I LIKE SPEEDING

I have taken the past 2 weeks off (if you have noticed then thank you) as I have been spending some much needed time at home with the family, enjoying the time off from uni and relaxing before the real work starts! Exams are nearly upon us so I'm not sure how regularly I will post from now on but I will do my best to squeeze a post in where I can.

Last week I went on a national motorway awareness course because I had been caught speeding on the motorway, oops. Now this post isn't about finding an excuse for what I did or shaming people who go over the limit. Like most of the other people on the course, I hold my hands up and admit that I was over the speed limit and the only person who can be blamed for that is me. However, this course was very informative and I wanted to share that as I learnt a lot.

I was expecting to have had a more hostile reception from the course leaders, after all, everyone in that room had done something we shouldn't have on the motorway and been caught. However our course leaders were wonderfully welcoming and made the whole experience actually quite enjoyable. They were very honest and admitted to speeding themselves. After all, we are all human and all make mistakes.

I was caught speeding on a variable speed limit area which I now know is part of a smart motorway. Before this course I had never even heard of these and I'm sure I am not the only one. When I learnt to drive, I learnt all about gear changes, road signs and really just how to pass the actual test. I wasn't allowed on the motorway as a learner (they now are) so I never really learnt too much about them.

Smart motorways are essentially motorways that decide which lanes to have open and what the speed limit should be based on the flow of traffic. There is a giant computer system that uses various methods to do this. They use cameras, as most of us know and have seen, but they also use sensors under the roads surface to assess how many cars there are on the road and how congested it is. They can determine all sorts of things like how close cars are together, if drivers are breaking harshly and of course, the speed of cars.

Source: www.transportfocus.org.uk

As well as learning what they are, I learnt some very useful tips:

1. The speed cameras aren't just at the gantries. If you only slow down when you go under them, you will still be caught speeding.

2. There is also no '10% + X mph' leeway when going over the speed limit. If the limit is 30 mph and you go 31 mph then you can still be prosecuted for speeding. The leeway is in the speedometer as legally they have to read lower than the vehicles actual speed. Stick to the speed it's reading and you'll be fine.

3. And my favourite, the reason we get stuck in slow moving traffic when there is no clear reason why. That's because the reason behind them is the bad drivers on the road cutting lanes, causing others to brake harshly. This may seem bizarre but the computer picks up the breaking and thinks there is a hazard up ahead that people are trying to avoid. To ensure drivers remain safe and don't hit the suspected hazard, the speed limits decreases.

So if you ever get the chance to go on one of these courses, I can't recommend them enough. It isn't just the fact you don't get any points on your licence, they actually teach you a lot of valuable information. I really enjoyed it, much to my surprise and I think others would too.

And don't forget to smile! x

#Driving #learning #2019 #course #car