To think 20mph isn't a magical cure all?

[QuestionableMouse]

This might be a bit ranty, sorry.

On my way to work this morning I hit and killed someone's pet duck. It was in the middle of the road in a blind bend. I came around the bend and it was under the car before I could do anything about it. It's a nasty bend in that it's blind, with high hedges. It's also very rural, with not a lot of traffic.

I was doing 30mph on a road with a 60mph limit. The owner is now terribly upset with me and is saying that if I'd been doing 20mph I could have missed it and has decided to start a petition to lower the limit to 20mph. I'm also getting a lot of hate from her family over this.

I feel that even if I had been doing 20mph, I still wouldn't have been able to avoid it (the breaking distance, for example, is shorter than the bend, if that makes any sense!) I do feel really terrible about it but it was an accident.

WIBU?

Tunnockswafer, a child running out in front of you is nothing to do with being able to stop in the distance you can see. Speed limits in built-up areas are an attempt to address that.

On country lanes you are expected to drive at a safe speed for the road conditions and to be able to stop in the distance you can see.

That means slowing right down for blind bends, travelling more slowly when it is wet or icy, etc. The fact that the national speed limit applies just means you can't go over 60 on a country lane and it is otherwise your job to assess the road as you drive and limit your speed accordingly; it doesn't mean that you have no responsibility to drive appropriately to what is in front of you.

Your speed is your responsibility. The duck's owner is being ridiculous to suggest that a 20 limit could be applied but she does have a point in that you were clearly going too fast. As has been pointed out repeatedly, you could have hit a child, a pony or another car instead. If you had, you would have been held responsible and, if it had been a child, it is possible that you could have ended up with a custodial sentence.

I think if I saw a bird in the road I'd assume it would fly off and probably not slam the brakes on.

I did that with a pigeon once. Now I'm the type of driver who waits for the bloody pigeon to safely cross the road on the pedestrian crossing (true story).

I ran a pigeon over after I deliberately slowed down near a junction to give it a chance to fly off, it didnt.

Someone later told me they are more likely to fly off if you maintain the right speed as they can't hear/judge the nearness of a car when it's slowed down. Don't know how true it is tbf.

You are the judge of the bend op and honestly the people don't have much to blame you for. Their pet should have been safely secured.

Why did the duck cross the road??

But in all honesty if it was a dog and your car was damaged you could claim from the owner, same as a cow, sheep etc as they aren't meant to be on the road. So why should a duck be any different, it is the owners fault for not having control of their animal.

20mph will make no difference. Ignore the owner and their family and don't be feeling bad.

Looks like it's going to cost £100 ISH to fix the damage to the car.

When my aunt's crazy boxer escaped and got hit by a taxi, she had to pay for the damage to the taxi (it came off worse than the dog, who had a cut that needed a few stitches).

Mind you, I doubt if there's a legal duty to keep your ducks under control.

20mph will make no difference.

www.ingenie.com/young-drivers-guide/stopping-distances

HTH.

In all seriousness, this really isn't about the duck.

I grew up in a valley with a bendy, twisty, narrow road and I often drive on it now.

30, although it may seem slow, is a cruising speed, or a clear visibility one.

At 20-25mph, not only do I have a shorter braking time, I'm driving the car in a lower, more responsive gear, and am always ready to brake because my presumption is that there's something I can't see. 30mph is only for those parts of the road where it's safe to cruise. Which doesn't include blind bends.

How does a duck do £100 damage to a car? It’s not that I don’t believe you OP, I am genuinely curious!

The fecking thing smashed the grille which will need replacing. It was a big duck...

I had my sister in the car today and she checked the speed with her sat nav thing and yes I'm doing closer to 20mph than 30 on that bit of road.

I had my sister in the car today and she checked the speed with her sat nav thing and yes I'm doing closer to 20mph than 30 on that bit of road.

You drove round a blind bend an hit an object in the road because you couldn't stop in time.

I'll say it again.

If you couldn't stop in the distance you could see in front of you, you were going too fast.

OP maybe mention the cost in your reply to her angry message and I bet she will stop getting in touch.

@Goldmandra

Wow underlined text. You're very angry about this. I know the bend in question, you don't. To be able to stop in time you'd literally have to drive at 5mph.

If it's so unsafe to drive around it at ~30, why do the buses do 30? Or the police?

Not at all angry OP, although I will admit to being rather concerned that you have a driving license.

I just thought you might benefit from someone highlighting the relevant information that you keep missing.

You're clearly struggling to grasp it still.

Maybe some refresher driving lessons would help.

I'm a perfectly safe driver. Regularly do 500+ miles a week and I've had one accident in 12+ years. And then it was another car hitting me while I was parked. I'm also currently taking lessons for my trailer test and the instructor has no worries or concerns (and he's an ex police driver/trainer)

It's a tight bend but wide (lanes are probably 1.5x the size of a normal lane.)

There's also very little traffic because it basically only leads to my street.

Well, I personally think this new love of 20mile speed limits is ridiculous. They're not enforced, so bad drivers just continue to speed while good drivers drop to 20miles and crawl along getting annoyed. We have a campaign for one in our village currently and it's been taken up with enthusiasm but the self-proclaimed town leaders and I am refusing to sign the petition.

To be able to stop in time you'd literally have to drive at 5mph.
It can't be more than for a couple of seconds, so what's stopping you from doing this?

I'm a perfectly safe driver. Regularly do 500+ miles a week and I've had one accident in 12+ years. And then it was another car hitting me while I was parked. I'm also currently taking lessons for my trailer test and the instructor has no worries or concerns (and he's an ex police driver/trainer)

It's a tight bend but wide (lanes are probably 1.5x the size of a normal lane.)

There's also very little traffic because it basically only leads to my street.

None of these makes any difference to the fact that you should be driving at a speed that means you can stop in the distance you can see.

I hit a pheasant once, cost me about £150 to fix the damage (destroyed an entire front headlight.

I drive in a city that has a 20 mph limit, and spend sooo much time looking at the bloody speedo I worry that one day I'll end up hitting someone