How strict are you about the speed limits?

Sobanek

Basically just a little poll to see what Irish people think of speed limits!

CiniO

Sobanek wrote: »

Basically just a little poll to see what Irish people think of speed limits!

If I know or feel I could get caught, I'm very strict.
If I'm pretty sure there won't be any speedchecks, including garda hidden in shrubs with hairdryer, then I drive like speed limits wouldn't exist.

Popoutman

Towns and villages, stick to the limit. Though, when the limit change is well over a kilometre from the village it makes it hard to understand why the limit is out that far for no obvious reason.

Town dual carriageways without entrances and a separated footpath? Not so worried about being exactly on the limit, usually the 50 or 60 zone there makes no sense, but I wouldn't be fond of screaming down those. Little danger of pedestrian access to the road, but you'd need to have eyes everywhere in a built up area.

National primary routes, straight roads, wide hard shoulder etc.. Not so worried about the limit.

Motorways, I'll tend to drive at what both I and my car are comfortable at in the given traffic and weather conditions , whatever that may be at.

Country lanes, I'll drive to what I consider safe for the road conditions - and all of the time within two braking distances of my end of visibility if at all possible. Often this is less than the posted limit, but when it makes sense it is good.

I should really clarify before the tall equine brigade come on board that I generally keep the speed within the posted limits, I have no points, and I have a clean accident record with a third of a million miles driven so far..

Damien360

In towns, I stick strictly to the limit for safety of pedestrians and likelyhood of other drivers stopping dead to wave at their friends etc. Rarely see a guard in any town checking speeds so that is not forcing me to obey.

On roads that were 100kmph before the motorway opened beside them and are now 80kmph, I ignore the 80 and stick to 100 if road condition is good. Guards always on these so I thread a thin line here.

On motorways, depending on traffic, I generally sit at 130kmph/140kmph. Traffic corps on these but I have passed many at that speed without being stopped.....yet.

Still no points but I feel I am due a few.

kawasaki1100

Sobanek wrote: »

Basically just a little poll to see what Irish people think of speed limits!

I think if they had more fixed cameras it would generate revenue rather than the very unfair motor tax robbery system.

The Backwards Man

I'm only speeding when I get caught.

opti0nal

Sobanek wrote: »

Basically just a little poll to see what Irish people think of speed limits!

78% of drivers break urban speed limits.

Ded_Zebra

I pay very little attention to the speed limits. I drive at a speed that I deem to be safe. Often this speed is under the limit often it is over.
However I would generally obey the limit on dual carriageways and motorways etc where there might be a crouching tiger hidden garda.

af_thefragile

I drive fast almost all the time but I never drive stupidly fast... expect maybe on country lanes in wicklow where i do enjoy scaring the crap out of the passengers in my car!

But I drive as fast as the road and traffic conditions allow me. For example N4 is as wide as the M50 and you can easily go +120kmph on it in the outside lane, I (and everyone else) do around 100kmph on it which is 20kmph more than the speed limit on the road. I've noticed everyone here on average drives around 10-20kmph faster than the speed limit. Like who the heck does 30kmph in the city centre?!

And I always keep a lookout for garda vans and cops with ray guns too... check road ahead is clear...floor it!

kawasaki1100

opti0nal wrote: »

78% of drivers break urban speed limits.

All the more reason for more speed cameras. Also less people would die or get injured

Alanstrainor

Not strict at all...

In built up/residential areas I'll be very cautious, but otherwise not particularly.

doolox

Some speed limits I will take note of but mostly drive around 10 to 20 kph above the posted speed limit when rain traffic and other conditions permit.

I would not do a fast speed in a school zone at 3pm etc but woud not bother slowing down at 10 pm where there would be unlikely be any risk.


Two major irritants come to mind. The recently reduced speed limits on former national routes parallel to TOLL motorways. These are imposed solely to force motorists onto the toll motorways and make more money for the government. I despise people whoe drive on these roads at the posted 80 kph often with many kilometers of no pass white lines, some even do 70kph or less holding up a string of frustrated motorists behind them.

