27 replies to this topic

[IainStallard]

I never break the speed limit, however getting to the speed limit is always done in a brisk manner ;)

[silve1999]

i'm with you on that one iain lol

[Cooperman]

To put some clarity here, if you receive 6 points in the first two years from the date of passing the test, your licence is rescinded and you have to start all over again with a Provisional licence. Then the insurance will be prohibitive as with, typically, 2 speeding convictions there will be a loading to reflect the risk.

 

Secondly, traffic light cameras don't normally respond to speed, just the offence of crossing the white line on 'red'.

 

If a new driver finds it hard to drive within the speed limit due to distractions, maybe more driver training is needed. At 18 years old with only a maximum of one years experience a driver is still learning and is not an experienced driver yet. If additional training is available, then take it.

 

Speed camera tolerance is normally, under ACPO guidelines, speed limit +10% +1 mph. Above this a CoFP is normally sent or a Speed Awareness Course (SAC) offered. So, in a 30 limit, prosecution will not be considered below 35 mph, but at 35 mph you will be either prosecuted (or have a CoFP) or have a SAC. In a Mini, 34 mph is most likely to be an indicated 36 or 37 mph, such is the inaccuracy.

[MiniGrin]

Thanks CooperMan :) by the sounds of it then i may just about get away with the traffic light ones as it was showing roughly 35, :) and I know my dial tends to be a little higher than it should be, plus the leeway.

Not good about loosing your licence tho at 6 points, I can see why this is done tho I am generally quite well behaved with regards to the speeds, just from various things, this last week has been a bit of an exception :/

Hopefully the post man will be nice and not give me any DVLA marked letters, either way I now feel like driving alot more like a pensioner XD

Thanks for the replies guys :) felling a little less panicky!

[silve1999]

letters will be from the court ;)

[Moggyton]

Do you mean the black ones on top of traffic lights?

[Cooperman]

Thanks CooperMan :) by the sounds of it then i may just about get away with the traffic light ones as it was showing roughly 35, :) and I know my dial tends to be a little higher than it should be, plus the leeway.

Not good about loosing your licence tho at 6 points, I can see why this is done tho I am generally quite well behaved with regards to the speeds, just from various things, this last week has been a bit of an exception :/

Hopefully the post man will be nice and not give me any DVLA marked letters, either way I now feel like driving alot more like a pensioner XD

Thanks for the replies guys :) felling a little less panicky!

If you were indicating 35 you were probably doing about 32 to 33, so no problem at all.

Don't worry about it.

It is definitely worth considering some advanced training though if the opportunity arises. IMHO the reason young drivers tend to have more accidents than older drivers is because the basic driving test is so simple and the ability to drive in many different conditions is never taught. You can pass a driving test without ever driving at night on country roads and motorways are not allowed until the test has been passed. Would you fly at night in an aeroplane with a pilot who had only flown in daylight? Of course not and night flying requires a specific qualification and night flying test. Why not apply that to driving?

[Moggyton]

Thanks CooperMan :) by the sounds of it then i may just about get away with the traffic light ones as it was showing roughly 35, :) and I know my dial tends to be a little higher than it should be, plus the leeway.
Not good about loosing your licence tho at 6 points, I can see why this is done tho I am generally quite well behaved with regards to the speeds, just from various things, this last week has been a bit of an exception :/
Hopefully the post man will be nice and not give me any DVLA marked letters, either way I now feel like driving alot more like a pensioner XD
Thanks for the replies guys :) felling a little less panicky!

If you were indicating 35 you were probably doing about 32 to 33, so no problem at all.
Don't worry about it.
It is definitely worth considering some advanced training though if the opportunity arises. IMHO the reason young drivers tend to have more accidents than older drivers is because the basic driving test is so simple and the ability to drive in many different conditions is never taught. You can pass a driving test without ever driving at night on country roads and motorways are not allowed until the test has been passed. Would you fly at night in an aeroplane with a pilot who had only flown in daylight? Of course not and night flying requires a specific qualification and night flying test. Why not apply that to driving?

