Speeders on our highways.

[Dizzy1]

Just a quick point. I have been driving for almost 36 years and have been known to speed on occasion. I have not been in an accident since I was 16 and consider myself a skilled and attentive driver. My brother on the other hand is a dangerous driver. He is not a speeder but has had over 10 accidents in the last 20 years and 3 of them fairly serious.
My point being speed is not as big an issue as driver skill, alcohol and distracted driving.

People just simply don't realize how important it is to stay focused and relaxed while driving. Its become too much of a mindless routine. People don't realize how much damage can be caused by a vehicle, to themselves and others.

And I agree, there are folks out there who regularly drive above the speed limit on the highway but are better and safer drivers because they are focused and relaxed, they are less dangerous then those who drive less then the speed limit and don't pay attention to what they are doing or have a grip of death on their steering wheel.

Mindset behind the wheel is also equally important, too many drivers who have the "me, me, me" attitude. "This is my space and how dare anyone take it away from me" so they will block intersections, speed up or slow down to make sure nobody gets in front of them and of course, the old classic "Everyone driving faster than me is a maniac and everyone driving slower than me is an *bleep*".

By all means defend your space, but that doesn't equate to leaving courtesy and common sense on the other side of your bubble.

[Captain Awesome]

There are other ways to keep people from speeding:

[Steve-O]

two words: photo radar. Seems like a cash grab but it works. Back in Calgary, speeding up and down the Deerfoot is an issue but drivers are looking ahead to ensure there isn't a vehicle parked on the side of the road that may be a photo car. Any car on the side of the road drops the speeders back to the limit in an instance. Yea, they are still speeding but they are focused on what is going on in front of them and able to react.


Thanks for the video Captain Awesome. Very informative.

[dodgerdodge]

There was a story on Castanet but it seems to have vanished now, anyhow it seems to be on Kelowna Now as well and it was basically showing how many people had been ticketed during a weekend blitz. But this particular paragraph took the award for the best one of the day i think

The highest speed was 156 km/h. Of those ticketed for excessive speed, three were “N” drivers, and one was an “L” driver whose mother was acting as the supervisor in the passenger seat.

[Bsuds]

I like this method of speed control.

http://www.castanet.net/news/Behind-the ... peed-limit

[Dizzy1]

I like this method of speed control.

http://www.castanet.net/news/Behind-the ... peed-limit

The A3 in Germany has such a device over the southbound lanes coming up to Limburg ... there are 3 overpass type signs that display the speedlimit and have radars in them. The speedlimit is 100kmh/h for the 2 left lanes and 60km/h for the truck lane on the right. Trucks are not allowed to be in the left lanes during this stretch. If you are speeding by the time you hit the third sign, you'll see a nice flash and get the ticket and photo in the mail a few weeks later.

The difference between here and there is the speedlimits themselves. For the most part, you have 3 general speedlimits ... 50km/h within city limits, 100km/h outside city limits and 130km/h recommended on the Autobahn. Any other speedlimits are very clearly posted and frequently. Any time there is a photo radar or speed trap, they give you ample warnings as to what the speedlimit is.

Here on the other hand, there are many stretches where you simply don't know what the speedlimit is because of the vast differences and in some cases, not so clear signage.

This is what it looks like in Europe ...



... before you hit the actual photo radar sign, you'll pass 2 other similar warning signs identical to that one.