The national route from Lucan to city Centre I now call the Revenue road, 80kph in sections and a lunatic ridiculous 60 kph in others when most traffic can do 100 kph comfortably as on the M50. A significant number of motorists do 60-80 kph in the outer lane thinking they have the right to force other motorists to "obey" the speed limit. The response is often an aggresive undertaking by people behind not a safe situation. Often the inner lane is empty and can be driven at any speed you like.......

Another item of ridiculous lunacy is the extended 60 kph limit on "temporary" roadworks on the M1 north of the airport for 10 km. Why have this limit for such along time??? Why have it at weekends when there are no people working on the road and hence no risk??? Why have a motorcycle COP on the road on a weekend day and no road workers at risk except as a cynical exercise in raising REVENUE for the impoverished COPS?????

bop1977

In work we have gps tracking in all vans and as a result I stick religiously to the limits. Also the boss gets a report at the end of every day highlighting any speeding during the day. This report shows speed, time, location and driver.

In my own car, I try to stick to speed limits only because the cost of juice. Also I use the web to find know spots for speed cameras and drive slowly through those areas.

NuMarvel

af_thefragile wrote: »

Like who the heck does 30kmph in the city centre?!

Me. But I will readily admit I feel silly doing it on such wide streets.

af_thefragile

kawasaki1100 wrote: »

All the more reason for more speed cameras. Also less people would die or get injured

I really doubt speed cameras do anything to reduce accidents.
Accidents happen when people drive beyond the limits of their observation, skills, road condition or sometimes its simply bad luck. Faster speed will increase the force of the crash and reduce observation-reaction times too but that could happen at low speeds as well.

I suppose the argument for speed cameras is that modern cars are designed to handle an impact at 80kmph better than an impact at 100kmph so if you crash at 80kmph, you have better chances of survival than a crash at 100kmph.

The argument against would be heading towards a nanny/policing state. If the road conditions allow you to drive faster than the speed limit then why shouldn't you?

Supergurrier

Never take the p*ss, go up to 140 sometimes overtaking generally cruise at 100-110

Foxhole Norman

On a road I know, I'll typically drive around 10% faster. If there's a chance kids are around I'll drive the limit or even slower.

af_thefragile

doolox wrote: »

The national route from Lucan to city Centre I now call the Revenue road, 80kph in sections and a lunatic ridiculous 60 kph in others when most traffic can do 100 kph comfortably as on the M50. A significant number of motorists do 60-80 kph in the outer lane thinking they have the right to force other motorists to "obey" the speed limit. The response is often an aggresive undertaking by people behind not a safe situation. Often the inner lane is empty and can be driven at any speed you like.......

That is such a trap!!!
Recently I was driving on the chapelizod bypass on the N4 which has a speed limit of 80kmph. I was probably doing around 90kmph which isn't very fast on that road as most people go over 100kmph there. Just before the Chapelizod bypass ends, heading towards Lucan, the speed limit drops to 60kmph. Now I've never seen a single person slow down to 60kmph here. Most carry on at 80-100kmph until the traffic lights ahead. Well, this time there's this garda speed camera van sitting strategically just at this very point and it snaps me going 30kmph over the speed limit! Like seriously?!! Don't they have a better job to do than trap motorists into a revenue making scheme?!
It was late at night, the streets were absolutely empty and I was quite tired to not spot the van (sitting in a dark spot) until it flashed at me...

Still waiting for the speeding ticket in the post, didn't get anything yet so hoping I got away with it... fingers crossed!

af_thefragile

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

On a road I know, I'll typically drive around 10% faster. If there's a chance kids are around I'll drive the limit or even slower.

I always drive slow in residential areas and places where there is high likelihood of kids being around. Sometimes I even come down to a crawl if there are many kids playing around.

_Kaiser_

I drive appropriate to the conditions rather than being overly concerned about an arbitrary number on a sign.

If it's busy, bad weather, poor visibility etc I'll often be under whatever the posted limit is. Similarly if I'm on a very good quiet stretch of motorway on a clear day I may drift a bit over.

Never been stopped and zero points :-)

knotknowbody

I rarely ever pay attention to speed limit signs and often wouldn't know the limit in the area I'm driving, I drive at the speed I am comfortable with and feel is safe, I have been known to travel at 120 or 130 on N and R roads, the motorway I would cruise at 130 to 150 depending on conditions, after 150 I feel I am reaching the limit of my abilities. In built up areas I would obviously know the limit as it's generally 50 or if your in the city center 30, I would generally obey these especially around schools or hospitals where there are likely to be vulnerable, less able road users about, the exception is where they extend for miles outside the town for no apparent reason.

