Comedic "things you would ban": minor things that irritate you

[Richard Scott]

Anyone who drives, in clear weather, at 30mph in a 60mph speed limit.

Absolutely no excuse. Hand in your keys and get off the road.

Don't worry in Wales we now have the ridiculous 20mph limit where people drive at 15mph!

 

[dangie]

Anyone who drives, in clear weather, at 30mph in a 60mph speed limit.

Absolutely no excuse. Hand in your keys and get off the road.

I’d soon sort that. Make all speed limits 30mph

 

[Matey]

Anyone who drives, in clear weather, at 30mph in a 60mph speed limit.

Absolutely no excuse. Hand in your keys and get off the road.

Conversely, anyone who drives on Devonshire country single lane roads above 30 m.p.h.
Absolutely no excuse. Hand in your keys and get off the road.

 

[Bald Rick]

Conversely, anyone who drives on Devonshire country single lane roads above 30 m.p.h.
Absolutely no excuse. Hand in your keys and get off the road.

Well I agree with that. Subject to how straight they are!

But my example is a busy A road with gentle curves and standard lane width.

 

[BJames]

Well I agree with that. Subject to how straight they are!

But my example is a busy A road with gentle curves and standard lane width.

I know someone who does this low speed thing and it's very annoying. Any time I tell her she needs to go faster I get one of either 3 responses:
1) I'm not the driver so I don't know what I'm talking about (granted, I don't have a license, but I have spent enough time in cars and have learnt theory so I do know enough)
2) It's a limit, not a target, so you can drive at whatever speed you want under the limit
3) 'I need to drive at the speed I feel confident at'

Either way I've stopped bringing it up as it just turns into a disagreement but this might gives some insight into what people who do this are thinking...

 

[DelW]

Anyone who drives, in clear weather, at 30mph in a 60mph speed limit.

Absolutely no excuse. Hand in your keys and get off the road.

I've been doing exactly that today on A and B roads in quiet eastern Fife, enjoying the scenery and the sunshine. Though I do speed up if anyone comes up behind me, until I get to a place where I can let them past.

Maybe it's a reaction to having spent most of yesterday driving at 70mph (ish) on the M1, M6, A74M, M74 and beyond.

I do find the proliferation of 20mph limits on empty (though semi urban) main roads in this area somewhat trying though.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I do find the proliferation of 20mph limits on empty (though semi urban) main roads in this area somewhat trying though.

Surely in this day and age we have the technology for variable speed limits? 20mph on an urban main(ish) road is sensible at rush hour, but 30mph is perfectly sensible when it's quiet, isn't school kicking-out time, etc. etc. Signs can be changed remotely at the correct times, the highway code and driving tests can be updated. We manage it on so-called "smart" motorways after all...

 

[birchesgreen]

Surely in this day and age we have the technology for variable speed limits? 20mph on an urban main(ish) road is sensible at rush hour, but 30mph is perfectly sensible when it's quiet, isn't school kicking-out time, etc. etc. Signs can be changed remotely at the correct times, the highway code and driving tests can be updated. We manage it on so-called "smart" motorways after all...

I'm sure we can but local authorities seem barely able to maintain existing plain metal signage so i suspect anything electronic would be beyond them.

 

[dangie]

……30mph is perfectly sensible when it's quiet, isn't school kicking-out time, etc. etc. Signs can be changed remotely at the correct times, the highway code and driving tests can be updated. We manage it on so-called "smart" motorways after all...

But as was brought up on my recent speed awareness course when a similar question was asked. What is school kicking out time? Schools start early with breakfast clubs. They finish late with after school clubs. They often have sports etc at weekends. Different schools may have different times. It really would be confusing to have different speeds at different times for different schools. It would be far more sensible to have a standard speed past all schools. Slowing down past a school really won’t add much time to a journey.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

But as was brought up on my recent speed awareness course when a similar question was asked. What is school kicking out time? Schools start early with breakfast clubs. They finish late with after school clubs. They often have sports etc at weekends. Different schools may have different times. It really would be confusing to have different speeds at different times for different schools. It would be far more sensible to have a standard speed past all schools. Slowing down past a school really won’t add much time to a journey.

My mention of school times was merely an example. If some form of variable speed limits were to be adopted, obviously a number of factors would need to be considered. For example the village of Skelmanthorpe (where I used to live) has a secondary school on the edge of the village. The speed limit on the main road through the village (the B6116) is 30mph- imposing a full-time 20mph limit would be overkill... but if it were possible to impose such a limit only at the times when it would be most effective in terms of safety, this would seem to be a worthwhile compromise.

 

[dangie]

Sorry to mention the speed awareness course again, but as was said, slowing from, for example past a school, 30mph to 20mph will add little to the journey time and is really not that difficult.

