To think 100mph isn't routine

[CaptainWarbeck]

I'm travelling with my younger sister & her bf. They're driving up the country and are routinely doing 100mph on the motorways etc which feels overly fast to me. Context: I'm from an overseas country where speed cameras and checks are routine and most people just stick to the speed limit.

Is this the norm in the UK? If not, would you breach the peace and say anything? It doesn't help that they're continually play fighting while driving too which doesn't add to the feeling of safety...

People are getting very confused about thinking and braking distance here.

At 100kph (the speed most data is available for, 62.5 mph) and if I have a normal reaction time of around 0.25 seconds (top drivers are well below 0.2 seconds), my thinking distance will be around 4m and my braking distance around 40m. The braking distance will dominate, and the faster I go, the more it will dominate, as it goes up proportionally with the square of the speed.

Now, on an empty motorway in good conditions, I hope I can see a lot further ahead than those numbers. Of course you can never eliminate all risk, and it does increase with speed, but I would say 100mph on an empty dry motorway is far safer than 60mph on some dual carriageways.

It’s a daily occurrence for me, but with blue lights and sirens….

anything over 100mph is an automatic driving ban.

These are the same companies who are so honest about their fuel consumption and emissions data, yeah?

I drive frequently on the M1. Large stretches are littered with active speed cameras, and there are frequent variable speed restrictions.

Consequently I stick to 70 and so do the majority of other drivers there.

100mph will definitely get them into trouble if they get picked up on a camera. (I got a fine for doing 56mph on the M1 in a temp 50 mph zone!)

The far right over taking lane people tend to drive around 90. Id feel like a nuisance driving at 70 in that lane. They'd be better suited to Germany.

@Gulikitti ,

maybe you should reread the Highway Code sometime, it might make you a safer driver. Thinking distance is clearly included and braking distance is still very dominant.

How do you know that motorway your traveling on at 100MPH is empty? buy the time you see that slow car pulling on the motorway or broken down vehicle in front of you at 100MPH, your already in the back of it.

Sorry I wont reply to you again, you cannot justify driving at 100MPH to any one let alone the family of innocent people you may kill one day.

The DVLA can't put points on a foreign licence. Neither can any other country add points onto a UK licence.

Also, passengers don't get points?

You drive at 100MPH and you call me an unsafe driver hahaha.

@JassyRadlett ,

The braking distances are confirmed by every motoring magazine and YouTube review (of which there are many).

I done mind people taking issue with my opinion, but not knowing about cars or physics does kind of make me take people’s opinions less seriously.

And, for those thinking 100mph is always unsafe, what do you feel about the police being authorised to do 1.5x this speed in non life or death situations?

No it’s not the norm, and lots of motorways have cameras so they are very likely to be caught

It's a question with a rather silly premise, though. As I pointed out earlier.

The question is one of relative, not absolute risk. It's isn't absolutely safe to drive at any speed. It is definitely not absolutely safe to drive at 70mph, but the risk/benefit works out fine. It is also definitely not absolutely safe to drive at 100mph. And given similar conditions, it is less safe to drive at 100mph than at 70mph.

These threads always flush out the people who deserve a driving ban. Always

Shouldn't be allowed on the road and I hope you're caught

I know plenty about physics. Just interested in whether you were using the manufacturers' data or something genuinely independent.

@Newbutoldfather Others have mentioned hazard perception processing time not the time it takes to react pressing the pedal once its processed.

You seem to not understand.

Presumably, you're referring to the small number of police who are advanced drivers? Normal response drivers have extra training but here, would be in serious trouble if they exceeded 120mph as our force deem it unsafe, even with their extra and regularly updated response training.

Yep, those Canadians and Australians are well known for their poor written English skills. All of them. Not a single one who can write a full sentence.

@ShowOfHands ,

it is still a ridiculous speed unless really necessary.

You can’t train brakes or reaction time (maybe you can hazard perception time). Also chases are pushing poor drivers in bad cars to increase their speeds.

The statistics on police chase accidents are not nice reading.

It's not silly. People think driving at anything above the limit isnt safe . I disagree. But I have noticed the person that question was aimed hasn't responded

Last year i was happily driving down a wide-ish country road doing around 105mph not for very long because my turning came up. No issues ,slight increase in risk maybe . But certainly not dangerous.

I sure someone will tell I should banned blah blah blah .

Same here. Driving up the M1 wenty or thirty years ago, even at 80 - 90 mph, there would be a constant stream of cars whizzing past in the fast lane at well over 100.. Nowadays, we stick to the limit yet find very few cars are going much faster, and almost none whizzing past.
I suppose the type of drivers on the road might vary a bit though depending on the time of day. We certainly see that on our local roads.

You are aware that many other countries around the world have English as their first language?

Nit normal but todays cars can happily do 100mph and you don’t feel like your moving

Interestingly, all the good drivers I know, never describe themselves as such. The only people I've ever met who say it, are fairly arrogant, over-confident, oddly aggressive and dismissive of other drivers and actually mean "I like driving fast and it hasn't gone wrong yet". I've only ever felt unsafe in a car with these sorts of people and have never been a passenger with them again. The best drivers I know maintain that there are no good drivers, only acceptably trained drivers meeting circumstances and physics respectfully.

@Oldnproud ,

I agree, if a motorway is at all busy, 100mph is crazy. But, occasionally you get a really empty stretch, and then I think it is safe.

Motorways are uniquely safe roads with no side turns and entries only every few miles. They also have wide lanes and crash barriers down the middle.

I think a good driver exercises judgment based on conditions. In pouring rain and on a busy road, where I slow to 50-60, others pass me at 70mph, because all they care about is the limit.