Slow drivers are being targeted by Police: Great, but how slow is too slow?

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Slow drivers are being targeted by Police: Great, but how slow is too slow?

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#1631753 16-Sep-2016 13:35

alasta:

frednz:

And why do drivers going up the Ngauranga Gorge near Wellington drive at well under the limit of 80kmh? Simply because there are speed cameras everywhere and you simply can't risk going 84kmh, which is said to be the "theoretical" maximum speed in an 80kmh zone! It's well known that the Ngauranga Gorge is one of the most policed speed limit areas in the country! So don't blame people for driving at 70kmh in this 80kmh zone!

Some cars with small petrol engines struggle to maintain 80km/h going uphill on the gorge.

Plus the speedo might tell them they are doing 78kph....but they are actually doing 72Kph. many speedos in Japanese cars (in particular) are set to report about 10% too high. I've checked with GPS in my car.

110kph on the speedo is actually 100kph.

55kph on the speedo is actually 50kph.

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Linuxluver

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#1631755 16-Sep-2016 13:37

richms:

alasta:

Some cars with small petrol engines struggle to maintain 80km/h going uphill on the gorge.

IMO they are not fit to be on that road in that case.

The Ngauranga Gorge is long and steep. Many cars struggle with it.

Fortunately, it's only about 3km from bottom to top....and most people have enough control over their own mind to not freak out if the car in front is struggling for what will be about 90 seconds....at worst.

Sometimes the bad driver is the one who can't just breathe and release and let the go-go steam out.

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MikeB4

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#1631756 16-Sep-2016 13:38

Linuxluver:

alasta:

frednz:

And why do drivers going up the Ngauranga Gorge near Wellington drive at well under the limit of 80kmh? Simply because there are speed cameras everywhere and you simply can't risk going 84kmh, which is said to be the "theoretical" maximum speed in an 80kmh zone! It's well known that the Ngauranga Gorge is one of the most policed speed limit areas in the country! So don't blame people for driving at 70kmh in this 80kmh zone!

Some cars with small petrol engines struggle to maintain 80km/h going uphill on the gorge.

Plus the speedo might tell them they are doing 78kph....but they are actually doing 72Kph. many speedos in Japanese cars (in particular) are set to report about 10% too high. I've checked with GPS in my car.

110kph on the speedo is actually 100kph.

55kph on the speedo is actually 50kph.

My Xtrail is out by about 5k so setting cruise control to 52 or 102 means no tickets.

WyleECoyoteNZ

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#1631775 16-Sep-2016 14:02

alasta:

frednz:

And why do drivers going up the Ngauranga Gorge near Wellington drive at well under the limit of 80kmh? Simply because there are speed cameras everywhere and you simply can't risk going 84kmh, which is said to be the "theoretical" maximum speed in an 80kmh zone! It's well known that the Ngauranga Gorge is one of the most policed speed limit areas in the country! So don't blame people for driving at 70kmh in this 80kmh zone!

Some cars with small petrol engines struggle to maintain 80km/h going uphill on the gorge.

Along the same lines, why do some drivers BRAKE when they start to go up the gorge?? Yes, If you are coming from the motorway it's a change from 100km/h on the motorway to 80km/h on the gorge (which isn't considered to be part of the motorway), but the steepness of the gorge naturally slows most cars down, or just lift off, don't brake.

And I don't think that small engines (unless we're talking 1000cc or less) struggle to maintain 80 km/h, I think it's a case some drivers not knowing how to best use the car in the environment\setting.

I drive a small engine petrol car (1.4L 4 cylinder auto, albeit turbo'd for 103kW and 200nm), but have no trouble at all in maintaining 80km/h up the gorge. It's a case of driving\working the car, not letting the car do what it wants to do. If let too it's own devices, the gearbox will try and use 5th or 4th up the gorge, but by using the tiptronic\manual shifting capabilities of the gearbox, you can hold it in 3rd\4th depending on load and easily maintain 80km/h

richms

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#1631777 16-Sep-2016 14:04

WyleECoyoteNZ:

I drive a small engine petrol car (1.4L 4 cylinder auto, albeit turbo'd for 103kW and 200nm), but have no trouble at all in maintaining 80km/h up the gorge. It's a case of driving\working the car, not letting the car do what it wants to do. If let too it's own devices, the gearbox will try and use 5th or 4th up the gorge, but by using the tiptronic\manual shifting capabilities of the gearbox, you can hold it in 3rd\4th depending on load and easily maintain 80km/h

But that makes it rev over 2000!!! That will instantly wear your car out according to some idiots I know.

Richard rich.ms

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#1631780 16-Sep-2016 14:09

WyleECoyoteNZ:

Along the same lines, why do some drivers BRAKE when they start to go up the gorge?? Yes, If you are coming from the motorway it's a change from 100km/h on the motorway to 80km/h on the gorge (which isn't considered to be part of the motorway), but the steepness of the gorge naturally slows most cars down, or just lift off, don't brake.

And I don't think that small engines (unless we're talking 1000cc or less) struggle to maintain 80 km/h, I think it's a case some drivers not knowing how to best use the car in the environment\setting.

I drive a small engine petrol car (1.4L 4 cylinder auto, albeit turbo'd for 103kW and 200nm), but have no trouble at all in maintaining 80km/h up the gorge. It's a case of driving\working the car, not letting the car do what it wants to do. If let too it's own devices, the gearbox will try and use 5th or 4th up the gorge, but by using the tiptronic\manual shifting capabilities of the gearbox, you can hold it in 3rd\4th depending on load and easily maintain 80km/h

I take it easy up the Gorge it's steep and will a lot of gas trying to push, besides it's seldom clear enough to get near the limit.

