Speed limits

[DRoseDARs]

God, the speedometer on my '92 Ford Explorer stops at 80mph... ...125mph? I can't even imagine what that'd be like...

[aaglo]

[Stealthmode]I have driven in finnish highway 180km/h (only for a short period), during night, coming from a gig. It was a bit scary.[/Stealthmode]

[Harovan]

My colleague travels at 280-300 km/h in his BMW (about 180 mph). He found a mechanic, who removed the 250km/h speed blocker in his car (it's not mandantory, the car manifacturers put it in at free will).

[DRoseDARs]

After all that has been posted in this thread so far...

...I just hope by the time I'm ready to buy my first car (actual first was graduation gift and 2nd current car bought when I wrecked the first), hydrogen fuel cells are in full-scale use, highfreeexpressbahns have 75+mph speed limits, and speedometers on non-performance cars rate higher speeds than 100mph...

[aaglo]

Originally posted by Sir Ralph
My colleague travels at 280-300 km/h in his BMW (about 180 mph). He found a mechanic, who removed the 250km/h speed blocker in his car (it's not mandantory, the car manifacturers put it in at free will).

An accident at such speeds is not a pretty site.

[DRoseDARs]

Originally posted by aaglo


An accident at such speeds is not a pretty site.

Splat! Ewww...

And on THAT happy thought I'm going to bed. G'night all!

[Harovan]

I actually don't like to travel with him, for this reason. Others do. And although I could go faster, I often at free will limit my speed to 160 km/h (100 mph). I usually don't have to drive very far, so the difference of a few minutes doesn't justify the increased risk.

[Provost Harrison]

Originally posted by Sir Ralph
My colleague travels at 280-300 km/h in his BMW (about 180 mph). He found a mechanic, who removed the 250km/h speed blocker in his car (it's not mandantory, the car manifacturers put it in at free will).

I wouldn't like to imagine what his fuel consumption would be like at that speed

[Saras]

I tested my bimmers speed blocker once... it works!

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by aaglo
Moottoritie! (=motorway)

In New Zealand we call it a motorway.

[SpencerH]

I've always understood a freeway to be an interstate road (i.e. I5 or I95) while a highway is a state designation, such as hwy 119, and is usually a smaller road.

[el freako]

Originally posted by OneFootInTheGrave
How does Germany fare in the "most deaths on the road per capita"?

Does anyone have any statistics, as far as I know it is the only country in the world where you don't have limits on motorways if the conditions are right (no fog, snow, ice, no major traffic, etc... ) I would like the numbers to be low, as it cuts the travelling time in half.

There are two ways of measuring this, the first is the number of injuries or deaths on the roads per 1000 people - the lower the better.

United States: 11.5
Japan: 9.2
Germany: 6.2
France: 2.9
Britian: 5.6
Italy: 5.4
EU average: 4.4

The other way is the number of 'passenger kilometres' (a measure of how much is actually travelled by road in the country) per injury or death - the higher the better.

United States: 2,000km
Japan: 700km
Germany: 1,600km
France: 4,400km
Britian: 2,000km
Italy: 2,500km
EU average: 2,500km

(the data is for the year 2000 and is from the OECD )

[Solly]

Higher speed limits on motorways (80?), lower speed limits in any kind of residential area (20).

Strictly enforced in residential areas.

We need to crack the anti-social vice of speeding as we did drink-driving.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by el freako
There are two ways of measuring this, the first is the number of injuries or deaths on the roads per 1000 people - the lower the better.

United States: 11.5
Japan: 9.2
Germany: 6.2
France: 2.9
Britian: 5.6
Italy: 5.4
EU average: 4.4

The other way is the number of 'passenger kilometres' (a measure of how much is actually travelled by road in the country) per injury or death - the higher the better.

United States: 2,000km
Japan: 700km
Germany: 1,600km
France: 4,400km
Britian: 2,000km
Italy: 2,500km
EU average: 2,500km

(the data is for the year 2000 and is from the OECD )

I have an extremely hard time believing that the French are safest drivers.

[Provost Harrison]

Yes, I am sure those results are off for the French. I remember seeing statistics that indicate Britain is the safest country in Europe to drive...

[Kramerman]

Another important factor would be 'car density'. By which i mean the amount of cars in a given area... New York City is inherently more dangerous to drive in than say the French country side, as is the American country side much safer than downtown Paris, because there are less hazards (i.e. other moving vehicles)

[el freako]

Originally posted by Sagacious Dolphin


I have an extremely hard time believing that the French are safest drivers.

Well this is probably a case where statistics show just how wrong people's 'gut feelings' can be.


That said remember this is the number of deaths or injuries from road accidents.
It could be that the French have just as many accidents as the rest of us but theirs are usually more minor.

