thenewgalaxy

Their laws, their country. You were lucky if you had to brake hard at that speed!

I suggest you go on mumsnet by the way it is full of self-righteous keyboard warriors and trolls who are horribly aggressive to anyone who deviates slightly from the accepted norm.

That ******* was deported and is not allowed back here. I'm sure he's a fantastic driver and it is motorsport's loss that he chooses to pull stunts like that.

Jazzy Jefferson

iTrader: (2)

He was indeed deported. Still... makes 165mph seem a bit tame.

Amazing though that people CAN and DO drive at silly speeds on UK roads. And actually, nothing happens other than they get caught and punished in accordance with the law.

Are they scum of the earth as some people seem to claim? Not at all. There are far worse individuals out there, who we should pay more attention to. The odd person who is a bit silly at 5am on the motorway really shouldn't be our cause for concern.

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

Can't see what the problem is, I topped my Impeza out at nearly 160mph on the autobahn during the day, atleast this guy did it on an empty motorway early in the morning.

Flame suit zipped up well and truly in anticipation of the I am an idiot and reckless comments

Shaid

Why was I lucky I had to brake hard?

A well set up car with a good braking system upgraded properly won't have any problems.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

I did say "round our way".

You are very defensive, come and see.......

SJ_Skyline

You are a reckless idiot.










You should have used a hire car, they are faster!

GeeDee

iTrader: (2)

Not too much different to the 150ish capabilities of an eType or Aston Martin on crossply tyres in the 60s with no crash barriers.

I know which I would prefer to do.

David Lock

I didn't know helicopters went that fast

I started driving before the speed limits so 165 would have been quite legal although not so many cars that would do that speed at the time. I remember flat out in an E-Type (160-ish) and about 140 in a DB4 (no problem, great fun),

Was a passenger a couple of years ago in a 500 bhp Stag and around 140 for a short blip. Scary.

Didn't they test race cars on motorways early mornings years ago?

I think the guy was asking for trouble doing such a high speed for some time.

dl

speedking

Of course they are not designed to be, but that doesn't mean its not possible on some sections.

Read my comment in context. I'm saying that if that speed with no other aggravating factors is worth a 3 year ban, then what would be the outcome if there was an accident / injury when someone is exceeding the limit in town. To my mind it should be significantly greater, but there is little room for judicial manoeuvre to apply a harsher penalty. (Not talking DD or DWDCA but only speeding where say a cyclist unexpectedly crosses your path.)

JTaylor

My old RA gearbox topped out at 145.

thenewgalaxy

It's clearly much safer doing 165 in an R8 to an E Type Jag but that doesn't make it safe per se. Twitch the wheel hard you're still a fireball!

You're also still travelling at 242 feet per second, bearing in mind the average driver has a reaction time of three quarters of a second... and the best stopping distance from hitting the brakes is going to be around 1150 feet.

The reason we have a 70mph limit is actually because of a car doing 165mph on the motorway!

An AC Cobra was reported to have done this speed and when mentioned in parliament they freaked out and enforced a blanket 70mph temporary national speed limit. There was no justification for it, they pretty much plucked the number out of thin air and they never revised it.

Do I agree with 70mph at 5am? No way. In traffic? yep!

I think David you have hit the nail on the head, I'm sure many of us have blasted a car up to a three figure speed very briefly or so - there are of course risks involved in doing that but regardless of how dangerous that may be for a very short period it is not reckless as that sustained blast over tens of miles, regardless of what time it was.

Shaid

I said pretty much the same too.

I wouldn't really travel any great distance to verify the claim though.

David Lock

Brakes on E-Type were terrible. High speed in Aston felt solid and safe, and it was raining at the time

Always wanted a trip in an AC

dl

Leslie

The speed limits are designed to suit all drivers as far as is possible bearing in mind average driving abilities of those who were good enough to pass the standard driving test.

There is no doubt that some are far better than others at controlling a car at high speed. It is not possible to provide speed limits for those who are more capable than others. The only possible method is to have speed limits to suit local road conditions and which are safe for as many as possible on public roads. Can someone think of a method to apply speed limits to individual drivers according to their abilities? Most people have an excessive sense of their own driving abilities anyway, If most of them were placed on a race track and told to show us all how good they are, they would get a nasty shock when trying to keep up with experienced racers.

