Damon Hill proving once again he's the most dreary fart ever to have been in F1

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2168020/Driving-faster-55mph-isnt-safe-says-Formula-One-champion-Damon-Hill.html

Seriously?! Lower the limit to 55?! I find lowering the speed limit, in my experience, far more dangerous. In new cars (built from 2000 and up at least)I have far less sense of speed; at 60mph it feels like I'm doing 30. I've had a few near misses driving slowly because I get bored and start dreaming. At high speed this rarely happens.

More to my point: From the center of town to my house, is about 25km stretch of road. The speed limit is 120 kph. To the other side of town, it's just under 25K to get there, is a 60 kmh road. To my side, there's a couple of accidents a month, mostly from either drunk drivers or people swerving for crossing boks (deer). The other road is completely littered with several accidents daily, and is accountable for quite a few deaths every month.

Driving faster is (mostly) safer, because you are more aware of the speed you're doing and the consequences you will suffer.

 

99.9999% of people will not agree with you though, including my wife (who does not drive).

Pete

 

After reading the Daily Fail article I suggest you read this:
http://sniffpetrol.com/2012/07/03/damonstoppedinterviews/

 

Haha! Perfect.

 

I'll disagree. Environmentalists and a bunch of do-gooders, yes, but it's pretty well known that if you drive faster you're more alert. The ones that feel fine at 40 mph should drive in the slow lanes. The fast lane should have a bare minimum of 70mph, those going slower should be shot without trial.

 

That sounds like either an urban myth or wishful thinking.

It's not reality.

 

I really think it depends on the roads. The faster you drive on twisty country roads the more likely you are to have an accident. Although I don't agree with Damon's view that the speed limit should be lowered he is right that on motorways people drive too close. This bothers me more than speed. I do take your point about alertness. I'll admit there have been times when I've been tired and driving back from a meeting somewhere and I find that putting my foot down makes me more awake and alert as I'm constantly looking out for Police cars! I don't think any scientist would say my actions are safer though!

 

Ever spent some good quality time learning how to balance on your own feet again without having to hold onto a wall because the other guy was sure there was enough time between when his light turned red and my light turned green to make it as long as he punched it, and if there wasn't at least he was in the massive SUV with a bull-bar? Ever been lying down on a Sunday afternoon staring at the ceiling, happy you can wiggle your own toes though you can't actually feel them while the doctor you can't see is explaining to you where 7 parts of your neck should be, and where they currently are?

I have been that guy, and I am sure you are a safe driver and could enter the Sea-to-Sea with Brock Yates and not hit anybody. But the fact remains there are people like you that become people like me everyday. Car enthusiasts, Ferrari fanatics, race-track experience and everything have you that suddenly have less than a fraction of a second to look at and realise the SUV entering the intersection knows he's a better driver and doesn't have to follow the numbers exactly cause he's not held down by the man. The one thing I would say is different, is I have been comfortable with the numbers on speed limits, karting for me taught me long before I could drive a clutch that sometimes the only driver ability left as a result of driving fast is to cross your arms and hope for the best.

I don't care if I get moderated for this, or banned. Your driving faster comment is bull****, the consequences were a door-skin is what separated myself, my 2yr old and my 4yr old from your theory of consequence. **** you. Grow up.

 

60mph on a B road in the UK (as most are limited to) is perfect. On a dreary motorway it should be 70 as a bare minimum. As you say, he IS right in saying people drive too close .

 

You are getting things confused. We're talking about motorway speeds and you're talking about a car crash which seemed to have happened on an intersection. I don't think anyone should drive fast in a town, or in an area where there are traffic lights.

 

99.9999% (your number, I think it is much less) of the population is slow-thinking. Speed and slow thinking are a lethal combination. The fact that Damon Hill does not feel safe at 70mph anymore shows that his brain has gone soft after years of cocktail parties and talking to SHE officers.

I also find this completely hypocritical - this is the guy that tested a 575M vs Vanquish for Top Gear (and clearly did NOT obey the speed limit), the guy that founded the P1 supercar rental company, the guy that has clearly on numerous occasions driven fast on public roads. A bit like Al Gore lecturing on global warming after decades of private jet use.


Onno

 

Whilst I am very sympathetic to what happened to you, I have to say that swearing just makes you look like the person that needs to do the growing up.


Onno

 

Could someone please point me in the right direction as to how this correlates to F1?

 

I think it´s obvious that the slower you drive, the more time you have to brake, see the danger, and avoid an accident....my wife and i always have this discussion because i tend to drive a bit fast...and she is very calm (although a very competent driver and fast if she want´s to). Funny she as already been caught speeding by the cops an i never did!!!
This being said, i remenber well, on long journeys, in the south of the country, when i was driving at speed limit (because in those years we has zero tolereance policy in what speed limit was concerned), it was night and everybody was asleep in the car...that strectch of road as barely any curves, so doing 90km/H you also feeel like you are going to sleep, so i said hell, and i speeded um up bit, and imediatly a felt more alive and less sleepy in the car.
I also observe that many people who drive very slow tend to make silly mistakes, like turning without warning. This being said, if you manage to drive within the speed limits and keep sharp, it´s without any doubt the safest way to go....and i also should folow this advise!!

 

When you find the direction, please grab my arm and lead me out of this misery as well.

Hill is an idiot.

 

"Here, stand behind me I have a 'vest '"!

Damon WHO????

 

Where the hell did this guy come from? Relax, big guy.

Damon Hill is such a snooze. His whole career, a snooze.

 

+1

Saves me some typing, well put.

 

+1

 

Having just returned from a driving trip through Europe and a US road trip I can say that drivers over there are much more alert and courteous than in the states.
Whether its due to higher speed limits, stricter licensing or better roads I don't know.

 

Hill is a hypocrite, yes.- But he is a hypocrite that is right.

I am not advocating for lowering speeds on motorways. it'sokay as it is now. But the fact remain, The faster, the more dangerous. To deny that is just plain silly and out of touch with reality.

Here you can drive between 110 and 130 km/h on the motorways depending on the layout. Accidents still happen though, often because of speed. And when they Do happen, it is one big nasty mess.

 

I disagree on courteous. I lived for 20+ years in France and drove everywhere, and found that US drivers are much more courteous than Europeans. But I find European drivers to be much better than US drivers.

 

I don't agree with lowering the limit, but I will say that I-26 in S. Carolina can be downright terrifying due to the number of clueless morons on the road at any given time.

Case in point. Returning home from the track on Sunday, I merge onto I-26 eastbound. There is a large, slow-moving truck in the right lane, so I click on my left turn signal and wait maybe 15 or 20 seconds for a gap in the left lane traffic so that I can pull out to pass. As soon as I do so, the #@%&* idiot in the next car in line (which had been a hundred or so feet back) steps on the gas and pulls within six feet of my back bumper.

 

US drivers tend to be more oblivious, European drivers more aggressive. There also seems to be greater regional differences here.
Left lane discipline is rare here.
While the laws of physics can't be denied there's no doubt that higher speeds require more attention. It's tougher to text at ninety.

 

Left lane discipline is indeed nonexistent here..