JoeNobody Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 I drive through roadworks on the M4 (@ Bristol, eastbound) that used to have 3 cameras along the coned strech that was a 50 limit. The cameras were removed recently, but the lines are still on the road. Why then, do drivers feel the need to slam on the brakes when they see the lines despite the absence of the camera? Surely this could be considered to be driving without due care and attention - I mean, the cameras are big yellow things on poles, not exactly hard to miss. Is it so difficult to keep an eye on the traffic around you and the hard shoulder? (Yes, I know "if you stuck to the speed limit....." ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarMad Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Your taking it for granted that most drivers have brains and they don't drive like a zombie with their brains in neutral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeNobody Posted July 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Yes, I suppose so. That and the fact that many drivers seem incapable of looking to their left while driving (particularly when coming up alongside me when I'm indicating to pull out...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritesh Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Mate I know the feeling...Sometimes I think people buy their cars without indicators included. Is there some sort of optional extra to buy indicators as all the drivers I cam across this morning must have not opted for such an important bit of kit on their cars! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NunchukHamster Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Have you never visited Torquay? I swear there is a vehicle electrician down there somewhere making a fortune disconnecting the indicators! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Same on the M40 at Junction 9. Purely a scare tactic by the local SCP - proven by the fact that there were narrow lanes during the roadworks, so the markings did not align with the original, wider, lanes. So they have turned up to erase the misaligned markings for lanes 1 and 2 but have left the lane 3 markings in place. Result? Numpties in the outside lane hit the brakes without warning every morning . Must be safer - speeds are reduced . Thanks guys. Give yourselves a bonus, why don't you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ska Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 What about the markings for speed cameras on the M25 around the area of the T5 works etc. Why are they there? They seem to be just after the overhead signs. Are there any cameras that are hidden in those metal structures; if there are they don't work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5to1 Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 I guess its become an instinctive reaction for many now. If you see the lines do you brake first or first think about wether you actually saw a camera? Given how late you'll usually see the lines its probably not going to be the later if your at all unsure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeNobody Posted July 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Given how late you'll usually see the lines its probably not going to be the later if your at all unsure. [/ QUOTE ]Which sort of leads back to my question about driving without due care and attention. Surely if you're going to break the speed limit, you should be actively looking out for cameras. On motorways, unless they're on bridges or the backs of gantries, they're pretty difficult to miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5to1 Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Given how late you'll usually see the lines its probably not going to be the later if your at all unsure. [/ QUOTE ]Which sort of leads back to my question about driving without due care and attention. Surely if you're going to break the speed limit, you should be actively looking out for cameras. On motorways, unless they're on bridges or the backs of gantries, they're pretty difficult to miss. [/ QUOTE ] It depends. If your really going for it, then yes. But in day to day driving do you really know 100% of the time exactly what speed your doing? I think over an extended journey most people just follow the traffic flow. And then when they're faced with a potential camera/police car, they instinctively brake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterb Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 [ QUOTE ] But in day to day driving do you really know 100% of the time exactly what speed your doing? [/ QUOTE ] I can tell you my average speed over every ten second interval - by downloading the data from my RoadPilot (oh, and do an immediate lookup on mapit to tell you where I was)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeNobody Posted July 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 [ QUOTE ] But in day to day driving do you really know 100% of the time exactly what speed your doing? [/ QUOTE ] Not exactly but probably close enough. I use cruise control on the motorway as much as possible, so I can say pretty accurately when that's on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5to1 Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] But in day to day driving do you really know 100% of the time exactly what speed your doing? [/ QUOTE ] I can tell you my average speed over every ten second interval - by downloading the data from my RoadPilot (oh, and do an immediate lookup on mapit to tell you where I was)! [/ QUOTE ] I meant at the actual time, LOL. I.E. If you do 200 miles a week, would you know your exact mileage at any given second? I'm ready to admit I wouldn't. Although I'm generally more carefull in areas I don't know, so wouldn't need to brake suddenly. But if I spotted new camera markings in my local area, i'd definately brake to drop my speed by 5-10 mph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gren Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 [ QUOTE ] What about the markings for speed cameras on the M25 around the area of the T5 works etc. Why are they there? They seem to be just after the overhead signs. Are there any cameras that are hidden in those metal structures; if there are they don't work [/ QUOTE ] Great isn't it? 7 months after the roadworks finished they still haven't replaced the speed cameras in the gantries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcool Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 [ QUOTE ] I use cruise control on the motorway as much as possible, so I can say pretty accurately when that's on [/ QUOTE ] Unless you have active/radar cruise control, I find it pretty much useless on the motorways in Britain. Too much traffic and you always find someone doing 1mph slower than you or have to keep adjusting the speed as traffic flow varies. Its great at night with zero or little traffic or for cross continental trips, but I can't be doing with having to pause the cruise and resume every 15 seconds on an average motorway in the UK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 I completely disagree. I use cruise all the time (in the UK) and it helps to curb my speed and save fuel. I drive throughout the day, all day, every day, and I don't often have to reset it so long as it's not set at an excessive speed in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5to1 Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] I use cruise control on the motorway as much as possible, so I can say pretty accurately when that's on [/ QUOTE ] Unless you have active/radar cruise control, I find it pretty much useless on the motorways in Britain. Too much traffic and you always find someone doing 1mph slower than you or have to keep adjusting the speed as traffic flow varies. Its great at night with zero or little traffic or for cross continental trips, but I can't be doing with having to pause the cruise and resume every 15 seconds on an average motorway in the UK! [/ QUOTE ] I find it more trouble then its worth aswell. Only time I use it is at night, or rare occaisions when the motorway is quiet. A40/M40, M25, M4 are the Motorways I usually use, and given the amount of times you have to adjust your speed CC is useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcool Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 [ QUOTE ] I completely disagree. I use cruise all the time (in the UK) and it helps to curb my speed and save fuel. I drive throughout the day, all day, every day, and I don't often have to reset it so long as it's not set at an excessive speed in the first place. [/ QUOTE ] I use self control to curb my speed Cruise control usually uses more fuel than driving at the same speed without cruise. Its down to the cruise not being able to anticipate the road ahead, therefore it'll back off downhill and then use more power to get you up hills rather than building a bit more speed up first (using no extra fuel) and being able to power up a hill more economically by keeping your foot in the same place. I find generally it's about 2-3mpg less economical to use cruise on our cars (both petrol & diesel). I just find that setting it to 70mph I will always find someone doing 69.5mph ahead of me or someone will overtake at 75mph, pull in front and then slow down to <70mph without realising, causing me to either slow down or overtake and face reoccourance of situation over and over again. When traffic is light, cruise is invaluable. I often drive 600-700 plus miles in one sitting (Calais-Montpellier) without getting out of the car (good old diesel tank ranges!) and thanks to cruise and the S60's wonderful seats, don't feel all that bad at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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