My friends and family all reckon I am a lunatic fast driver, yet I am the only one of them that has no points and no accidents in my past. I've been driving 30-40,000 miles per year in this fashion for over 10 years and don't plan on changing now. If your alert, know the limitations of your car and more importantly the limitations of yourself and drive according to them then I don't see any harm in speeding.

I'm expecting people to criticize me for advocating speeding but speeding is not dangerous if the driver is capable of handling it, I have to say many drivers on our roads shouldn't be allowed out on the road at all as they have no ability to judge the speed or direction of other vehicles, for that reason if you are moving it is very important to read the road further ahead than normal and try to anticipate what others will do in advance.

My motto is when I see someone else be they in a car, on a bike, on foot, or in a tractor I think whats is the stupidest most dangerous thing they could do and I plan for that. I know everybody thinks they are a better than average driver but there is not one person I know that I feel comfortable with as a passenger, most people who I've gotten lifts with over the years have made potentially lethal mistakes with me in the car, and did not even realize they done anything wrong, a symptom of the "daddy will you teach me your bad habits" type of driver training we have had in this country.

Feck that turned out a bit long.

Cienciano

I go along the quays 30kph speed limit in Dublin every day, so definitely break the speed limit there.
Or drive up the M1, roadworks there have it down at 60kph, crazy slow.

Sobanek

Interesting results to be honest. I expected far more people to always stick to the speed limit!

mfceiling

Very rarely do I speed.

It's well and good saying I like to bomb along country roads to scare my passengers...not great if you meet a tractor on a bad bend or a kid in the middle of the road on a bike.

The road I live on in Dublin is disgraceful for speeding..people driving at 70-80 on it regularly...I'm there almost 10 years now and I've seen 1 speed check in all that time.

Please if you do speed, slow down a bit...I don't care if a speeder kills themselves as long as they don't wipe out someone else.

corktina

the trouble is people who stick to the speed limits usually actually stick to the speed shown on their speedo.Typically 100 k on a speedo is about 95k in reality. When we all have GPS as standard, then things will improve.Thus the third option is probably the most correct one, although i went for the fourth

StinkySocs

When I first started driving, I learned off how many Garda check points were inbetween the motorway help phones thingys, after about a year of driving up and down the country, I never saw one Garda on those little hills!

I was driving to Sligo once, was bombing along all the way, but was slowing down coming into towns. So first sign was 60KM, about 2 mins later was 50KM, I was doing 63KM - got caught rapid! 2 Points in the bag!
Totes Rageballs!!

How long do you have the points on your license?

Anyway I normally bomb it on the motorway, stick to the limit going through towns, etc.

pred racer

Major roads and motorways, speed limit+10% because I know there is a chance Ill be caught. Towns, I try to keep to the limit, the rest of the time......


Keep er lit;)

TouchingVirus

In towns/traffic calming areas/sections of awful roads/places I've seen vans before I'll strictly stick to the limit or even under if conditions necessitate. But late in the evening, on a straight stretch like a motorway with good visibility that's not busy at all I'll drop the hammer and work the power band a good bit

mitosis

af_thefragile wrote: »

That is such a trap!!!
Recently I was driving on the chapelizod bypass on the N4 which has a speed limit of 80kmph. I was probably doing around 90kmph which isn't very fast on that road as most people go over 100kmph there. Just before the Chapelizod bypass ends, heading towards Lucan, the speed limit drops to 60kmph. Now I've never seen a single person slow down to 60kmph here. Most carry on at 80-100kmph until the traffic lights ahead. Well, this time there's this garda speed camera van sitting strategically just at this very point and it snaps me going 30kmph over the speed limit! Like seriously?!! Don't they have a better job to do than trap motorists into a revenue making scheme?!
It was late at night, the streets were absolutely empty and I was quite tired to not spot the van (sitting in a dark spot) until it flashed at me...

Still waiting for the speeding ticket in the post, didn't get anything yet so hoping I got away with it... fingers crossed!