 

[Richard Scott]

But as was brought up on my recent speed awareness course when a similar question was asked. What is school kicking out time? Schools start early with breakfast clubs. They finish late with after school clubs. They often have sports etc at weekends. Different schools may have different times. It really would be confusing to have different speeds at different times for different schools. It would be far more sensible to have a standard speed past all schools. Slowing down past a school really won’t add much time to a journey.

20mph past a school at all times isn't a problem but in Wales we gave 20mph on all urban roads at all times and is a total pain.

 

[Techniquest]

Why is it such a 'total pain' though? I ask as a non-driver, but an active user of roads for cycling and urban routes for walking/cycling.

Personally, I'd say 20mph on urban routes is not a major issue. Besides, there's plenty of urban routes that are more than 20. Take for example the A483 out of Swansea, I'd personally count it as an urban route until it reaches Fforestfach Retail Park given it's still within the city. That's definitely more than 20! I also didn't see much at all in the way of any 20mph urban roads on my cycling around Swansea a few weeks ago. Places like Kingsway, absolutely that should be 20mph with the many bus stops, pedestrian crossings and junctions. A lot of the city is not 20mph!

I would however agree with @birchesgreen that basic signage is beyond the realms of maintenance in my city, and don't start me on the unreliability of those electronic speed boards in villages etc which show the driver how fast they're going.

 

[Richard Scott]

Why is it such a 'total pain' though? I ask as a non-driver, but an active user of roads for cycling and urban routes for walking/cycling.

Personally, I'd say 20mph on urban routes is not a major issue. Besides, there's plenty of urban routes that are more than 20. Take for example the A483 out of Swansea, I'd personally count it as an urban route until it reaches Fforestfach Retail Park given it's still within the city. That's definitely more than 20! I also didn't see much at all in the way of any 20mph urban roads on my cycling around Swansea a few weeks ago. Places like Kingsway, absolutely that should be 20mph with the many bus stops, pedestrian crossings and junctions. A lot of the city is not 20mph!

I would however agree with @birchesgreen that basic signage is beyond the realms of maintenance in my city, and don't start me on the unreliability of those electronic speed boards in villages etc which show the driver how fast they're going.

It too slow, takes forever to go through villages where you don't see a soul so what's the point? Also the ditherers now drive at 15mph. Irrespective of what you should do it causes frustration and have seen numerous drivers overtake making it more dangerous than it was when it was 30mph. That's the reality, whether it should happen or not isn't the point as this is what happens.
The other issue is the car actually uses more fuel as will happily go along in 5th gear at 30mph but only 3rd at 20mph. Indicated mpg is over 50 at 30mph but less than 40 at 20mph.

 

[Techniquest]

It too slow, takes forever to go through villages where you don't see a soul so what's the point? Also the ditherers now drive at 15mph. Irrespective of what you should do it causes frustration and have seen numerous drivers overtake making it more dangerous than it was when it was 30mph. That's the reality, whether it should happen or not isn't the point as this is what happens.
The other issue is the car actually uses more fuel as will happily go along in 5th gear at 30mph but only 3rd at 20mph. Indicated mpg is over 50 at 30mph but less than 40 at 20mph.

Interesting. Those dangerous drivers really should be dealt with, and I suspect they'd overtake if it was 30 anyway. I got overtaken by a very loud Audi earlier in a 30 zone which really should be lower with the amount of junctions with limited visibility, care homes and the like. How he didn't cause an accident I don't know! They felt like the sort of driver who, if it had been a car going at 30, would have raced past them anyway.

The best bit of that was at the junction half a mile away, I'd almost caught up with them anyway!

The fuel consumption thing is certainly interesting, but should we be considering fuel usage over the overall safety of the community?

 

[adrock1976]

Surely in this day and age we have the technology for variable speed limits? 20mph on an urban main(ish) road is sensible at rush hour, but 30mph is perfectly sensible when it's quiet, isn't school kicking-out time, etc. etc. Signs can be changed remotely at the correct times, the highway code and driving tests can be updated. We manage it on so-called "smart" motorways after all...

I'm sure we can but local authorities seem barely able to maintain existing plain metal signage so i suspect anything electronic would be beyond them.

It has been many years since I used National Express, but I recall that from Umberslade Lane junction, the M42 has (or did have) variable speed limits in between the junctions for the M40 and M6 so as to manage the amount of congestion.

 

[Richard Scott]

Interesting. Those dangerous drivers really should be dealt with, and I suspect they'd overtake if it was 30 anyway. I got overtaken by a very loud Audi earlier in a 30 zone which really should be lower with the amount of junctions with limited visibility, care homes and the like. How he didn't cause an accident I don't know! They felt like the sort of driver who, if it had been a car going at 30, would have raced past them anyway.

The best bit of that was at the junction half a mile away, I'd almost caught up with them anyway!

The fuel consumption thing is certainly interesting, but should we be considering fuel usage over the overall safety of the community?