This is a good point although i think they have to teach country lane driving now

[IainStallard]

Thanks CooperMan :) by the sounds of it then i may just about get away with the traffic light ones as it was showing roughly 35, :) and I know my dial tends to be a little higher than it should be, plus the leeway.
Not good about loosing your licence tho at 6 points, I can see why this is done tho I am generally quite well behaved with regards to the speeds, just from various things, this last week has been a bit of an exception :/
Hopefully the post man will be nice and not give me any DVLA marked letters, either way I now feel like driving alot more like a pensioner XD
Thanks for the replies guys :) felling a little less panicky!

If you were indicating 35 you were probably doing about 32 to 33, so no problem at all.
Don't worry about it.
It is definitely worth considering some advanced training though if the opportunity arises. IMHO the reason young drivers tend to have more accidents than older drivers is because the basic driving test is so simple and the ability to drive in many different conditions is never taught. You can pass a driving test without ever driving at night on country roads and motorways are not allowed until the test has been passed. Would you fly at night in an aeroplane with a pilot who had only flown in daylight? Of course not and night flying requires a specific qualification and night flying test. Why not apply that to driving?

This is a good point although i think they have to teach country lane driving now

Lucky for me I learnt around the Surrey hills and the centre of Guildford so I did that anyway!
I personally think that after some people pass their driving test, they become much worse drivers simply because they can drive now, so tend to pay less attention because there is no pressure on them to pass :/

[Carlos W]

Someone once told me, you learn to drive once you pass your test!

At the time I was 18 and knew EVERYTHING now I'm 31 I have forgotten loads of stuff and no longer know everything, but I do kind of agree with the statement!

Driving standards on the whole are very poor! There were several single vehicle crashes last weekend in Kent where cars were hitting the central reservation in the rain! I drove up the M2 doing no more than 50 wipers on full in the Mazda and I was being passed by people who just hadn't slowed down for the wall of water, there was no way they were driving to the conditions!

I was involved in a crash a couple of years ago where people driving too closely and slowing down for a spewed camera caused a 5 car crash! I was in the middle and stopped, but the woman behind me didn't and pushed me into the van in front which was already destroyed from hitting the car in front of it

[Cooperman]

I get really cross when I read about the idea of not allowing young drivers under 25 to drive in the dark or with passengers.

It's a good job we didn't prevent young pilots from flying at night with their crews in WW2. There were 18-year old Spitfire pilots flying operationally and there were Lancaster captains at 19 years old flying with a crew of 7. However, they were well-trained.

What we need is better driver training and a much tougher driving test.

[skinnyminny]

I second the need for a better driving test - turned 17 in May, passed test in August, wrote off a car come December because I'd never been taught how to correct a skid/never driven in bad conditions with an instructor. I think a skid pan training hour should be compulsory. Saw a few crashes last night coming up the M25 in the rain where people locked up/aquaplaned on all the standing water. Almost all small hatchbacks, almost all young drivers (that I could see bearing in mind it was half eleven and I was concentrating on the road!). Didn't surprise me at all. I was doing maybe 45mph tops and people were screaming past at 70 despite the conditions.

[Cooperman]

When my Grandson was 16 and had restored a 998 Mayfair, I took him onto a skid pan and he had over an hour tuition. He said it was the most he had learned in the shortest time ever. After the hour he was able to keep control whilst steering with the handbrake and with full power on in 2nd, using the steering wheel just to balance the slide keep the car turning accurately around the cones in the centre. He drove with huge power-on under-steer, moderating it with throttle and learned how ineffective the brakes are on a slippery surface. 

I've also done some more advanced training with him on both A-roads and twisty secondary roads. Now he is almost 19 and I trust him with my BMW 730D and my rally Cooper 'S'. He analyses his driving and understands the dynamics of driving, not just the actions needed to make a car move along a road. His own car now is a 2007 Mondeo Diesel Auto, plus his 1997 Cooper MPI. IMHO he is a safe and able driver in most conditions although he has not had much experience in fog, so when next it is really foggy we'll go out and do some more training.