[Dauphin]

Its not gut feeling, its based on passed statistics.

In 1998, there were 144 French road fatalities per million inhabitants, compared with 117 Italian, 93 German and 58 British.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/...398081,00.html

[Brizey]

el freako:

Interesting data, but that is all it is, interesting. The driving conditions, laws, vehicle types, driver's training, age restrictions, vehicle age, climate, truck-car-motorcycle mix, and a host of other things vary tremendously between the countries you list. It is impossible to draw any cause-effect conclusion from the data. It says absolutely nothign about the capabilities of the drivers of the countries.

[Dauphin]

I seem to recall one statistic is that 10% of French road deaths are due to driving into trees.

[Provost Harrison]

I thought so SD, I have seen statistics where Portugal and Greece are the most dangerous. Apparently the most dangerous road in Europe runs along the Algarve. I have been on that road many a time (although not driving myself)

[Sava]

Speed limits on some US interstate highways should be increased, there is no doubt. Also, your fine should be dependent on your yearly income (like a European country, I forget which). Also, more emphasis should be put on ticketing tailgaters. Tailgating causes far more accidents than speeding. I think in crowded urban areas, there should be camera systems monitoring traffic and massive enforcement of tailgating laws. Speeding is less of a priority in road safety. And all vehicles should have some sort of Blood Alcohol Level testing device. Drunk driving kills tens of thousands in the US.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Sagacious Dolphin
I seem to recall one statistic is that 10% of French road deaths are due to driving into trees.

I'm sure there's a Scotland/sex with sheeps/driving fatalities joke out there somewhere.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
I thought so SD, I have seen statistics where Portugal and Greece are the most dangerous. Apparently the most dangerous road in Europe runs along the Algarve. I have been on that road many a time (although not driving myself)

http://www.observer.co.uk/review/sto...796328,00.html

I posted that article in another thread in response to someone saying that speeding was not a major cause of death. It is.

[el freako]

Originally posted by Sagacious Dolphin
Its not gut feeling, its based on passed statistics.

In 1998, there were 144 French road fatalities per million inhabitants, compared with 117 Italian, 93 German and 58 British.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/...398081,00.html

Ah I see the difference between us, I was measuring both fatalities and injuries whereas you are just measuring fatalities.

This shows that much care must be taken in stating exactly what is being measured in statistics.


Yes you are correct in terms of fatalities France does do poorly (which begs the question of why such a higher proportion of road accidents in France ends in death than elsewhere).

Here are the fatalities per 100,000 people for 2000:

United States: 15
Japan: 8
Germany: 9
France: 14
Britian: 6
Italy: 11
EU average: 11


It is also interesting to note the differing rates of fatalities:

Deaths as % of Total Killed and Injured in road accidents:

United States: 1.3%
Japan: 0.9%
Germany: 1.4%
France: 4.9%
Britian: 1.1%
Italy: 2.0%
EU average: 2.3%

In the EU the only countries with worse fatality rates than France are Greece and (surprisingly) Denmark and Luxembourg.


So you can say that the French are much less likely to have an accident but if they do then it is far more likely to result in a fatality.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by el freako


Ah I see the difference between us, I was measuring both fatalities and injuries whereas you are just measuring fatalities.

Actually, we are measuring reported injuries/fatalities.

I'd put more faith in the death figures as they are probably necessarily accurate (you can't avoid reporting a fatality). Injuries could be anything from near fatal to a few cuts and bruises. The difference in injury statistics could just be down to French drivers not reporting minor incidences as they are assumed to be par for the course.

[Sava]

Glad to see America isn't leading the way in that deadly group of statistics.

[el freako]

Originally posted by Sagacious Dolphin


Actually, we are measuring reported injuries/fatalities.

I'd put more faith in the death figures as they are probably necessarily accurate (you can't avoid reporting a fatality). Injuries could be anything from near fatal to a few cuts and bruises. The difference in injury statistics could just be down to French drivers not reporting minor incidences as they are assumed to be par for the course.

Or it could be due to a poor performance by French emergency services.
Both of these would explain the difference, why are Danish and Luxembourgoise accidents so fatal then - the same reasons?

Are you sure you are not putting more faith in something that you want to be the reason?

[Dauphin]

It could be any reason, but in my experience with statistics, how you collect the data in two different situations often has a bigger impact than the real difference in data (i.e the data difference if both situations were measured in an identical fashion). So I look at possible collection differences first.

[Grrr]

Originally posted by Caligastia


In New Zealand we call it a motorway.

If I was still living in auckland I'd go out and take a photo of the "Pacific Coast Highway" sign ...

It's actually a small country road btw .