So, 50% over the limit, too tired to see a van parked at the roadside in a lit, built up area. If the streets were empty, how will catching you raise more revenue than the costs?

joujoujou

TouchingVirus wrote: »

In towns/traffic calming areas/sections of awful roads/places I've seen vans before I'll strictly stick to the limit or even under if conditions necessitate. But late in the evening, on a straight stretch like a motorway with good visibility that's not busy at all I'll drop the hammer and work the power band a good bit

Exactly the same here.

djimi

corktina wrote: »

the trouble is people who stick to the speed limits usually actually stick to the speed shown on their speedo.Typically 100 k on a speedo is about 95k in reality. When we all have GPS as standard, then things will improve.Thus the third option is probably the most correct one, although i went for the fourth

You say this like its a bad thing? Ignorning the fact that there is virtually no difference between 95 and 100 in reality, most drivers on the road either dont have a GPS (or dont use it for journeys that they drive often), or dont know that the reading on their speedo is slighty off. Someone driving to the speed limit on their speedo are not a problem; they are doing exactly what they are supposed to do.

corktina

djimi wrote: »

You say this like its a bad thing? Ignorning the fact that there is virtually no difference between 95 and 100 in reality, most drivers on the road either dont have a GPS (or dont use it for journeys that they drive often), or dont know that the reading on their speedo is slighty off. Someone driving to the speed limit on their speedo are not a problem; they are doing exactly what they are supposed to do.[/QUOTE

just to quote myself "When we all have GPS as standard, then things will improve".

It is a badish thing, if you are in ahurry, you get stuck behind some sanctimonious barsteward who is probably looking in his mirror saying "why should I move over? I'm at the limit"...thing is they aren't...

whats more , they probably drive a km or two under the limit just to be safe, and might in reality only be doing 90

af_thefragile

mitosis wrote: »

So, 50% over the limit, too tired to see a van parked at the roadside in a lit, built up area. If the streets were empty, how will catching you raise more revenue than the costs?

I like how you guys love making so many assumptions.

Firstly I was only 10kmph over the limit on a stretch of road where everyone does 100kmph. The only spot where I was going 30kmph faster is where the speed limit suddenly drops from 80kmph to 60kmph and i'ld love to see how many law abiding citizens slow down to 60kmph there, especially on a deserted road because every one just carries on doing 80-100kmph there until the traffic lights up ahead.

Secondly if you're familiar with the chapelizod bypass you'll hardly call it a built up area. Its lit but it has dark spots. The garda camera van is just a plain white van with no marking which can often be missed as any other van until it flashes at you.

Anyway I don't have to explain myself here. I know I'm a pretty safe driver. I've been driving for more than 3yrs without any incident or getting any points. If I was such a horrible and irresponsible driver then I'd certainly have more points or been in some sort of incident so far.

djimi

corktina wrote: »

just to quote myself "When we all have GPS as standard, then things will improve".

It is a badish thing, if you are in ahurry, you get stuck behind some sanctimonious barsteward who is probably looking in his mirror saying "why should I move over? I'm at the limit"...thing is they aren't...

whats more , they probably drive a km or two under the limit just to be safe, and might in realirty only be doing 90

Its the "in reality" part that I dont agree with. According the speedo of probably 90% of the motorists on the road they are doing the speed limit. So should people start driving beyond what they are being told is the speed limit, just to appease the small minority of motorists who are being told something different?

FamousSeamus

While I think everyone should stick to the limit I strongly support the German system and have no limits on motorways, they're the best roads all going in the same direction with no real sharp turns, just let people drive damn it

The most annoying people however are those who drive 60 km on a 100km road holding up everybody but when they come to a town or village everyone slows to 50 km but they keep driving at 60!!!!! I never understand why and it drives me mad..do they think they're driving at the average speed or something!! anyway little rant over

af_thefragile

mfceiling wrote: »

Very rarely do I speed.

It's well and good saying I like to bomb along country roads to scare my passengers...not great if you meet a tractor on a bad bend or a kid in the middle of the road on a bike.

The road I live on in Dublin is disgraceful for speeding..people driving at 70-80 on it regularly...I'm there almost 10 years now and I've seen 1 speed check in all that time.

Please if you do speed, slow down a bit...I don't care if a speeder kills themselves as long as they don't wipe out someone else.

