[Dan]

You should be able to quick scan the dash, thats why the needle is red, so you have a good idea where it sits on the gauge. If people cannot cope with multiple inputs of information then they shouldnt be allowed on the road.

Indeed, which is why the way the question is worded, nobody is going to vote for the speedo. That would just be stupid!

It is more important not to kill someone, but is equally important to obey the law.

This post has been edited by Dan: 22 March 2007 - 12:14 PM

[spenspuma]

Funnily enough this has been an argument of mine for a while.

This government have made us so aware of our speed what with the ever mounting numbers of GATSOs and Mobile Tax revenue collectors-sorry i meant Speed Vans that people are spending more time concentrating on their speedos than whats ahead of them.

So...are the speed cameras saving lives or are then in effect 'causing' more incidents??...interesting.

I can lay claim to the fact this very same thing has happened to me....till recently i had 9 points on my licence for piddly little speeds (37,37 & 38) and obviously i was worried sick about losing my licence IF i was caught again, so i was constantly looking at my speedo whilst driving....So much so that one day i saw a speed camera approaching so i double checked my speed- at the very same time that a pedestrian had hit the button at the crossing placed just prior to the Gatso - i saw the red light at the last minute but i couldnt stop in time and ended up running the red light....and you guessed it, a Police car was waiting to pull out at the junction to the left and saw it all !!!....he duly pulled me over, but luckily my begging obviously pulled on his heart strings and he let me off.

So IS this obsession with raking money into the govt by tax cameras REALLY making our roads safer????...im not so sure.

More worrying in my case wasnt the fact i could have lost my licence for trying to actually make sure my speed was low...But the fact that i could have killed a pedestrian because of it.

Interested topic Sez

This post has been edited by spenspuma: 22 March 2007 - 12:14 PM

[spenspuma]

You should be able to quick scan the dash, thats why the needle is red, so you have a good idea where it sits on the gauge. If people cannot cope with multiple inputs of information then they shouldnt be allowed on the road.

I agree with you Matt....But when youve got 9 points on your licence and you are fully aware that being off guard just ONCE could cost you your licence...your Job...Your House and all that goes with it, then you become paranoid and with me i'll admit i was spending too much time making sure i was driving bang on 30mph that it became habit to constantly take regular glances at the speedo- and these are all vital seconds where im not looking at the road ahead and could well be that half a second where a young child runs out in front of someone - ie ME !!.

Luckily enough ive relaxed a bit now....but the problem is there and im sure others with 9 points are in the same situation.

This post has been edited by spenspuma: 22 March 2007 - 12:22 PM

[Stacey]

Have to agree with Matt on this one (shock, horror!) that you should really be able to quickly glance at your speedo and see what speed you are doing.
If you have been driving long enough I think you can 'feel' what speed you are doing anyway.

[Dan]

Funnily enough this has been an argument of mine for a while.

This government have made us so aware of our speed what with the ever mounting numbers of GATSOs and Mobile Tax revenue collectors-sorry i meant Speed Vans that people are spending more time concentrating on their speedos than whats ahead of them.

So...are the speed cameras saving lives or are then in effect 'causing' more incidents??...interesting.

I can lay claim to the fact this very same thing has happened to me....till recently i had 9 points on my licence for piddly little speeds (37,37 & 38) and obviously i was worried sick about losing my licence IF i was caught again, so i was constantly looking at my speedo whilst driving....So much so that one day i saw a speed camera approaching so i double checked my speed- at the very same time that a pedestrian had hit the button at the crossing placed just prior to the Gatso - i saw the red light at the last minute but i couldnt stop in time and ended up running the red light....and you guessed it, a Police car was waiting to pull out at the junction to the left and saw it all !!!....he duly pulled me over, but luckily my begging obviously pulled on his heart strings and he let me off.

So IS this obsession with raking money into the govt by tax cameras REALLY making our roads safer????...im not so sure.

More worrying in my case wasnt the fact i could have lost my licence for trying to actually make sure my speed was low...But the fact that i could have killed a pedestrian because of it.

Interested topic Sez

So if there was no GATSO and you had paid less attention to the ABSOLUTE accuracy of your speed, you would have been more aware of the red light and stopped... or would you have been going faster and got through before the pedestrian hit the button

I do agree though, the fear of getting points on licence (for insurance premium hikes if nothing else) means that concentrating on absolute speed when travelling past GATSOs means you can end up 'driving without due care and attention'. What's more important?

Another point is the people who don't anticipate GATSOs (or do and don't care about anyone else on the road) and overtake etc and then jam on the brakes!

[cj_fab]

i check my speedo every so often. i did scare myself the other day was i glaced down a lil to long and then when i looked up all the traffic was braking

This post has been edited by cj_fab: 22 March 2007 - 12:26 PM

[spenspuma]

Have to agree with Matt on this one (shock, horror!) that you should really be able to quickly glance at your speedo and see what speed you are doing.
If you have been driving long enough I think you can 'feel' what speed you are doing anyway.

Its easy to say that...but it all changes when your just 3 points from losing your whole livelyhood.

What i found myself doing was noticing the Gatso and then glancing at my speedo to see i was doing something like 33 mph and then i kept looking at it until i had slowed down to 30mph so i KNEW i couldnt get caught.....its only fractions of a second we are talking here, but thats all it takes for an accident to happen.

[spenspuma]

So you'd condone using a mobile in a car, and perhaps a sat nav barking instructions at the same time.....?

I agree...and on a similar issue and one that annoys the hell out of me-

Its illegal to use a mobile phone while driving, but its not illegal to drive while having a burning stick in your hand (ie SMOKING!!)

[spenspuma]

Looks like someone is....

Oh..and that wasnt me!!!...i havent voted yet
(I know what you lot were thinking!! )

[Stacey]

So you'd condone using a mobile in a car, and perhaps a sat nav barking instructions at the same time.....?

If it distracted the person enough to cause them to crash etc, then yeah I would too..

A woman in my work was saying how she has two kids and everytime they are in the car with her she nearly crashes because they scream blue murder in the back...

[Dan]

OK OK I realised the error prior to posting but thought it may be overlooked. How silly of me

replace 'equally' with 'also'

[scumski]

I broke the rules and answered a mobile.I was expecting a call from the garage to say my Puma was available for pick up.That cost me £60.00 and 3 points.47 in a 40 zone....................I no longer have the phone on in the car.

I like to think I am safe but we are all fallible.

Wonder if heads up displays on windscreens make any difference.