[rustynutz]

26TH OCTOBER, 2016
 BY MARK HINCHLIFFE

Low speed thresholds are turning motorists, particularly motorcyclists, into dangerous speedo gazers, according to a university study.

Using drive simulators, researchers at the University of Western Australia studied 84 drivers to test whether a low speed threshold before a fine was imposed affected their driving performance.

The answer was yes!

“Our results demonstrate that making the enforcement threshold for speeding stricter can reduce drivers’ available cognitive and visual resources, and increase their subjective workload,” the research finds.

In other words, the possibility you could be fined for going just a few kilometres over the speed limit is turning us into dangerous speedo gazers.

And motorcyclists could be among the worst, according to lead researcher Dr Vanessa Bowden.

“We didn’t specifically look at motorcycles in our study, but I would agree that having the speedo further away or more difficult to see (than in a car) would likely add extra demand for riders,” she says.

The study recruited 84 participants who were told they could be fined for driving one, six or 11km/h hour over in a 50km/h zone.radar warning sign low tolerance

It measured their response to small red dots which appeared in their peripheral vision.

The result was worst with a low threshold than when the threshold was less strict.

“The implication is that lowering thresholds may reduce attention to the driving environment and impair hazard detection,” the study finds.

“In addition, subjective workload ratings indicated that participants had to invest more effort in driving when under conservative conditions.

“This is of particular concern because increasing driver workload has been shown to degrade driving performance (eg reduced steering activity, poor distance estimation) and increase driver fatigue.”

In other words, more likely to crash.

“It may be that participants spent more time looking at the speedometer during the conservative condition, and that this led to the impaired performance observed,” the study finds.

Make low threshold public

Most jurisdictions have a threshold allowance for motorists to stray over the speed limit before attracting a fine. But it is usually an official secret!

While some states and countries announce their speed tolerance such as Scotland where it is 1mph (1.6km/h), it is not often made public.

The public perception, then, is that it is only a couple of kilometres.  This perception is often based on anecdotal evidence and may be less than the actual threshold.

According to this study, that is making motorists more dangerous and inattentive than if they actually knew the threshold.

So why keep the threshold a secret? It would actually be safer for speed thresholds to be made public!

However, be aware that police with handheld radar can still issue a fine for anything over the speed limit.

It is often only speed cameras that are programmed to trigger at a specific figure above the speed zone limit.

Source: Low speed threshold a danger - Motorbike Writer

[Dazzler]

Yes, I would agree with that. Some cars are really hard to keep on or just under the speed limit (even with cruise control on) Standard petrol Camry's are one of the worst.

Nothing worse than driving in an area where you know they are really tight on speed limits in a car that drifts with its speed... 

[AlanHo]

This is yet another plea to pity the poor bikers who are victims of the law.

I have no sympathy with the argument - if the speed limit is 50 and as an experienced biker or car driver, you are aware that you can't trust yourself to stay within it - then set yourself 45 as the speed to drive at.


Rant over - I'll get me coat and leave you to it...................

[FatBoy]

I tend to agree with Rusty on this one.  It is not the speed limit that is the problem, it is the strict enforcement of it.  It used to be that you had a bit of leeway with speeding, say 5km/h over was fine.  Now it seems that in Victoria at least, the tolerance is less, now around 2km/h.  That is causing all road users to watch their speedometer, and not the road, when they are just moving along with the traffic.

[John B]

I agree with a higher  threshold. I can see what Alan is saying but I can tell you that where I live you would get abused if you were going slower than the speed limit and likely to end up being tailgated, that would probably cause a more dangerous and stressful situation.

[Doggie 1]

I believe a threshold of about ten per cent is reasonable, but that is dependent upon where it is.
Time, place and circumstance.
Having said that, Alan is correct.
If you have trouble at, say, 60 km/h, drive at 55 km/h.
But experience and reality tells me that whatever the speed limit is, people will always push the boundaries.

[AlanHo]

There is a common misconception in the UK that the over-speed allowance is +10% +2 mph

For 50 mph that works out at 57. Do 58 and you're nicked.

Hence a lot of drivers do the maths and drive at the threshold speed - then squeal like stuck pigs when then get nicked for doing say 54. It happened to me several years ago in a stretch of road works covered by average speed cameras.  I was done for doing 54 between some intermediate cameras. I wrongly assumed your speed was averaged between the first and last camera you passed and the intermediate ones were for the traffic joining or leaving at intervening junctions.  I now know better.

Hence I am now a good lad - I have installed a GPS head-up speed display and keep below the posted speed limit.  It really isn't that difficult

[eye30]

I to would have assumed average for the length if road travelled.

Sly arn't they



Cheaper version ....... just look at speedo

[AlanHo]

I to would have assumed average for the length if road travelled.

Sly arn't they



Cheaper version ....... just look at speedo

The reason I don't look at the speedo is because it is well below my sight line, is analogue, inaccurate and difficult to read to fine limits when you are dicing with keeping dead on the speed limit. The GPS head up decimal display is very clear, dead accurate and your eyes don't stray very far away from forward vision for more that a few milliseconds. 