I said I drive fast but not stupidly fast. There's a difference there.
I only speed along roads I know are hazard free and safe to drive fast on. The only country roads I drive fast on is in Wicklow around sally gap which I know the roads like the back of my hand. I know exactly where I can speed and where I need to slow down and take caution and there are no children or tractors on that road to hit and even if there would be I would spot them much in advance to slow down and take caution. But then I only drive fast on those roads when the conditions approve of i.e. bright days with little to no rain adjusting for the road conditions. If its dark or foggy then I'll often end up slowing down to crawl speed in 2nd gear...

Roads that are around residential areas, I'm not familiar with, have lots of blind corners and crests, I will often drive less than the speed limit of that road.

mfceiling

af_thefragile wrote: »

I said I drive fast but not stupidly fast. There's a difference there.
I only speed along roads I know are hazard free and safe to drive fast on. The only country roads I drive fast on is in Wicklow around sally gap which I know the roads like the back of my hand. I know exactly where I can speed and where I need to slow down and take caution and there are no children or tractors on that road to hit and even if there would be I would spot them much in advance to slow down and take caution. But then I only drive fast on those roads when the conditions approve of i.e. bright days with little to no rain adjusting for the road conditions. If its dark or foggy then I'll often end up slowing down to crawl speed in 2nd gear...

Roads that are around residential areas, I'm not familiar with, have lots of blind corners and crests, I will often drive less than the speed limit of that road.

To be fair no road is really hazard free because we don't know what is a half a mile away or round the next bend.

What if an oul one had stopped suddenly with a flat wheel or something like that - you could be tipping along nicely and then bang!!

I know a few years ago the brother was in a fairly bad accident on a road less than 1 mile from the home house. Living there for 30 years and driving that same road almost daily - main road to the next town. He came round a corner and met a tipper truck taking most of the road. He couldn't swerve because of a high stone wall so he took on the truck!! ? Badly broken leg and cut head. He was driving at about 35-40 mph!! Police told him that had he been going any faster and he was dead.

We all think we are great drivers but in reality we never know what will happen on the roads.

Expect the unexpected!!

corktina

djimi wrote: »

Its the "in reality" part that I dont agree with. According the speedo of probably 90% of the motorists on the road they are doing the speed limit. So should people start driving beyond what they are being told is the speed limit, just to appease the small minority of motorists who are being told something different?

just to quote myself AGAIN "When we all have GPS as standard, then things will improve".

djimi

corktina wrote: »

just to quote myself AGAIN "When we all have GPS as standard, then things will improve".

But we dont all have GPS as standard, and its likely to be a while before we do (if indeed it does happen). Until then I dont think its in any way fair to blame someone for driving "under" the speed limit because they are driving to the speedo in their car.

Mister Jingles

Like whats been mostly said, residential areas/estates I'm careful, regional roads it kind of depends but I usually stick to around 90kph-100kph. National roads, not that there's many left around Dublin I stay around the 100 mark. Motorways I drive flat out at 140kph

Strangely I tend to think more about petrol consumption then speed traps

Fighting Irish

I nearly always speed on 80/100/120 roads, but rarely on 50/60 roads

mitosis

af_thefragile wrote: »

I like how you guys love making so many assumptions.

.

Sorry, mate, but you said in your post you were doing 90 in a 60 and were too tired to notice the van. That's what YOU said. I am fairly familiar with the area - it has schools, filling stations and pubs.

I love how you guys like making excuses for your indefensible behaviour

af_thefragile

mfceiling wrote: »

To be fair no road is really hazard free because we don't know what is a half a mile away or round the next bend.

What if an oul one had stopped suddenly with a flat wheel or something like that - you could be tipping along nicely and then bang!!

I know a few years ago the brother was in a fairly bad accident on a road less than 1 mile from the home house. Living there for 30 years and driving that same road almost daily - main road to the next town. He came round a corner and met a tipper truck taking most of the road. He couldn't swerve because of a high stone wall so he took on the truck!! ? Badly broken leg and cut head. He was driving at about 35-40 mph!! Police told him that had he been going any faster and he was dead.

We all think we are great drivers but in reality we never know what will happen on the roads.

Expect the unexpected!!

You missed the point where I said I always slow down before blind bends and crests and take them with caution. I may drive fast but I'm not stupid. I know its not worth getting in a wreck for the sake of a few moments of excitement.

