Signage on Stockport Road

[nbt]

what does bug me is when drivers go under the speed limit

It's a limit, not a target. Sometimes it isn't appropriate to drive at the limit. I do agree though that when conditions are right, you should try to drive to the limit

[Susan]

whats with getting at drivers of BMW's i drive a bmw and i do not drive like i am James Bond, i have two kids in the car.  I see idiots in other types of cars and they are all different types of people some old and some young....
what does bug me is when drivers go under the speed limit and then go slower because people are getting close to them, they should learn that they are the ones that are the danger to everyone because people coming around corner suddenly meet a traffic cue caused by them going slow and they have to hit there brakes and try not to hit the person in front.

So please dont just say that it is all BMW'S.

[Rudolph Hucker]

Can we have some signs to remind people that 30mph is a speed limit to be attained, not feared!

There seems to be a few people who think trundling from Offerton to Marple at 25mph on the speedometer (nearer 22mph in reality) is a good idea. Trust me, it's not. It bunches cars up (anyone done fluid dynamics at any stage in their life?) making it more difficult for drivers in side streets to pull out safely; it frustrates others and whether it's an impetuous youth who doesn't have the experience or James Bond in his BMW, some (and I'm not endorsing this), will be tempted to overtake in order to progress at a true 30mph (maybe 33mph on your speedo folks) after the mobile instruction is passed; and it increases fuel consumption - bad for the environment but good for the country's coffers I suppose.....

If you're not a good enough driver to hold a steady 30mph, hand in your license!

And before anyone starts lambasting me for encouraging speed, I'm not. The posted speed limit is 30mph, and the Highway Code is full of direction to keep to the posted speed limit, and directions not to needlessly interfere with, or impede, the flow of traffic!

[alison]

My post was meant to be flippant - I should have put some smiley faces - I don't need to be shouted at in red!

 

When I drove past them the statistic one was first, then the young drivers think was nearer Marple.

And Mother - its quite important to develop the skill of reading road signs at the same time as driving!

 

As for the rights and wrongs of putting up signs I really don't have an opinion!
      (is that enough smileys for people to realise I wasn't serious?)

Alison

[malawijoe]

to me, based on average demograph of the marple community, surely the signs would better aimed at elderley drivers, who are seemingly just as reckless as young drivers in certain respects (whole heartedly embracing sterotypes!!)

Or otherwise, having the 'young' signs positioned near to the College, where a higer percentage of new drivers travel to and from daily.

I find it sad that these signs will constitute an active part of road safety within the area, whilst most will be driving too fast to read them anyway,

[Tricky]

If you're honestly trying to tell me that only young drivers break the speed limit then you're having a laugh.

I don't think stereotyping every person under the age of 25 as a bad driver really helps anyone. There is absolutely no need to imply that one sort of driver is worse than another.

If that's aimed at me.. I wasn't aware I was trying to say that only young drivers brake the limit? OR that one sort of driver is worse than another? If you can point that out to me then thanks..

I don't even get that the Council are implying that either..?


HOWEVER - 

Younger drivers are likely to:
Be over-confident
Young people quickly pick up the physical skills of driving and, as a result, feel they have mastered it and are subsequently very confident about their driving ability. This means young drivers may drive unsafely, but think that they are actually in control.

Feel they are invincible
Many young people admit they often feel they are immortal and that they think crashes only happen to other people.

Assess risks poorly
Although some hazards on the road are easy to identify, there are some situations where hazards are not immediately obvious. It often takes experience to notice these hidden hazards and due to inexperience, young people may be poor at noticing and reacting in time to these hazards. US research has shown young drivers show poorer attention, visual awareness, speed relative to conditions, hazard recognition and avoidance.

Take risks
While young people understand the consequences of risk taking, they may not always understand which risks cause the worst consequences. For example, research has shown that young drivers are less likely than older drivers to cite speeding as a major cause of crashes, and when asked to rank a number of driving situations in order of risk, young drivers ranked speeding significantly lower in risk than older drivers. It has also been suggested that one of the reasons young drivers attach less importance to the risk of speeding is they are overconfident in their control and recovery skills.

Be overloaded mentally
Any new task takes a certain amount of concentration and driving in particular takes continuous concentration. Driving is a new experience for young people and they tend to use most of their mental energy on the immediate tasks such as gear changing, rather than general observation of the potential hazards. If there is a sudden need to avoid a situation, young people may be less able to deal with it due to their mental energy being focused on other tasks.


taken from http://www.brake.org.uk/facts/young-drivers-the-hard-facts


and OBVIOUSLY not every driver fits in with the stereotype.

[RWW]

I find it all rather ageist personally. They don't put signs up saying "OLD DRIVERS - WAKE UP!" or "BMW DRIVERS - YOU ARE NOT JAMES BOND - SLOW DOWN!".

If you're honestly trying to tell me that only young drivers break the speed limit then you're having a laugh.

I don't think stereotyping every person under the age of 25 as a bad driver really helps anyone. There is absolutely no need to imply that one sort of driver is worse than another.

If you're going to put a sign up explain who could be at risk. It is a school crossing. Make a point of that.

Aside from that the signs don't make grammatical sense "Young drivers think"? does that mean that young drivers can think, should think and if they can't think can they read??

"Don't become a statistic" Great way to get people to vote in the coming election. I'm definitely not filling out the census now i've read that pearl of wisdom!

[Tricky]

how have they been put up the wrong way?
 
they read..

Young Drivers
THINK

Dont become a statistic


What's so hard to understand?

It's a campaign aimed primarily at younger drivers to make them think about how they are driving and to consider the responsibilities of their actions etc.. and they would work either way round.

In a way they have clearly done the job they were made to do.. you noticed them didn't you.

I imagine the signs will be moved to another location in the borough after a period of time and personally I'm happy to see this sort of pro-active measure to potentially help with safer driving.

[orangewhip]

I couldn't agree more, vigilance on the road is essential, particularly near schools and busy crossings, and silly signs such as these will only serve to distract the driver's attention.  Especially when, as Alison notes, they have been put up the wrong way round in the first place!

[amazon]

Maybe better to watch the traffic instead of getting uptight about silly signs!   

            Agree .

[Barbara]

Maybe better to watch the traffic instead of getting uptight about silly signs!   

[alison]

Oh I saw those today - when read in isolation they are very cryptic and possibly quite deep! Impossible not to be some form of statistic I think!

I suspect they have been put up in the wrong order as well - posted the other way round does make slightly more sense!

Alison

[orangewhip]

My issue is not with the council providing adequate road safety signs near schools and crossings, that is simply common sense, but rather the cryptic nature of the Stockport Road signs which I am referring to.  

For example, a sign that imparts the instruction/suggestion 'Slow Down' or 'Watch your Speed' is surely far more effective than the current, 'Don't Be a Statistic' and 'Beware Young Drivers'?  Those are fairly equivocal statements, especially for road safety messages!        

[Tricky]

Yeah.. Road safety messages.. especially near schools or crossings.  What are the council thinking about.


[/sarcasm]

[orangewhip]

Does anyone know the raison d'etre behind the unusual signs that have appeared on Stockport Road?  There is one opposite The Railway that warns 'Don't be a statistic' and a few more warning about young drivers (?). 

The signs are red with a white font and frankly I'm appalled, although not at all surprised,that tax payers money is being frittered away in such a manner.  It's probably someone at the council squeezing the last pips out of the annual budget but the signs just look rather cryptic and out of place in Marple.  What do other people think?