[eye30]

I have a speed limiter which i have used but not keen on as it can cause the car to hesitate if i would need extra boost.

[Surferdude]

This is not the first time this has been discussed.

My view hasn't changed.

As suggested above there are a number of options available if you feel you might be at risk of exceeding the speed limit.

Drive just below the speed limit. Even right on it should give you enough leeway. My wife has a policy. She refuses to get a ticket because someone behind her wants to break the law.

Use cruise control (unless it's a really low speed zone). There's a danger in this that the car will overrun the CC on a long downhill. But you should be paying attention to your downhill speed anyway. The slightest bit above the speed limit on a downhill slope dramatically INCREASES your stopping distance in an emergency. Which is why I also have no problem with covert speed traps set at the bottom of a hill.

I had a couple of cars with a buzzer warning if you go over a speed you can set. I assume they are still around.

But at the end of the day, my position is this. If you can't judge your speed and/or safely check the speedo periodically, you shouldn't be on the road.

[FatBoy]

There was an article in one of the motoring magazines nearly 20 years ago (RACQ if I recall correctly) about people deliberately using the "buffer", and they ended up being caught doing much faster than they thought.  One was a lady that was doing 70 km/h in a 60 km/h zone.  She took the matter to court as she was adamant that she was only doing 65 km/h.  She stated that to the judge, who immediately told her that she just admitted guilt and fined her the full amount, plus court costs.  I assume that she was representing herself.

[Surferdude]

There was an article in one of the motoring magazines nearly 20 years ago (RACQ if I recall correctly) about people deliberately using the "buffer", and they ended up being caught doing much faster than they thought.  One was a lady that was doing 70 km/h in a 60 km/h zone.  She took the matter to court as she was adamant that she was only doing 65 km/h.  She stated that to the judge, who immediately told her that she just admitted guilt and fined her the full amount, plus court costs.  I assume that she was representing herself.

Yep. "Guilty Your Honour"

[Dazzler]

I agree with most of the observations so far.

Having been spoilt by my factory heads up display and an intimate knowledge of local speed limits I do find it a bit of a nightmare driving in a strange car on unfamiliar roads with no heads up display.

Trying to watch the speedo, monitor local speed limits and follow GPS directions takes a lot of the fun out of touring around other states, especially when you are not aware of any speed limit tolerances for the particular location.

[eye30]

I had a couple of cars with a buzzer warning if you go over a speed you can set. I assume they are still around.

Mine chimes when over set limit and "pulls" the car back as well

[AlanHo]

I agree with most of the observations so far.

Having been spoilt by my factory heads up display and an intimate knowledge of local speed limits I do find it a bit of a nightmare driving in a strange car on unfamiliar roads with no heads up display.

Trying to watch the speedo, monitor local speed limits and follow GPS directions takes a lot of the fun out of touring around other states, especially when you are not aware of any speed limit tolerances for the particular location.

I too have a speed limiter. However it would be more user friendly if there were a row of buttons on the dash you could program for various speeds such as 20, 30 40, 50, 60 and 70 mph. It would then be easy to prod the appropriate button as you enter a new speed zone. At present I have to select the speed limiter, then adjust the car's speed to the required limit, then press set.  It would be so much easier to press just one button.

[eye30]

I agree with most of the observations so far.

Having been spoilt by my factory heads up display and an intimate knowledge of local speed limits I do find it a bit of a nightmare driving in a strange car on unfamiliar roads with no heads up display.

Trying to watch the speedo, monitor local speed limits and follow GPS directions takes a lot of the fun out of touring around other states, especially when you are not aware of any speed limit tolerances for the particular location.

I too have a speed limiter. However it would be more user friendly if there were a row of buttons on the dash you could program for various speeds such as 20, 30 40, 50, 60 and 70 mph. It would then be easy to prod the appropriate button as you enter a new speed zone. At present I have to select the speed limiter, then adjust the car's speed to the required limit, then press set.  It would be so much easier to press just one button.

Mine same as yours but i have a + and - so i can set at say when i'm doing 25 mph then toggle up or down to set limit speed.

[rustynutz]

if the speed limit is 50 and as an experienced biker or car driver, you are aware that you can't trust yourself to stay within it - then set yourself 45 as the speed to drive at.

Trouble is you still have to regularly gaze at the speedo if you want to maintain a constant speed....
In the meantime drivers behind you are getting frustrated which can lead to road rage or less than safe overtaking.

[dnalor50]

There needs to be restraint on the progressive lowering of speed limits. In Melbourne, for example, numerous 40k zones are springing up and there is a move towards the trialing of 30k zones.  If the authorities feel that a 40k zone is needed on a main road, separate the road and footpath with a safety fence and create entry points from existing 50k limited back streets. If none of these things are possible then local council should explain why they didn't think ahead.