IOM Speed Limit Threat - Please Read...
 

August the 31st is the deadline for written observations on the Road Safety Initiative!

BUT PLEASE when writing be objective and concise and no bad language or they will be disregarded.

I have a copy of the document should you want to look at it, they are also available from the sea terminal building.

http://www.gov.im/infocentre/import....l&menuid=10160

If the above link does not work, just go to www.gov.im then click on the Road Safety link

But the top & bottom of it ,is the following speed limit to be imposed:

Mountain Road 70 mph maximum
Strategic Route 60 mph maximum ( castletown & peel route )
Secondary Route 50 mph maximum ( Coast road, The Sloc,Kirk st Patrick,Bride, Andreas)
Local Road 40 mph maximum ( Tholty-y-Will,Druidale,Jurby)
Local access road 30 mph Maximum ( Basicly all roads not above)

IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT???

Please write in with your views asap to:-

Road Safety Initiative Committee
Dept of Transport
Highways Division
Sea Terminal Building
Douglas
Isle of Man
IM1 2RF

Please keep this thread ontopic, no flaming etc. just keep it at the top for people to see.

The IOM is a unique experience for driving on and it would be a shame to lose this.

im confused

whats the problems with them speed limits?

Currently the IOM doesnt have any speed limits on the open roads, only in towns, villages etc.

didnt know that

Bit of a bummer for the TT boys..........

(and I dont just mean Audi's ;))

I was talking to a copper at the TT this year, de didn't reckon they'd have the manpower for speed limit enforcement. Maybe in the towns/villages like they do now (which is fair enough) but not everywhere.

It's good fun racing people at 130mph plus (in the Scooby) over the mountain with coppers giving you the thumbs up! :D

Its great fun, I lived out there for a while and you can drive at high speed without being on the edge.

Blew my first one up on the mountain too as well :o

It will screw the TT :(

is there an email address?
astraboy.

Letter done! I suspect it is fruitless but we have to try.

I'll get a Hummvee and drive round Douglas at 5 miles an hour! Though probably have to push it as I couldn't afford the diesel :)

Probably, but writing something on paper and posting it really wouldn't do any harm. This is a unique event and the freedom to drive the Manx roads at appropriate (rather than artificially and inappropriately capped) speeds would be difficult if not impossible to regain if the case is lost.

Please, take the time to put pen to paper. I have.

Do you think that they are considering posting speed limits because of people doing 3 figure speeds and they consider it dangerous?

Les

:rolleyes:

Here we go again.

I feel they would have to ban the TT as if it is not safe to do 80mph on a production bike how can they justify 170 in a race.

Just to criminalise the motoring general public.

I believe there are laws already regarding due care and attention.

Vive la difference!

quite probably, but if you write a letter stating you regularly do three figure speeds in complete safety (autobahn and IOM mountain road) and better yet,if you supply photographic proof then you could be onto a winner :)
astraboy.

Please keep ontopic and lets just keep this up the top?

If you arnt interested just put a BTTT in, this for us is quite important and we are asking for your support in this. If you dont wish to give us it, please just leave the thread ontopic and bttt it.

Cheers
Jon

The IOM police are very good IMO and are happy for people to drive at very high speeds if they're doing it in a 'safe' manner. They WILL come down on you hard if you're being careless/dangerous. I like this as it caters for common sense. If you drive like a knob then they'll come down hard on you, speed limit or not. But if it's a safe place, they're happy to let you play.

That's what people want to keep in the IOM. People die during the TT but it's usually for reasons other than excess speed, overtaking on blind bends etc.

I'll never forget following a traffic car over the mountain at 120mph and seeing the driver wind the drivers window down, stick an arm out, and wave us past grinning. :D

If i'd done that through Kirkmichael village i'd expect to be banged up, and quite rightly so.

Nothing to do with the fact that your average professional biker is a damn sight better rider than Joe Public, and there is nothing else on the roads during the TT, you reckon that may just be a little tiny factor huh??

Power to your elbow - would be great shame to see the TT go belly up

Don't see why it would affect the TT. They haven't stopped the Monaco or Australian F1GPs because theres a 30mph limit through the streets. Surely for the TT they close the roads and treat it as a race track?

The issue isn't that the race itself couldn't run. The issue is that nobody will come to watch it.

Getting to sit and watch the race is nothing compared to getting to both sit and watch the race AND ride long stretches of the course on your own bike at speed, legally.

I think "nobody" is harsh, I know a good number of "bikers" who go over in mini-busses etc just to watch the race. I have no doubt attendance figures would be hit however, but you may well find that they would lift the limits for the entire weekend to try to mitigate that, it all depends on the reasons for them wanting to introduce the limits in the first place.

I dont see why they should change that? Acording to their very own statistics on their site, there are as many "serious accidents" (50.7%) in non speed limited areas as in areas with various speed limits (49.3% for 20 mph + 30 mph etc added). If the speed were the main reason for an accident, then surely these statistics would be different? I would definitely recommend strict speed limits and the zero tolerance enforcement thereof in areas with lots of pedestrians, especially where schools are nearby.

Looks like they are buying in to the "Speed Kills" mantra even though the evidence in front of them shows that it doesn't. Nothing like spin and fudged statistics :rolleyes:

Can you check your mail/PM please Jon.

Tynwald have clicked on that there's a rich and untapped revenue stream available. :(

Telling from their budget and budgetary forecasts on http://www.gov.im/budget/pdfs/budgetreport.pdf nothing indicates that they need change from drivers.

Doing the high speed stuff on open and deserted roads with no speed limits is one thing as long as it is done in a safe manner and no racing is going on. When you get the nutters who want to race each other on a public road and close to populated areas, then you can't blame the authorities for getting nervous about it. Thats when the attempts at overtaking on blind bends or narrow bits are likely to happen and thats when innocent people can get killed.

If that is what has been happening, then the change in attitude of the authorities is hardly surprising. Once again a case of a few idiots ruining things for everyone else.

Don't be too quick to make assumptions Iwan!

Les

If that's the reason, then no speed limit will help. People who overtake at high speed in blind corners on the public are unconscious / insane. I know a few hot-blooded young men like that, some of them killed themselves on the road. One thing is for sure: they couldnt care less what the sign with the speed limit says.

Besides, there are already laws against dangerous driving - and it certainly is not always dangerous to do more than 70mph on the mountain road.

btt

Just downloaded the PDFs for a read, ready for a response.

Dumbing down is NOT the same as increasing safety :mad:

mb

I was not advocating that the IOM should change to having speed limits, but indicating why they are probably thinking of doing so.

I agree about the more likely people to be driving in that way Claudius, and their attitude to limits or indeed anyone else's safety. As you say, they often don't last too long anyway. Pity about the others that they often take with them though! However I think the the authorities will consider that no speed limits immediately encourages the mindset of some to drive very fast and that will naturally lead to a competitive element.

There is of course an enormous difference to driving very fast on a public two way road and racing on the same road when it is closed to non race traffic and nearly all of the time you can expect the traffic to be travelling in the same direction. Or you hope so anyway!

Les