked down someone dear to you, and then said - hey, i was only 6mph over the limit..." I'm sure you'd feel inclined to, pardon the pun, throttle them...

take it as aversion therapy eh...

Tricky (I think) mentioned earlier that kids should be given more road safety training. This is true. When I was at school, not too long ago, I had the whole 'look right then left then right again' thing bashed so firmly into my head that I do it now from pure reflex whenever I cross a road. Sounds harsh, but you generally have to be in the road to be hit.

bronz wrote:Tricky (I think) mentioned earlier that kids should be given more road safety training. This is true. When I was at school, not too long ago, I had the whole 'look right then left then right again' thing bashed so firmly into my head that I do it now from pure reflex whenever I cross a road. Sounds harsh, but you generally have to be in the road to be hit.

And by exntension, adults need training to realise the consequences of their speed, which is the whole impulse behind the awarenes training. It is a first offer, if you get caught again, you lose points. Now, generally in society, children are assumed to be lesser developed and therefore do not have the same rights as adults (take the vote for an example), so it does seem strange to shift the blame to the more innocent party, when the fault on this occasion lies with the driver who was caught. Both groups of people need training.

[rant] I wish more emphasis were placed on dickhead driving as well as speed these days. These speed camera things only seem bothered about how fast you're going and the stupid things ignore anyone who drives aggressively or dangerously. When I were a lad we had REAL policemen in REAL police cars and you'd be pulled up for tailgating or overtaking on a blind corner or just generally behaving like a dickhead. And as for the tossers who drive with their fog lights on when it's NOT FRIGGIN FOGGY... AAARRRGGGHHH [/rant]

Similarly, Yorkie, my own rant is that people currently drive with disregard... be it for other motorists, pedestrians, the countryside, etc.

When driving a vehicle, you are to some extent piloting a bullet... riding the back of a dangerous weapon. When bombing down a b-road at 60 miles per-hour, in the wet, over leaves and mud, does it not occur to these idiots that someone may be jogging? Or walking a dog?

Being brought up in the gorgeous sprawling countryside, I personally learned to respect the road a lot more than I fear that town-bred folk do. Mainly because country roads and capilliaries are far more dangerous and require far more caution than motorways, dual carriageways and A roads.

Learning that an oncoming blind bend might be hiding a herd of cattle, or a walker, or a tractor with prongs afrong it was the best speed awareness course anyone can take. You have to pretty quickly learn the limits of your cars' handling, braking and stopping—in a myriad of weather conditions.

My journey to work goes past a golf club, which is about 3 miles into sub-B-roads, by that, I mean the roads are wide enough for one vehicle—wheels either side touching the two verges.
And yet still I see almost daily drivers from all age groups driving down these roads as if they were on dual carriageways. Which explains—possibly—why the road is generally littered with fragmented orange, red and clear glass, and the occasional plastic trim part.

I am sure people are realising how strongly I feel about this... as I see first-hand every day typical examples of how people are abusing their right to use the roads.

And most of the time, speed is the issue, seeing people bomb through our quiet little village at 60mph really narks me, and I wish I had a police Stinger sometimes. It's not just young folk either, it's people of all ages who drive way above the speed.

And, can I just get one thing straight... it's not the blatant disregard for signposted speed limits that bugs me, it is the lack of common sense and lack of respect on behalf of the driver for their vehicle which really annoys me... do these idiots realise that doing 60 through a small village is more dangerous than doing a controllable 30mph? Do they realise their braking distance isn't totally affected by the fact they have ABS—the same ABS they brag about down the pub as being 'a feature of my car'? And do they really think that because they have new tyres or 'boy racer' low-profiles that they can stop better in the wet?

The preconceptions (which are misconceptions) by the modern motorist are astounding... and modern cars with their powerful, but silent engines, and 'traction control', 'anti-lock-brakes' and 'sports handling' are only partly to blame. Drivers should be made aware not only of the positive safety BENEFITS of their car (such as the above, ABS, Airbags), but by taking a speed awareness course, they will also learn of the less talked about SHORTCOMINGS of their vehicle.

Guns don't kill people, people do. And the bull$4it excuse that 'it went off in my hand' is just proof that people should learn to handle the gun properly.

Remember I said that driving is like piloting a bullet?

I'm a cyclist and I hate all motorists.

So there.

pcwells wrote:I'm a cyclist and I hate all motorists.

So there.

Tough one... I am a motorist, a cyclist and a walker/jogger

Therefore, when I am a motorist, I don't like cyclists and joggers...

When I am a cyclist, I don't like motorists

When I am a jogger, I don't like cyclists or motorists

Vicious circle!