"If you “potter” along at a sensible reserved speed, you have MUCH less chance of finding yourself in an emergency. Obviously, if you are out there driving close to your limit, in such a manner that you feel you need to be tuned right in to your driving, then you are likely to be putting yourself at a considerably increased risk. If you are going at a reserved speed and you do encounter an emergency situation, you have more time to react and more ability to avoid the crunch than if you are hooting along. This seems like really basic eminently sensible logic to me."

People who drive faster usually concentrate on their driving and the road ahead, much more so than the dozy driver driving at 100kph in a long line of cars all travelling at the same speed. They also tend to look much further ahead.

Since there is less distraction and their vision is further ahead, the faster driver is actually at a much less risk of a crash because they will take action much earlier.

A faster driver is often a safer driver and contrary to your belief may have more time to react than the slower driver.

I have seen it happen so many times. In fact a friend was driving on a highway at 100kph along with a long line of other cars when he noticed the brake lights on a car some 20-30 cars distant. He slowed immediately only to watch a multi car pileup unfold in front of his eyes as each driver ahead, reacting to the brake lights directly in front of them, had less and less time to react. Ho stopped completely safely in awe of the 5 cars piled up in front of him.

If your focus is far ahead, which is usually the case with faster drivers, you are more likely to take avoiding action before the situation becomes critical.

M3RBMW

[in response to your first post today]

We agree on a couple of key points – piss-poor driver training and skills, and a much greater police presence and overall policing regime. Good.

“The Northern Territory has an incredibly low road toll and yet the SINGLE lane road from central Australia to Darwin does not have a speed limit (from the border).”

I wouldn’t call any road toll “incredibly low”. The low accident rate on that road has got everything to do with the low traffic volume and abundant overtaking opportunities.

“Why is it that on a road that in every respect is 100% identical, it suddenly becomes dangerous to exceed 100kph once you cross an invisible line? or suddenly becomes safe to drive in excess of 100kph?”

I agree that the inconsistency is silly. The same rules should apply across the country. On straight, flat, top-quality highways, with low traffic volume, you could argue that the speed limit could be perhaps 150, although I would say no more than 120. But the concept of no speed limit at all is just crazy, because it encourages the idiot element to just give it all their vehicle has got, regardless of safety.

I wonder how the road toll on the Stuart and Barkly Highways compares to the number of vehicles that use them? What fraction of accidents have been caused by a speed of over 110kmh, or have had such a speed as a contributing factor? We don’t know, but I would guess that it would be considerable. So we simply cannot say that the absence of a speed limit has had no significant consequences.

“Speed limits should be about setting an appropriate limit for average conditions………so why shouldn't we be able to go a little faster when conditions are better than average?”

In an ideal world, I could agree. But how on earth would you implement it? Afterall, it would need to be well-policed, and fairly for all, or it would be abused by the very large idiot factor.

“People who drive faster usually concentrate on their driving and the road ahead, much more so than the dozy driver driving at 100kph in a long line of cars all travelling at the same speed.”

No I can’t agree. People who drive faster tend to be the impatient ones, who don’t have a lot of time for other road-users and as I have said before, are not adequately aware of the risks. As a passenger, as a driver observing the behaviour of tailgating drivers behind me and as a driver in the slow lane on dual carriageways, I have seen plenty of examples where faster drivers are not particularly focussed on their driving.

I don’t know how you can consider slower drivers to be “dozy” or poorly focussed. I don’t think there is any correlation with poor concentration and slower driving. If there is a correlation, it is negative. That is, I think that faster drivers tend to be the less focussed ones or at least proportionally less well focussed than they need to be, given that they need to be more alert when driving faster.

“If your focus is far ahead, which is usually the case with faster drivers, you are more likely to take avoiding action before the situation becomes critical.”

Again, I cannot see that faster drivers have a longer-distance focus. Just the opposite seems true in my experience – faster drivers tend to follow too closely and not be prepared to stop quickly, and that is a very strong indication of a short focus.

I think we will just have to agree to strongly disagree on this issue.

You might be interested to take up discussion on various other aspects of road safety that I have commented on under http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=2877.

Cheers

Unfortunately we are probably talking about different situations and hence the void between us.

In general I am talking about highway driving, not suburban driving. I would tend to agree that often the faster drivers on suburban roads tend to tailgate.

I am a fast driver, always have been and always will be, and I make no apology for that.

I drive fast only when the road is clear and conditions allow. I do NOT tailgate and I always look far ahead. This usually means I change lanes regularly, as I see my current lane become more congested than another lane, but it does not mean I weave all over the place continually.

Most of the people I know who are fast drivers, drive in a very similar manner to me and most fast drivers I have spoken to, but not observed, tell a similar tale. So my observations may well be tarnished by the way those around me, and whom I am in contact with, operate their vehicles.

I have also spent a lot of time on the safespeed.co.uk forum and have read a lot of research on the matter, so I believe my views are not unreasonable.

I would recommend a visit to the aforementioned web site and would be interested in your views after reading some of the research available through that site.

[Deleted for flaming]

[Deleted for flaming. Poster suspended.]