The fact is, that oaf who decided to drive at such an excessive speed on a public road apart from being particularly stupid was also behaving in a very selfish manner. No one can forecast traffic conditions ahead and what another driver might do. At normal speed limits one has a good chance of coping but at those speeds you have everything against you when attempting to control a public roadgoing car at those speeds when the unexpected occurs, however superior you may regard your own driving skills.

The really significant point is that other drivers at least expect others to be somewhere near the speed limit, but not 95 mph more than the maximum limit. If they don't see you coming, and they would have precious little chance of doing so at that speed, they may well make a move which the speedster cannot avoid.

Driving at such speeds on a public road is neither big nor clever and is a selfish and dangerous act. There is no way that anyone can justify it whatever you say!

Les

stonejedi

iTrader: (51)

I agree,but the speed limits need reviewing as they are based on cars from the past that had the average power of about 50 bhp.SJ.

GeeDee

iTrader: (2)

Yes. the motorways are, well, they were in the 60s so they must be now. Not so sure about our drivers though!

I remember Alain de Cadenet recalling a time when they tested a Le Mans car on the M4 very early in the morning. They had two transporters at different junctions and basically blasted between the junctions to check out the high speed running. I think this was in the days without the chicanes on the Mulsanne.

Matteeboy

They used to test McLarens around Woking - always a good sight.

Dad used to road race a bit in the 80s but nowadays it's a very bad idea - he smoked a cop car in his 928 once - 150, 90 around a roundabout (A3 near Ripley), back down the other way. I have no idea how he got away with it!

David Lock

Wasn't it around there that Mike Hawthorn was racing his Jaguar which left the road, hit a tree and killed Mike?

dl

^Qwerty^

A motorway is a different kind of road to one which typically has a 30mph limit on it, so the % is irrelevant in my opinion.

greenonedave

All of us a some time or another have been subject to what we would call pratt in the other car, cut up or sorry didn't see you or just plain bad driving, Most of you feel that as you are quite capable driving at those type of speeds but, you have had no training and unfortunatley having loads of money dos'nt make you a good driver so I prefere the law to strongly penilise any non capable person driving at high speeds thus protecting me from some over inflated egos. Its the way the whole system works to protect those who cant protect themselves.Some people should not be allowed to drive at 30mph let alone those types of limit excesses. sorry

GeeDee

iTrader: (2)

First of all, you don't need to be sorry for your opinion.

I think the initial point was that someone driving at high speed at too early 'o clock on a motorway with virtually no traffic was hit with such a harsh penalty. Maybe there was something we don't know.

I'm all for means testing to identify whether someone is able to drive at high speed and/or control a car beyond the limit; after all, the more you do it the better you get. But that's not to say everyone can do it.

I recall, years ago, a German driver getting let off for driving a Porsche, I think it was, on the M25 at 150mph on the basis he was "used to doing those speeds". That's fine, if everyone else around him was also used to those speeds.

I find it quite intimidating, when driving on autobahns, at the speed the Germans drive at in traffic and generally I'm quite comfortable driving at high speed, subject to police intervention, although, when I put my foot down out there, the roads were empty. I do find though, that lane discipline in Germany is somewhat superior than the UK.

markjmd

iTrader: (11)

A couple of points.

First, if you've got the money to hire a 165mph car, you've got the money to go on a track day, so there's no excuse for doing that sort of speed on a public road, where you're likely to hit some unsuspecting muppet not checking his mirror, a traffic womble laying out cones, or who knows what else.

Second, even in Germany where everyone is supposedly used to that sort of speed, $h!t can and does happen. I remember reading in the paper once when I was there for a few months about a guy who flipped a big beemer at high speed, and apparently skidded on his roof for 1/4 mile (it might have been icy at the time, which would of course have helped). Can't recall now whether he survived, but I bet if he did he took things a little easier from then on when he got on the Autobahn.

Just because you can floor it everywhere all of the time, even legally, doesn't mean you have to, or should do, or will even want to.

David Lock

Thank you Headmaster

It is fun though!!

Empty road at 5 am, what's the problem (yeah I know, don't give me a boring list please!)

dl

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

I have gone faster than that on a few occasions...

