127mph and no ban?

McDonald

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2017
Messages
1,958
Reaction score
1,841
Location
Surrey
Your Mercedes
SL500 2004
Everyone understands that increasing your speed increases your risk, to yourself and others. No one imagines that driving at 127 mph is safe on British roads. Speed Kills, Clunk Click on every trip, Don't drink & drive and all the other cliches exist in the public imagination long after the road safety campaigns, because they all bear simple truths.

Motorists take calculated risks every day and road users die on our roads all too frequently. If this discussion does nothing else, it might encourage someone to think about the consequences, not in terms of points, fines and bans but in human cost. I'm less concerned with speed limits and more concerned with responsibility.
 

sl500amgsport

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2017
Messages
2,061
Reaction score
2,141
Location
Essex
Your Mercedes
SL500 2014
Everyone understands that increasing your speed increases your risk, to yourself and others. No one imagines that driving at 127 mph is safe on British roads. Speed Kills, Clunk Click on every trip, Don't drink & drive and all the other cliches exist in the public imagination long after the road safety campaigns, because they all bear simple truths.

Motorists take calculated risks every day and road users die on our roads all too frequently. If this discussion does nothing else, it might encourage someone to think about the consequences, not in terms of points, fines and bans but in human cost. I'm less concerned with speed limits and more concerned with responsibility.
That's good then love a good cliche :)

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
 

dbanbery

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
1,206
Reaction score
76
Location
Huddersfield
Your Mercedes
1995 R129 SL500
Speed itself doesn’t kill, the associated lack of window of time for reaction and the inertia does.

Generally overtaking a car doing 70mph at a speed that approaches 127mph means at his peak he would have been doing 50mph faster than the other car, which means that their window of reaction would venture into the overreaction out of shock. I’ve come up behind someone before at speeds approaching 90 mpg and it’s made them panic. It may have been their fault but it was provoked by my speed differential.

If you are going to gratuitously flout the speed limit make sure you have a completely clear road ahead.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Naraic

Moderator
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
10,686
Reaction score
1,274
Your Mercedes
2005 CL500.
A long history as a high mileage motorist without a blemish on his licence has to count for something. His charitable work is admirable and he needs his driving license to continue with that. This encounter with the law will have worried him, he's unlikely to repeat the offence. If he does, he'll surely incur a lengthy ban.

He is a lucky man. He owns a wonderful extravagant car and he has the time and resources to use it for good works. He's lucky he didn't kill himself or someone else. He's lucky he didn't lose his license. We're lucky we can sit on the sidelines and pass judgement without having the uncomfortable feeling that charity and goodwill have been stopped on our say so.

He got off lightly, there is no dispute.

That his charitable work would have been curtailed due to a ban is doubtful. Especially since the car he uses for charitable events is usually lifted on the back of a lorry, so all he needs is a lorry driver to get him about to the events. Or...am I missing something?

He's probably a very nice chap etc etc, I don't doubt it...but why does that count?
 

dbanbery

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
1,206
Reaction score
76
Location
Huddersfield
Your Mercedes
1995 R129 SL500

I was rounding off to account for the other car going a little faster, and it was vague anyway as he would have (I assume) accelerated past then too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

d215yq

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2008
Messages
2,664
Reaction score
702
Age
39
Location
Valencia, Spain
Your Mercedes
1987 W124 300D 280k miles
As some balance to the argument "well this is perfectly legal on the autobahn" try doing this in France/Spain/anywhere else on the continen t and they would happily impound your car put you in custody and then construct some huge fine and you'd probably get out with the car only after paying them €10k and with a 10yr ban from driving in that country (which means you'd automatically be banned from many other countries in the EU). Also applies to doing that speed on 70% of the autobahn that is restricted, often at 100km/h which is less than 70mph.

The autobahn is becoming increasingly restricted as, guess what, despite them having newer safer cars the death rate on the unrestricted is about twice that of the EU motorway average and 3 or 4 times that of UK motorways. The main reason they don't blanket restrict it is that it would harm the German car industry as dreamers could no longer justify their 155mph cars and 127mph speed runs "as its fine in Germany".

If you don't care about health and safety full stop then fine, but if I have to go to the bother of getting my MOT done every year and can't have two pints at a country pub and drive home carefully then I don't see why people can drive at 127mph which is not only more likely to cause an accident than both of my examples; but also the accident that it is more likely to cause is more likely to be serious/fatal.
 

dbanbery

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
1,206
Reaction score
76
Location
Huddersfield
Your Mercedes
1995 R129 SL500
He's probably a very nice chap etc etc, I don't doubt it...but why does that count?

Because our society is mainly based around the concept that nice people should be treated better even when they break the law. Tbh I wouldn’t be surprised if his connections helped him out somewhat - you can’t just buy a car like that without heavy involvement in some sort of clique.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

sl500amgsport

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2017
Messages
2,061
Reaction score
2,141
Location
Essex
Your Mercedes
SL500 2014
If you are used to driving a lorry then jump into the fastest production accelerating car in the world and you go to overtake a long vehicle his actions in my opinion are not surprising, I bet it shocked him how fast it accelerated in such little time. I know coming from a 2.2 diesel into a V8 twin turbo petrol it shocked me when I blipped the throttle in a local country lane, I was concentrating so hard on the road I did not see the speed so I think some of the comments about locking him up etc are a bit harsh..

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
 

E63S

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2017
Messages
76
Reaction score
23
Your Mercedes
E63S W213
Obviously had a good lawyer.
 

