Remapping

[Stickyfinger]

cough.....going home to East Sussex one Sunday morn, A21.....Poxall Calibra 4x4 |Turbo 16v dohc chip 260bhp......well lets just say I know the max speed is over 155mph (_yes I was a total (-expletive removed-) !)

I am all for 55mph for Trucks, 60mph for coach, a Truck killed my cousin due to speed/stopping distance and I am an Ex-Biker who spent a lot of time in London...I KNOW Stopping distances ! (sitting at traffic lights watching the mirrors at night.....very scary at times !

happy to have an 85mph limit for cars and a strong CRACK DOWN on lane control during rush hour to make the motorways work as they do during the day

[Rhothgar]

Europeans drive differently to Brits. Generally more conscientious apart from the Belgiums who ARE nuts in my experience.

You couldn't unleash a no-limit on Brits in general as they are too reckless and mindless again in my experience.

Speeding does not get you anywhere substantially quicker whatever speed you are doing.

You can try and drive at 120mph for any period that is possible and a lorry WILL pull out and you WILL slow down one way or another.

Test it! If you have a morning or evening commute on motorways or A roads do what you normal do but time it to the minute door to door then do same journey but limit your speed to 56 where permitted to go faster and you will see it makes approx. 5 minutes difference in a 40 mile journey.

I did this once from Nottingham to Nuneaton when I was a lunatic back in 2000.

At very high illegal speeds, I did it it 55 minutes door to door. At max. 56mph, I got there in 65 mins from memory. Highest speed differential was way over licence losing territory because I was a total tit.

Luckily, I was never stopped and more luckily I grew up and did IAM course.

[Northern_Mike]

Europeans drive differently to Brits. Generally more conscientious apart from the Belgiums who ARE nuts in my experience.

You couldn't unleash a no-limit on Brits in general as they are too reckless and mindless again in my experience.

Speeding does not get you anywhere substantially quicker whatever speed you are doing.

You can try and drive at 120mph for any period that is possible and a lorry WILL pull out and you WILL slow down one way or another.

Test it! If you have a morning or evening commute on motorways or A roads do what you normal do but time it to the minute door to door then do same journey but limit your speed to 56 where permitted to go faster and you will see it makes approx. 5 minutes difference in a 40 mile journey.

It actually makes 8 1/2 minutes difference on a 40 mile journey doing 70 rather than 56. Up that to 80, you've saved 12 minutes, 90, you've saved 16 1/2. So, over my 200-odd mile journey on Tuesday, if I were to do 90 rather than 56, I'd save about 82 minutes. I would call this "substantially quicker".

Being an IAM member, you'll know that speed DOES NOT kill. Inappropriate speed kills. There are areas where it's perfectly safe to do well over 100mph, yet perversely there are areas near me that are signed as NSL where it's dangerous to do more than 20mph.

You'll also know that one should read the road ahead and look out for lorries that might be pulling out, and that they don't use the right hand lane on a 3 way motorway here..

I'm not sure which bits of Europe you've driven in, but Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal are certainly not more conscientious, and I find your generalising about British drivers pretty odd. Especially as we have the lowest road deaths in Europe.

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In effect, the 100mph limit I suggested is the *only* limit in existence on our motorways as the 70mph one isn't really enforced. Everyone knows you'd be unlucky to get nicked doing under 85mph, everyone knows that if you get nicked over that it serves you right for not being observant enough and you take your points and fine, and suck it up.. it's been like that as long as I've been driving. It works.

[daviemck2006]

Ok I maybe wasn't thinking about the stopping distance of a 44 ton truck. So my rethought proposal is 50 mph blanket speed limit on single carriageway roads, as most trucks do that anyway, and if one is doing the 40 it is supposed to do it causes a build up of traffic and then the idiots take over passing where they shouldn't, which causes mayhem on the roads. Heavy penalties for exceeding it. Dual carriageways still 50 for hgv 60 for everything else. Motorways, allow lorries to their speed limiters at 56, coaches currently are 70 on motorways but their limiters are set at 62 which is a bit strange so they can be 62, vans over 3.5 ton are classed as lorries and supposed to be limited to 56 now, but up to 7.5 ton could be the same as coaches at 62. Everything else 80. from 80 down to 56 is a big enough speed difference if a lorry pulls out at 56 in front of you, which they do.

ps I agree with mike that speed alone does not kill. Its the sudden stop Seriously yes there are times that even cruising at 120mph would be absolutely safe. Ive cruised on an autobhan over 140 in an audi A8 and it felt safe and I was relaxed but on the same road in the same car 20 could be too fast if it was heavy drifting snow for example.

