It Was Bound To Happen

Yep, the speed limited car is going to be with us.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7803997.stm

Please note that this will be on a voluntary basis only. But we know what happens after that. Within seconds of being introduced, insurance companies will give discounts to those that have them installed. Pretty soon after there will be insurance hikes for those that don't fit it. It will become a compulsory fit for new vehicles, and then that will be the end of the variety of cars. Cue end of exotic car industry, and we'll all be running around in different coloured Smart derivatives.

If the car makers had been a little more self policing on the speed front, this wouldn't have come this soon, even though it's been possible for years. What really p!sses me off is that they'll do the same to bikes too.

Seen this ISA lark coming for ages tbh. There've been all sorts of petitions and protests while you were looking the other way.

Speed limiters will not stop the majority of accidents caused by drivers being drunk, over-tired or downright careless though.

Good idea, its a fact that speeding kills, so hopefully this will cut deaths on the roads by 50% or so.

Now they need to stop uninsured, drunks and other idiots getting into cars.

Wonder how much smoother congested motorways will be, seems to be a fact that when a very busy motorway has a contraflow and speed limit, everyone actually gets through it quicker than the stop start on normal rushhours.

ps. just looking for a positive in all this.

Good idea, its a fact that speeding kills, so hopefully this will cut deaths on the roads by 50% or so.

 

Now they need to stop uninsured, drunks and other idiots getting into cars.

Why dont they just ban cars? That would reduce car related deaths by 100%

seems to be a fact that when a very busy motorway has a contraflow and speed limit, everyone actually gets through it quicker than the stop start on normal rushhours.

Very true, when they were adding the extra lanes to the M27 by Portsmouth, that bit of road was easier to get through at rush hour than before, and in fact better than it is now with 4 lanes each way.

Why dont they just ban cars? That would reduce car related deaths by 100%

Good plan batman, Baj for transport person for the Lib Dems.

Why dont they just ban cars? That would reduce car related deaths by 100%

Why not ban people, which would reduce ALL deaths by 100%?

Why dont they just ban cars? That would reduce car related deaths by 100%

And increase bike related deaths by about 10,000%

And increase bike related deaths by about 10,000%

Doubt it, given how hard it is to actually pass a bike test I think you'd find bike deaths would significantly drop as a proportion of bikers on the road.

A similar thing was suggested years ago i think by Martin Bangerman to cut the horsepower on bikes to lower deaths resulting from speed,then someone informed him that at the time 250cc bikes could do about 130mph with about a third of the bhp of bigger bikes so power had nothing to do with it.

I think he also wanted leg protectors,air bags and ejector seat research done for bike as well,so he may just of been a looney.

A similar thing was suggested years ago i think by Martin Bangerman to cut the horsepower on bikes to lower deaths resulting from speed,then someone informed him that at the time 250cc bikes could do about 130mph with about a third of the bhp of bigger bikes so power had nothing to do with it.

I think he also wanted leg protectors,air bags and ejector seat research done for bike as well,so he may just of been a looney.

There are already airbags on some BMW's, in fact I remember reading an article of the first people who's lives were saved by them. Ejector seats sound fun!

And yes, my mates RS125 can do 85mph...

There are already airbags on some BMW's, in fact I remember reading an article of the first people who's lives were saved by them. Ejector seats sound fun!

 

And yes, my mates RS125 can do 85mph...

The early airbags in tests caused more damge and injury so i think thats why no one tried them for a while,but i could see how certain bikes would be more suited to them now anything with a more upright riding position.

The leg protectors were designed for side inpact protection but caused more broken legs if involved in a head on accident,then we come to the ejector seat which was meant to activate in the event of a head on collision lifting the rider up and over the vehicle it hit.The downside was the bike would still activate the seat if you had an accident going under a bridge or in a tunnell.

Why not ban people, which would reduce ALL deaths by 100%?

Errrr . . . apart from the several billion incurred in implementing the ban?

Seen this ISA lark coming for ages tbh. There've been all sorts of petitions and protests while you were looking the other way.

There are already airbags on some BMW's, in fact I remember reading an article of the first people who's lives were saved by them. Ejector seats sound fun!

 

And yes, my mates RS125 can do 85mph...

Yes, I saw some of this coming from way back too. Problem is Ponty, I'm not 100% I disagree with it though. But I think, whether we objected to it or not; as the title of the thread says..

I noticed during last seasons's MotoGP races that there has been a prototype crash protection system that has been built into the racing leathers. It actually consists of airbags that deploy through slots in the suit. Of course, at the moment, it's all carried in the racing hump on the back of the leathers, but developments are continuing.

I'm 100% in disagreement with it mate. Not because I think it's appropriate to speed but because I think it's inappropriate to have full control of a vehicle capable of taking lives taken away from the driver. If you were driving a mid-engined sports car and you went into a bend at 50mph, not knowing that it became a 40 limit just beyond the bend, and the ISA device hit the brakes on your behalf* you'd be in a whole world of s**t with lift-off and snap oversteer.

*ISA is not only going to limit vehicle speed to the posted limit but also to perceived road conditions so the problem is much bigger.