Sidestep

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#1631787 16-Sep-2016 14:21

Linuxluver:

Slow vehicle bays are common around Auckland and Northland.

- Going up the Bombay Hill on SH1 - either side.

- Going up the Bryndyrwyn Hill north of Kaiwaka - either side (SH1).

- Going to / from Piha on Scenic Drive and Piha Rd.

- Going through the Karangahake Gorge between Paeroa and Waihi, eastbound and westbound (different places, depending on which side).

I use them all the time to let the tailgating hoons reach their grave sites faster. Wouldn't want to slow them down. They get nosebleeds if they ever go below the speed limit on a winding road in the wet when it's dark.

Those are mainly "low speed Lanes" as opposed to "Slow Vehicle Bays"

Slow vehicle Bays are usually short, don't have proper lane width or a shoulder (they're actually the shoulder, widened), and don't have a proper merge at the end.
They've got a shorter dashed line to mark them out.

I regularly use a couple of scary ones to let traffic pass.
Inconsiderate drivers and not having the 'right' to merge at the end has caused me grief a couple of times.

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blakamin

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#1631850 16-Sep-2016 17:07

WyleECoyoteNZ:

Along the same lines, why do some drivers BRAKE when they start to go up the gorge?? Yes, If you are coming from the motorway it's a change from 100km/h on the motorway to 80km/h on the gorge (which isn't considered to be part of the motorway), but the steepness of the gorge naturally slows most cars down, or just lift off, don't brake.

That used to drive me nuts, especially when I was trying to pull a 25 tonne trailer and get a run up so I didn't slow traffic more than necessary!

blakamin

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#1631853 16-Sep-2016 17:15

frednz:

It's also worth mentioning that on the Rimutaka Hill Road there are lots of corners which have quite low recommended speeds for them, some as low as 40kmh, so try going 100kmh around those (no on second thoughts don't try that)!

There hasn't been a corner on that road that an empty 6 or 8-wheeler truck couldn't get around (13m length) quite safely at the recommended (yellow sign) speed (or above) in many years.

If you can't do it in a car, you're doing it wrong.

If you can't do it AND STAY IN YOUR OWN LANE, hand in your licence.

alasta

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#1631892 16-Sep-2016 18:26

WyleECoyoteNZ:

alasta:

Some cars with small petrol engines struggle to maintain 80km/h going uphill on the gorge.

I drive a small engine petrol car (1.4L 4 cylinder auto, albeit turbo'd for 103kW and 200nm), but have no trouble at all in maintaining 80km/h up the gorge. It's a case of driving\working the car, not letting the car do what it wants to do. If let too it's own devices, the gearbox will try and use 5th or 4th up the gorge, but by using the tiptronic\manual shifting capabilities of the gearbox, you can hold it in 3rd\4th depending on load and easily maintain 80km/h

That is a reasonably decent amount of torque. My old Kia Rio had 135mn and needed to be revved reasonably hard to maintain 80km/h up the gorge, but it was what I could afford at the time and I don't remember ever holding up people behind me throughout my ownership of that car.

Bung

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#1631931 16-Sep-2016 20:32

WyleECoyoteNZ: Along the same lines, why do some drivers BRAKE when they start to go up the gorge?? Yes, If you are coming from the motorway it's a change from 100km/h on the motorway to 80km/h on the gorge (which isn't considered to be part of the motorway), but the steepness of the gorge naturally slows most cars down, or just lift off, don't brake.

Is it braking or just a touch? They may be using the brake just to disengage cruise control before it tries to maintain 100km/h up the hill.

blakamin

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#1631934 16-Sep-2016 20:42

Bung:
WyleECoyoteNZ: Along the same lines, why do some drivers BRAKE when they start to go up the gorge?? Yes, If you are coming from the motorway it's a change from 100km/h on the motorway to 80km/h on the gorge (which isn't considered to be part of the motorway), but the steepness of the gorge naturally slows most cars down, or just lift off, don't brake.

Is it braking or just a touch? They may be using the brake just to disengage cruise control before it tries to maintain 100km/h up the hill.

No, they brake... And most of them are cars that don't even have cruise.

PhantomNVD

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#1632022 17-Sep-2016 08:25

Ok, after reading the whole thread I think I can see both sides of this discussion apply to me.

I too get somewhat frustrated when following a slow trail of cars, especially when heading to work. However, I also drive a converted schoolbus Motorhome in the holidays though, and its design speed of 80 cannot be maintained up NZ's steeper hills, and my legal 90 limit is only ever on a long flat or a downhill, and really is revving that Cummins 5.9 engine rather high.

Since driving an actual school bus three years back, and buildings similar model MH last year, I have gained a new respect for truckers and other bus drivers, and become far more tolerant of their driving and space requirements when turning.

I think the real answer here is understanding and education. I would never support fining slower drivers, but can see that some drivers just don't understand how to use their vehicles, or don't understand the road and road signs here sufficiently. I would suggest a driver education program for these people if they "reoffend" after an innitial countrywide awareness program (like the 'new' mobile phone laws had) and then some variation of penalty points -> A compulsory defensive driving course and redo of class 1 final licence test (much like my P-endorsement required)

1eStar

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#1632058 17-Sep-2016 11:07

From what I read and observe, idiots drive slow and idiots drive fast. Making people drive slow, or trying to hurry them up isn't going to help, we have to deal with the idiot problem.

Linuxluver

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#1632078 17-Sep-2016 11:21

1eStar:

From what I read and observe, idiots drive slow and idiots drive fast. Making people drive slow, or trying to hurry them up isn't going to help, we have to deal with the idiot problem.

LOL! True.

I fear there is no real solution for the "idiot problem". We just have to learn to be patient and tolerant....and not build up our own head of steam and become an idiot. :-)

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