[addo]

And I thought a re-map increased power or economy, not altered the speed limit.

[Rhothgar]

Mike. You are calculating savings using a calculator. It cannot work like that in the real world. I was talking if a particular trip which includes city and ring road (40mph) driving. I agree with you between two points on a road with little traffic but life is generally not like that for the UK commute.

So 5 mins saving was correct for the journey I did. It was an empirical example. Not a calculated one.

Also, using road deaths as a gauge for driver standards is a tad arbitrary don't you think?

You must live in a lovely peaceful area of England where everyone waits with courtesy whilst you back off your drive instead of trying to drive around you. One where drivers wave politely and smile and where they never use mobiles and never stick two fingers up to you and mouth f*** off when you point out the error of their ways!

What a lovely part of England? Tell me - where is it?

[Rhothgar]

I should also point out that I was not comparing 56 to 70. Sorry I missed your point there but you had entirely missed mine.

[Rhothgar]

Daviemck. You need snow tyres! 140 can seem safe in the Autobahn but it only takes around 6 secs to cover 1/4 mile.

Some IAM observers recommend a max. 15mph differential overtaking speed.

[Northern_Mike]

Mike. You are calculating savings using a calculator. It cannot work like that in the real world.

I'm sorry, of course it can. I spent 3 years working as a Field engineer, doing 60k miles a year. I know very well how much difference it makes.

I'd love to hear your explanation of why using road deaths as a judge of driving standards is a bad idea. Sounds like regurgitated IAM claptrap to me.

Don't the IAM teach you not to get worked up and "point out the error of their ways" with other drivers? Me? I don't get worked up by them. I might observe them, but s**t happens, life goes on. If you're going to get worked up and start "pointing out the error of their ways", then you're not concentrating on the road either, and are just as much a danger as they are. I'd prefer to ignore it and go on my own merry way.

I live in a cul-de-sac. I never have to reverse off my drive. Nor should anyone else. Reverse into the bloody thing then you don't have to reverse out into traffic!

[Northern_Mike]

Ok I maybe wasn't thinking about the stopping distance of a 44 ton truck. So my rethought proposal is 50 mph blanket speed limit on single carriageway roads, as most trucks do that anyway, and if one is doing the 40 it is supposed to do it causes a build up of traffic and then the idiots take over passing where they shouldn't, which causes mayhem on the roads. Heavy penalties for exceeding it.

Heavy penalties don't work for anything. It's far better to educate people and empower them to drive properly, control a car properly, observe properly and so on in the first place than just slap a heavy fine or points on them. That's (-expletive removed-) all use after they've killed someone, isn't it...

[Hell Razor5543]

I live on a main road into Reading. Given the choice I reverse onto my drive, as it is much easier to nose out into the traffic than to reverse out. If I cannot reverse onto the driveway I end up doing about a 7 point turn.

Something I try to do (but I am not very successful) is not to criticise other drivers mistakes. I should concentrate more on my own driving. I enjoy driving (which helps), but I accept that I could be a better driver.

[Northern_Mike]

I accept that I could be a better driver.

This is the most important attribute *any* driver can have. We can always learn.

[addo]

It has nowt to do with remapping, but my local council fines people about $105 if they reverse park in most of its carparks. Yep, a fine for thinking safety.

[old-un77]

Just a thought, do you know why American drivers always drive INTO an angled parking spaces/driveways?(there IS a reason) I used to think it was laziness/ run of the mill driving habits....... is it the same in Ozz?

[vborovic]

Not to add fuel to the fire, but this is one more chip/tuning topic that went way off topic ... ...