Advice for drivers on speed control and speed limits
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Use your gears
As you approach a 30mph zone on a flat road from a higher limit road, switch down into third. If you are in 30mph zone and travelling down hill, switch to a lower gear to prevent you picking up speed unwittingly.
Watch out for new limits
Repeater signs are not common in 30mph limits, for historical reasons. While some 30mph limits are announced with large warning signs as you enter the zone, other 30mph limit signs are small and may be covered in foliage or mud.
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Check your speed regularly
It only takes a fraction of a second and should be as automatic as checking your mirrors.
Feel your speed
A good driver has a good idea of their speed of travel. A good driver should be able to feel if their speed is creeping up, and counter it calmly and smoothly without the need for sudden braking.
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As you see a lower limit approaching, begin to reduce your speed
Enter the lower limit at an appropriate speed for the conditions, which is below that legal limit.
In 30mph limits, travel below the limit, not at the limit
At 20mph a pedestrian who is hit has a 90 per cent survival chance. At 30mph this reduces to about 50 per cent with a rapidly increasing probability of death above 30mph. For this reason, some 30mph limits are being reduced to 20mph limits (e.g. outside schools).
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Drive well within the limit at dangerous times
Such as opening and closing times, and the start and the end of the school day
Do not think it is safe to drive above the limit at night
Less people are about but reduced visibility makes this a dangerous time, particularly if drunk pedestrians are about.
On derestricted rural roads, modulate your speed according to the following factors
Bends and brows Side roads (which may be hidden) Width of road (narrow roads give less room to manoeuvre around cyclists and pedestrians) Weather conditions (wet and icy roads and reduced visibility) Slow down particularly for left hand bends where it is impossible to know what is around the corner (It could be a slow moving tractor or a horse).
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Keep your speed down on derestricted rural roads Many deaths are vehicle occupants in head-on collisions, due to dangerous overtaking or poor lane control at high speed. Less speed increases your reaction times and decreases your stopping distance if a dangerous driver is heading towards you. Keep your distance
Only a fool forgets the two second rule count two seconds between you and
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the vehicle in front. This is your braking space in a crisis. Double the distance in the wet. If someone else moves into your braking space, drop back again.
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Only overtake on a single carriageway road if: It is 100% safe to do so
You can do it within the speed limit It is for a sensible reason for example, overtaking a slow moving tractor on a straight stretch of road. Weigh up the advantages of overtaking for example, if you are planning to turn off a road fairly soon, and the vehicle you want to overtake is making reasonable progress and only travelling a few miles slower than you want to travel, there may be no point. Hang back.
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On dual carriageways and motorways: Stay in the left hand lane unless overtaking
Keep your distance Watch out for lower limits, for example, near road works or on exit roads.
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Imagine all possible hazards
Drive as though a hazard could be around every corner and over every brow. This means slowing down when you cant see what is ahead. This is good defensive driving and protects everyone as well as yourself and other vehicle occupants. It requires you, the driver, to focus your mind on possible hazards before setting off and throughout the journey and modulate your speed accordingly.
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If you enjoy driving at speed, contact your local race track
Many run race days where you can race your own vehicle, in a safe environment that does not put other road users at risk.