They didn't. To be honest in the 20 years I've been doing this same journey I've seen more dangerous driving in past year or so since 20 limit came in. It's fine to say go in hard and deal with them but if you don't drive you don't understand the frustration of it. Doubt anyone would complain about 20 limits by schools or around housing estates but on main roads it's bonkers.
As for safety of community the reality is in a number of areas there are almost no pedestrians and safety is more compromised by frustrated drivers overtaking; again that's the reality, irrespective of what people should do.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

The fuel consumption thing is certainly interesting, but should we be considering fuel usage over the overall safety of the community?

I thought fuel consumption (or rather the related emissions) WERE a safety issue, at least that's what we're being told by the Just Stop Oil **redacted**s.

Though on the fuel consumption thing, unless you're going uphill any car worth its salt should be fine doing 20 in 4th gear at about 1100rpm... though modern cars with their EMS computers might throw a hissy-fit about it.

 

[PeterY]

I'm sure we can but local authorities seem barely able to maintain existing plain metal signage so i suspect anything electronic would be beyond them.

They can't even be trusted to use water and detergent (to clean the signs)

 

[Richard Scott]

I thought fuel consumption (or rather the related emissions) WERE a safety issue, at least that's what we're being told by the Just Stop Oil **redacted**s.

Though on the fuel consumption thing, unless you're going uphill any car worth its salt should be fine doing 20 in 4th gear at about 1100rpm... though modern cars with their EMS computers might throw a hissy-fit about it.

Mine is pulling less than 1000rpm at 20mph in 4th and even if not touching the throttle I catch up cars in front so 3rd it is with poorer fuel consumption.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Mine is pulling less than 1000rpm at 20mph in 4th and even if not touching the throttle I catch up cars in front so 3rd it is with poorer fuel consumption.

Perhaps I should have included a disclaimer that the largest-engined car I've driven often enough to get a reasonable sample size was a 1600cc, and I haven't driven a car newer than a 2008 model. You'd expect that cars would get more efficient over time, but in reality cars have generally got larger and heavier which counteracts this.

I'd quite like to ban (or at least discourage) the larger "Chelsea Tractor" type vehicles from being so widespread, but with the transition towards battery vehicles the average weight of cars on the road is likely to rise over the next decade. On a personal level, to paraphrase Charles Bronson (the late actor, not the notorious prisoner) they'll have to prise the keys to frugal lightweight ICE supermini type vehicles from my cold dead hands!

 

[Forty29]

Anyone who drives, in clear weather, at 30mph in a 60mph speed limit.

Absolutely no excuse. Hand in your keys and get off the road.

Motorway driver's who hog the middle lane when inside lane empty. Sorry it just is getting more and more.

 

[Thirteen]

Would it be awful to suggest crying children on public transport?

 

[Gloster]

Would it be awful to suggest crying children on public transport?

No. Particularly brats that howl the bus down while their parents or whatever just ignore them. (The worst I can remember was on a Hamburg-Copenhagen train when the brat howled, shouted, crawled about, played with anything, while its mother constantly made up her face or flicked through fashion magazines. She only reacted (roughly) it if came anywhere near her and disturbed her occupations: even getting under the feet of someone boarding at one of the intermediate stations didn’t disturb a single strand of her immaculately coiffured hair.)

 

[Calthrop]

No. Particularly brats that howl the bus down while their parents or whatever just ignore them. (The worst I can remember was on a Hamburg-Copenhagen train when the brat howled, shouted, crawled about, played with anything, while its mother constantly made up her face or flicked through fashion magazines. She only reacted (roughly) it if came anywhere near her and disturbed her occupations: even getting under the feet of someone boarding at one of the intermediate stations didn’t disturb a single strand of her immaculately coiffured hair.)

The sentiment is prompted, "why the hell do people who feel like that, have children?"; but of course -- biology, folks' mental processes, etc. ...

 

[dangie]

They can't even be trusted to use water and detergent (to clean the signs)

Or to clear roadside foliage from around the signs to at least give you some chance of seeing them.

 

[Lucan]

People wearing fluorescent orange clothing unless it is for work purposes.

 

[Techniquest]

People wearing fluorescent orange clothing unless it is for work purposes.

Then you probably wouldn't like me and my bright orange athletics t-shirts! They're absolutely not hi-vis clothing, which is what I guess you're primarily referring to, but they are certainly bright!

 

[Lucan]

Then you probably wouldn't like me and my bright orange athletics t-shirts!

So perhaps you were the guy for whom I had to wait to walk out of an otherwise scenic photo I took on Sunday . I didn't mind the people in subdued clothing.

 

[Techniquest]

So perhaps you were the guy for whom I had to wait to walk out of an otherwise scenic photo I took on Sunday . I didn't mind the people in subdued clothing.

I'm having to actually think about where I was on Sunday! Depends where you were, but it probably wasn't me. If you were in Herefordshire, then it's a possibility!

For reference, this t-shirt is the one I refer to, the one in the attached photo