Naraic

Moderator
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
10,686
Reaction score
1,274
Your Mercedes
2005 CL500.
If you are used to driving a lorry then jump into the fastest production accelerating car in the world and you go to overtake a long vehicle his actions in my opinion are not surprising, I bet it shocked him how fast it accelerated in such little time. I know coming from a 2.2 diesel into a V8 twin turbo petrol it shocked me when I blipped the throttle in a local country lane, I was concentrating so hard on the road I did not see the speed so I think some of the comments about locking him up etc are a bit harsh..

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

I think that's nonsense, and if anywhere near the truth he should not be on the road. When I jump from my wife's Rav4, to the company Sprinter Luton body to my 911 to my CL I do not drive the faster cars faster because I forget how fast they can be...a poor defence. On a motorway/dcw why do you need to accelerate to pass other vehicles?
 

LostKiwi

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2006
Messages
31,328
Reaction score
21,575
Location
Midlands / Charente-Maritime
Your Mercedes
'93 500SL-32, '01 W210 Estate E240 (RIP), 02 R230 SL500, 04 Smart Roadster Coupe, 11 R350CDi
I think that's nonsense, and if anywhere near the truth he should not be on the road. When I jump from my wife's Rav4, to the company Sprinter Luton body to my 911 to my CL I do not drive the faster cars faster because I forget how fast they can be...a poor defence. On a motorway/dcw why do you need to accelerate to pass other vehicles?
Agreed. And it isn't like you can't feel the acceleration in a fast car or hear it.
I tend to find I drive slower in the more powerful cars we have than the less powerful ones.
 

dbanbery

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
1,206
Reaction score
76
Location
Huddersfield
Your Mercedes
1995 R129 SL500
Agreed. And it isn't like you can't feel the acceleration in a fast car or hear it.
I tend to find I drive slower in the more powerful cars we have than the less powerful ones.

Agreed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

keefysher

Senior Member
Joined
May 4, 2007
Messages
4,506
Reaction score
2,695
Location
Hampshire
Your Mercedes
W166 GLE350AMG Line 3.0 2017. BMW Z3 2.8 1998.
Agreed. And it isn't like you can't feel the acceleration in a fast car or hear it.
I tend to find I drive slower in the more powerful cars we have than the less powerful ones.

Thats cos you're older and wiser than once you were, + the Merc calming effect of the wafting along. Ever since I've had a Mercedes, 14 years now, my cars no longer fly like the company cars, have no grit rash along the front, have tyres that last etc. :rolleyes::rolleyes:
 

LostKiwi

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2006
Messages
31,328
Reaction score
21,575
Location
Midlands / Charente-Maritime
Your Mercedes
'93 500SL-32, '01 W210 Estate E240 (RIP), 02 R230 SL500, 04 Smart Roadster Coupe, 11 R350CDi
Thats cos you're older and wiser than once you were, + the Merc calming effect of the wafting along. Ever since I've had a Mercedes, 14 years now, my cars no longer fly like the company cars, have no grit rash along the front, have tyres that last etc. :rolleyes::rolleyes:
Even within the MBs I drive the powerful ones slower.
The 210 is very quiet and wafty compared to the 230 or 129, both of which get driven slower in the main.
 

sl500amgsport

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2017
Messages
2,061
Reaction score
2,141
Location
Essex
Your Mercedes
SL500 2014
I think that's nonsense, and if anywhere near the truth he should not be on the road. When I jump from my wife's Rav4, to the company Sprinter Luton body to my 911 to my CL I do not drive the faster cars faster because I forget how fast they can be...a poor defence. On a motorway/dcw why do you need to accelerate to pass other vehicles?
So in your 911 you sit behind all the other vehicles in the slow lane?

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
 

Naraic

Moderator
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
10,686
Reaction score
1,274
Your Mercedes
2005 CL500.
So in your 911 you sit behind all the other vehicles in the slow lane?

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

Now you are just being silly. What is this "slow lane" you speak of? Aren't all lanes on a motorway the same, having a max limit of 70? On A roads, like most, I will make progress...but at stupid speeds?
 

Craiglxviii

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2015
Messages
17,781
Reaction score
7,426
Location
Cambs UK
Your Mercedes
970 Panamera Turbo; W221 S500L AMG Line, C215 CL500, W251 R350L AMG Line, plus several more now gone
Thats cos you're older and wiser than once you were, + the Merc calming effect of the wafting along. Ever since I've had a Mercedes, 14 years now, my cars no longer fly like the company cars, have no grit rash along the front, have tyres that last etc. :rolleyes::rolleyes:
The Mrs has noticed to the effect that I drive the big Mercs more slowly and sensibly than I did the Golfs/ A3s that immediately preceded them.

More sensibly, yes. More slowly? Heheh. She thinks it’s more slowly. Never underestimate the effects of really extensive NVH systems...
 

Naraic

Moderator
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
10,686
Reaction score
1,274
Your Mercedes
2005 CL500.
I remember seeing a doc about Rolls Royce trained chauffeurs. If asked by their employer to get a move on they were advised that in order to keep their licences they should throw the car about a little in corners so as to give their employer the illusion of going faster.
 

AIB understand your special Mercedes deserves a special insurance policy. We have a refreshing attitude to insuring high performance, modified, imported or classic and vintage cars and deal with the UK’s leading insurers. We offer discounts for length of ownership, where the vehicle is kept overnight and limiting the mileage and can also cater for those clients who need higher mileage and business use. To obtain a quotation please call the team on 02380 268351 or visit us atAIB Insurance
Top Bottom