Yep, those blasted lapsed Maritime Anti-Invasion Mines are the scourge of the UK road network!

Of course, in the absence of solid white lines, you should maybe be considering driving at a speed that allows you to stop in HALF the distance you can see in case you meet a lapsed MIAM coming the other way, apexing the bend!

Good point Only applicable to left hand bends though ... hopefully!

Chris

use a bit of advanced driving by looking ahead for traffic and checking over your shoulder and in your mirrors for traffic behind you, approach the corner and just cut the whitleline slightly and as soon as road opens up get back up to national limit, i would say 50mph for the bend

use a bit of advanced driving by looking ahead for traffic and checking over your shoulder and in your mirrors for traffic behind you, approach the corner and just cut the whitleline slightly and as soon as road opens up get back up to national limit, i would say 50mph for the bend

Perfect example of an advanced driver here. He hasn't seen an entirely fictitious road and yet has a definite and slightly smug answer.....

Agree with swedishskoda. The question is non-sensical as it asked out of context, with too little information given to make a valid decision. Paranoia is healthy on the roads but a good driver should be able to maintain the speed limit around all bends on the road, if it is not safe to do so I would say it is the fault of the relevant road authority for not flagging the corner with suitable warnings.

Sorry i think that is nonsense , its ALWAYS up to the driver to decide what speed is suitable driving for the road conditions is far more important that the speed limit.

It could be wet , foggy there could be mud on the road or ice or snow, cattle loose, slow moving vehicles , accidents ahead literally millions of possibilities thats why a good driver should drive accordingly whatever the speed limit

Surely there's some kind of regulations as to what's required of a road for having the 60 mph limit?

Not in the UK. The default national speed limit is 60mph for a single carriageway, 70 for a dual, assuming a car.

If there are no speed limit signs and no streetlighting (or streetlighting more than a prescribed distance apart), that limit applies, and roads have to meet conditions to be limited, so hence there are many very narrow country lanes with a 60mph limit, that quite frankly, you'd have to be a loon to do 60mph down apart from very short bursts- they often have blind bends, for example, or farm entrances.

So highway authorities should engineer roads that can be driven at the speed limit regardless of conditions? Why not lets all have robot cars that drive themselves with no human input?

Personally I prefer the intelligent driver option.

Sadly that seems to be the approach around here. One local lane had a 60 mph (NSL) limit, though you'd be pushing it at 60 in the dry. Some c0ckend decided to go down it at an estinated 80 in the wet, and killed himself + girlfriend. Limit is dropped to 40.

42. The answer's definitely 42.

40mph for me

ive picked 50mph from the discription, but you havent said if it has chevrons, how wide the road is, how sharp the road is, how far ahead into the bend you can see, how far ahead the vanishing point is and at 30 and 40 mph if you were catching the vanishing point or was it running away?

Thanks, cjb, for clarifying the default speed bit. UK differs from Sweden in this respect (and a few others ), Up til 1967 when we took the plunge from left to right hand traffic (yes, I was there), there was no default speed limit at all in Sweden. Then 70 km/h became default, and higher (traditionally 90 km/h on A roads and 110 km/h on motorways but now we also have 100 and 120 km/h) is dependent on specific conditions (road width, traffic intensity &c). 100 km/h (60mph) and above is only found on dual carriageways or 2+1 roads with barriers.

This means of course that it's possible to encounter a really difficult bend on a UK 60 mph road, So (as nearly always in this section) I have to agree with ScoobyChris - 30 mph might very well be the prudent choice (not self-evident from the initial post, though)

Well I went for 30 before Chris described why, along similar lines of thinking that if I had only felt it safe to approach unknown at 30 then anything faster relied on there being nothing there, ie I judged it to be a safe speed with anything around the corner.

I must confess I used to and still do to a small extent drive known roads faster then sight lines dictate assuming there is nothing around the corner/over the hill. Not had any mega close shaves but just as I get older I seem to not mind taking the extra couple of minutes to get there.

Anywhere between 30-60 mph = safe, comfortable and legal.

So, this means our driver who has the wisdom to take the bend at 30mph the first time, was actually lying when he said it felt safe and comfortable between 40 - 60mph?

Assuming of course he's aware of and following "the system".

If we knew for sure our driver was following the system each time and was telling the truth, then surely 60mph would be the correct anwer?

I think the whole point of this is that it's deliberately vague, to get people thinking about it - you're not going to know how the bend pans out and the road develops the first time you drive it are you?

Steve

a good driver should be able to maintain the speed limit around all bends on the road,

Absolute rubbish :confused:

Alright ladies ... Don't take this meaningless poll too seriously now! It's only a bit of fun I assume, otherwise it would be presented in a scientific way. Not enough data to base a decision on obviously. There is no way to judge unless you are in a car driving into this notorious bend!