Its no biggy,especially as nobody got hurt.....6 months ban would have been more than enough..

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

He wouldn't have made the +100 club (for those who've been over 100mph over the speed limit)!

If it was during a busy time then it's reckless - endangering others. If at 5am on a deserted motorway, then it's just a bit stupid and the length of ban is excessive. He's only likely to kill himself and that's his decision!

Rob Day

iTrader: (78)

Threads like this always make me chuckle.

My dad got caught for speeding some 15 years ago in Bradford (M606 I think) at 145 in his BMW Alpina. The police were only concerned because his driving appeared erratic, and they charged my dad with “lack of due care and attention" I think it was, and not a speeding charge although they did attempt to pursue this originally. After a good legal battle, 6 points and £100 fine was the result, with no ban (court hearing 2 weeks after the event)

Now the erratic behaviour was simple, the fact that he was doing such speed meant that what looked like a fast "minor" left hander, at that speed turned into something more sinister. The ever so slight brow of the hill, with some road erosion left the back end loose, and at those speeds it become a little twitchy, to the point of cutting and taking the hard shoulder to exit out of the corner. Now this all happened at 4:30am (on our way to Donny if memory serves), and I was close behind in my RST, not at those speeds though, eeek:

The state of the roads these days is shocking in most places, especially where the R8 was, and the “what-if” scenario happened which could ultimately be out of the drivers control, then it could have been avoided if he wasn’t being so wreckless. My dad if he was here (rip) would laugh back at his incident, but reality is that it could have ended in devastating consequences.

So for all those that are ranting on about exceeding the speed limit by up to 40% in a 30 or 40 zone, yes this is just as bad as you may/could hit/kill a pedestrian/other vehcile etc, but the likelihood is most drivers whom speed and crash at slow speeds, are the same typical drivers that crash at high speeds.

The moral of my story here is: You are in control of the car, not the surroundings! If you crash your car at 0-70 its highly likely bar head on impact that you will walk away from a modern car, speeds in excess of 100, you might not be so lucky. If you want to push your car to its full potential constantly, then do it on a track where your insured to do so, and push it to “your” driving capabilities.

Rob

Ps- before any of you start, yes I do occasionally slip over the speed limit from time to time, who doesn’t, but in moderation and controlled, not hitting the rev limiter in 6th on the M62!

Shaid

I think some of you people are a bunch of Mongs. You speak as if driving so fast is something that you need a fighter pilot licence for.

It's 165 mph!

No REAL biggie.

Many a motorcyclist will have ridden quicker many a time.

If anyone starts going on about the law of the land I say bollox to you too. Horse bollox at that too. I'm sure you've never broke the speed limit. Oh but not by that much you say. Well guess what? Rape is still rape wether you stick it in all the way or just manage to get the head in.

When the law of the land starts protecting us from drug dealers, chavs, thieves and rap music then fine we can all start being overly sensitive in not sneezing on the queens highway however in the meantime... Whatever

banny sti

iTrader: (68)

Its an R8 it would have needed 10miles to get up to 165

^Qwerty^

There are stretches of motorway (and one or two other roads) around where I live where it's very easy to get a bike to 150+, in the distance you can see and without passing any traffic. You takes your chance if you do so of course, but you’re only putting yourself and/or licence at risk if you do. Not all motorways in the UK are full of traffic 24hrs a day.
The thing that would bother me more than anything these days is the pesky deer. You can see herds of the things next to the M18/180/62 and sometimes they decide to cross the road and don't appear to have much road sense, well not like the well'ard crows and ravens which are quite happy to sit watching 1ft away from the carriage way, cool as ice, waiting to pick over those not as clever as themselves when the coast is clear.

GeeDee

iTrader: (2)

Really? So we can blame wholesale reduction in speed limits to ridiculous 30s, 40s and 50s on fundamentally good roads to the quality of drivers now coming off the production line. Great!

Yes. Drivers who have not proved their abilities could have a 50, 60 or 70 sticker on their cars just like lorries, etc. It might also incentivise drivers to improve their driving in order to remove said sticker.


Agreed. Anyone, with the right car can drive at 165mph in a straight line. It's looking ahead far enough and dealing with hazards when it gets interesting and sorts the good from the bad.

Rant mode OFF