Anyway I always feel I drive much safer when I'm going fast than when I'm driving slowly. When I'm driving fast the only thing I think of is what's on the road ahead and how my car is reacting. It takes a lot of concentration to drive fast and that is what I love about it. On the other hand when I drive slowly, often complacency takes over and you're much more likely to miss that pothole or the guy about to cross the road because your mind is somewhere else. You're thinking about a million different things while you're driving and pay little attention to what's going on the road. Its what I call driving on auto-pilot and most people drive this way. This is when accidents happen.

mfceiling

af_thefragile wrote: »

You missed the point where I said I always slow down before blind bends and crests and take them with caution. I may drive fast but I'm not stupid. I know its not worth getting in a wreck for the sake of a few moments of excitement.

Anyway I always feel I drive much safer when I'm going fast than when I'm driving slowly. When I'm driving fast the only thing I think of is what's on the road ahead and how my car is reacting. It takes a lot of concentration to drive fast and that is what I love about it. On the other hand when I drive slowly, often complacency takes over and you're much more likely to miss that pothole or the guy about to cross the road because your mind is somewhere else. You're thinking about a million different things while you're driving and pay little attention to what's going on the road. Its what I call driving on auto-pilot and most people drive this way. This is when accidents happen.

Fair enough.

Take her handy anyway....as the oul lad says "it's the overtakers that keep the undertakers in work!!":D

Max Power1

I drive appropriately to the road conditions.

So if its a 50kmh dual carriageway, I'll do 80-100+ if it is safe to do so (not raining etc and no cash generators - i mean gosafe vans - around)

doolox

I recall that when a new Corrib crossing and a few miles of dual carriageway were built in Galway city they insisted on 30mph (50kph) speed limits on these roads. Many reasonably law abiding people were pulled for speeding on these roads and it led to some cause for concern such that the council had to paint 30mph markings every 100 yds or so on the road to remind people of the unnaturally low speed limit.

Waterford have similar dual carriageways but have 60 or 80 kph limits in places where these can be done.

Obviously the overlords in Galway City council cannot trust their motorists as much.

Similarly those in South Dublin Council find that the world doesn't end when 60 or 80 kph are allowed in built-up areas.

Jesus.

The 15 that voted "yes all the time" are liars.

H3llR4iser

af_thefragile wrote: »

Anyway I always feel I drive much safer when I'm going fast than when I'm driving slowly. When I'm driving fast the only thing I think of is what's on the road ahead and how my car is reacting. It takes a lot of concentration to drive fast and that is what I love about it. On the other hand when I drive slowly, often complacency takes over and you're much more likely to miss that pothole or the guy about to cross the road because your mind is somewhere else. You're thinking about a million different things while you're driving and pay little attention to what's going on the road. Its what I call driving on auto-pilot and most people drive this way. This is when accidents happen.

This. The number of people I know that go the "I drive slowly so I'm a safe driver" mantra is astounding and yes, they all go "autopilot mode": not only they pay no attention to the road, the car's reactions and the other users, they often get totally distracted by either fiddling with accessory controls (usually the radio or heating), looking at whatever scenery is around and, I kid you not, a few of them even turn around to talk to the passengers in the back seat.

As we stand, there is little or no effort made on the part of the RSA (nor any other European road authority and not even, as far as I know, from the FIA itself) to raise awareness about distracted and careless driving, which is the real root cause of the vast majority of accidents. It's all about speed limits, which in turn cause people to drive with their eyes trained on the speedometer and get even more distracted from the road and its ongoings.

corktina

optiona 3 and 4 are essentially the same which means over 62% intentionally drive over the speed limit regularly in a safe manner (in their opinion) plus another 12% of reckless maniacs (potentially) ...plus another 17% who are potentailly slow reckless maniacs :-)...bit of a waste of time setting limits really!

MadYaker

I usually have no problem sticking to the limits on motorways and national roads, but a lot of the 50kph zones in Galway are ridiculous, anyone who drives around the town will know what I'm on about, theres loads of dual carriageways where the limit is 50kph and nobody sticks to it.

IK09

Jesus. wrote: »

The 15 that voted "yes all the time" are liars.

This is the word of our lord