I'm 100% in disagreement with it mate. Not because I think it's appropriate to speed but because I think it's inappropriate to have full control of a vehicle capable of taking lives taken away from the driver. If you were driving a mid-engined sports car and you went into a bend at 50mph, not knowing that it became a 40 limit just beyond the bend, and the ISA device hit the brakes on your behalf* you'd be in a whole world of s**t with lift-off and snap oversteer.

 

*ISA is not only going to limit vehicle speed to the posted limit but also to perceived road conditions so the problem is much bigger.

Surely that wouldnt happen? Also there are probably no cases where a road would do that! The car would slow down to the speed in a correct fashion?

Surely that wouldnt happen? Also there are probably no cases where a road would do that! The car would slow down to the speed in a correct fashion?

I worked at Leeds Uni while they were testing the ISA system on a fleet of Skoda Fabias around the city centre and surrounding area. It wasn't all good news. They did manage to determine that most accidents happen within 2 miles of home, which was a cracking piece of detective work IMO.

It could happen cabbage, if the ISA system decides that 40 is a safer speed than 50 for a particular corner. It has very little to do with posted limits in that respect.

I don't know about GPS and am sure that would cause a lot of expense but I don't see why cars should not be limited for top speed. Germany does for its cars at 155mph which is a bit fast, but 80mph would seem reasonable to allow a bit of extra to overtake. Then just enforce speed limits more rigorously with speed cams on motorways etc.

TG, don't you think you'd become a bit of a mobile chicane if you decided to drive over on the continent and hit the unrestricted German autobahns in your 80mph car?

TG, don't you think you'd become a bit of a mobile chicane if you decided to drive over on the continent and hit the unrestricted German autobahns in your 80mph car?

But surely the GPS would sense that you were outside the UK and delimit it, in the same way that we saw on Top Gear with the Nissan that was limited and then delimited when it got to a race track.

TG, don't you think you'd become a bit of a mobile chicane if you decided to drive over on the continent and hit the unrestricted German autobahns in your 80mph car?

Hmm, clearly a flaw in the plan. But I expect there are flaws in all plans or arguments in this thread. I should think plenty of cars travel on the autobahn in the slow lane at 70mph though.

I'm 100% in disagreement with it mate. Not because I think it's appropriate to speed but because I think it's inappropriate to have full control of a vehicle capable of taking lives taken away from the driver. If you were driving a mid-engined sports car and you went into a bend at 50mph, not knowing that it became a 40 limit just beyond the bend, and the ISA device hit the brakes on your behalf* you'd be in a whole world of s**t with lift-off and snap oversteer.

 

*ISA is not only going to limit vehicle speed to the posted limit but also to perceived road conditions so the problem is much bigger.

Well exactly. My last post should have read... I'm not 100% sure I disagree... as it is in cases like you've mentioned where this kind a measure becomes a danger, rather than a solution. There's also the accelerating out of a possible danger situation, which would be taken away from driver if he/she was on the speed limit.

On the whole, in the majority of situations, given driving skills across the range of people who manage to pass the test, this would almost certainly provide statistics which will just entrench its use in the future.

As it stands at the end of 2008, the driver is in a continuing process of being shifted away from having direct control over the vehicle. Some of these things appear to be good measures, some are perceived to be bad.

It's worth a thread in itself.

Errrr . . . apart from the several billion incurred in implementing the ban?

ah, but once the ban is implemented there would be no more death ever!

Anyway, I didn't say kill anyone, just ban them. Put them in a massive Space craft and cut them adrift into space, therefore erradicating all death in the world.

Pretty soon after there will be insurance hikes for those that don't fit it. It will become a compulsory fit for new vehicles, and then that will be the end of the variety of cars. Cue end of exotic car industry, and we'll all be running around in different coloured Smart derivatives.

On a serious note, IBM are already running trials with insurance companies that monitor the way you drive and are determining how agressive your driving style is....for example if you accelerate hard or break hard, or your average speeds are deemed high, then your insurance premium will reflect this.

I think the concept of insurance being priced on the way you drive is here to stay...as it is more indicative of the risk they are taking.

But surely the GPS would sense that you were outside the UK and delimit it, in the same way that we saw on Top Gear with the Nissan that was limited and then delimited when it got to a race track.

Yeah possibly, there's no reason why not... Still a ferkin stupid idea though IMO. The driving test needs to be altered to the Scandinavian method, where it takes 3 years to get a full licence and the training encompasses all types of roads and weather conditions, as well as control training, awareness training and training for emergency conditions. This would mean under 21s had to drive supervised but what the hell.

As with the smoking ban at St Marys, there is no excuse for breaking the law.

to be fair...if you need one of these devices to ensure you drive carefully...you should not be driving at all..

I liked this part in the article "John Lewis, from the Motorists' Forum, told BBC Breakfast he believed the devices would help drivers obey limits and therefore keep their licences."

What planet is he on? The big signs with a '30', '40' etc are a bloody big clue to what the speed limit is!

except where the speed isnt clearly indicated