I take back my statement that "a good driver should be able to maintain the speed limit through all bends" Well I amend it actually. I'll say "any driver should be able to maintain the speed limit through all bends (in an ideal world where planning was more advanced in mentality than it currently is)"

It depends on your priorities in life also. How much adrenaline are you comfortable with? Also what values do you place on the lives of other road users? Is Social Responsibility ingrained in your culture/society?

Is that sufficient clarification for all?

Edited 20 August, 200916 yr by gocfella
To prove the advantages of PC over typewriter/pencil !

I think the whole point of this is that it's deliberately vague, to get people thinking about it - you're not going to know how the bend pans out and the road develops the first time you drive it are you?

Steve

Agreed....

This is just a loose, abstract discussion at the end of the day IMHO.

:confused:

I think the whole point of this is that it's deliberately vague, to get people thinking about it - you're not going to know how the bend pans out and the road develops the first time you drive it are you?

Indeed - it's a training question which I hoped would stimulate discussion about possible answers and why rather than people just posting a number. Good to see we have a lot of thinking drivers on board

Also interesting that some people opted for 40 and 50mph - anyone want to expand on their reasons for picking them?

Chris

I'll say "any driver should be able to maintain the speed limit through all bends (in an ideal world where planning was more advanced in mentality than it currently is)"

I'm still a bit unclear on this - is your thinking that speed limits should be dropped for every bend where the approaching speed limit is too high so that you can always drive at the speed limit around a bend, or am I completely off?

Chris

Alright ladies ... Don't take this meaningless poll too seriously now! It's only a bit of fun I assume, otherwise it would be presented in a scientific way. Not enough data to base a decision on obviously. There is no way to judge unless you are in a car driving into this notorious bend!

I take back my statement that "a good driver should be able to maintain the speed limit through all bends" Well I amend it actually. I'll say "any driver should be able to maintain the speed limit through all bends (in an ideal world where planning was more advanced in mentality than it currently is)"

It depends on your priorities in life also. How much adrenaline are you comfortable with? Also what values do you place on the lives of other road users? Is Social Responsibility ingrained in your culture/society?

Is that sufficient clarification for all?

Ok, since you still seem so sure of yourself, what would you do with setting a limit for one bend I encounter daily on a single-track road where 50mph is safe Westbound, but you can't safely go above 40 Eastbound, due to the shape and positioning of a hillock on the inside of the bend, and the exact geometry of the road?

I'm still a bit unclear on this - is your thinking that speed limits should be dropped for every bend where the approaching speed limit is too high so that you can always drive at the speed limit around a bend, or am I completely off?

Chris

Crikey. Can you imagine if they set it low enough for a 1950s Live-axled car with knackered shocks and barely-legal crossplies

Crikey. Can you imagine if they set it low enough for a 1950s Live-axled car with knackered shocks and barely-legal crossplies

Given that the HC still quotes braking distances for said car...

Chris i can explain why ive suggested 50mph. you have said that the bend was fine and comfortable at 30 and 40 and it was then tried again at 50 and 60 (no mention of 70 so im guessing he didnt make it round at that speed lol). If the road was nsl there is no mention of any warning signs or slow written in the road. This to me describes the road as a fast corner, but even so i would want to reduce speed down for dangers and to correct my speed to match my vanishing point. I feel 60 would have been too fast and 40 would have been a better speed for an average driver, but im still happy to stick with 50 as per previous post i made there wasnt any mention of warning signs etc and nothing said about vanishing points, so going by the description you posted sounded to me like it wasnt sharp and maybe just a sweeping long bend?

Chris i can explain why ive suggested 50mph. you have said that the bend was fine and comfortable at 30 and 40 and it was then tried again at 50 and 60 (no mention of 70 so im guessing he didnt make it round at that speed lol). If the road was nsl there is no mention of any warning signs or slow written in the road. This to me describes the road as a fast corner, but even so i would want to reduce speed down for dangers and to correct my speed to match my vanishing point. I feel 60 would have been too fast and 40 would have been a better speed for an average driver, but im still happy to stick with 50 as per previous post i made there wasnt any mention of warning signs etc and nothing said about vanishing points, so going by the description you posted sounded to me like it wasnt sharp and maybe just a sweeping long bend?

How on earth can you give a definite answer about an entirely fictitious road?

Chris i can explain why ive suggested 50mph. you have said that the bend was fine and comfortable at 30 and 40 and it was then tried again at 50 and 60 (no mention of 70 so im guessing he didnt make it round at that speed lol). If the road was nsl there is no mention of any warning signs or slow written in the road. This to me describes the road as a fast corner, but even so i would want to reduce speed down for dangers and to correct my speed to match my vanishing point. I feel 60 would have been too fast and 40 would have been a better speed for an average driver, but im still happy to stick with 50 as per previous post i made there wasnt any mention of warning signs etc and nothing said about vanishing points, so going by the description you posted sounded to me like it wasnt sharp and maybe just a sweeping long bend?

You've never encountered a bend that probably should have warning signage/markings and didn't, or one that has utterly unjustified warnings?