die Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung!

[theclaud]

A great excuse to use one of my favourite German words. Good news on speed limits! You can respond to the consultation here.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I rode on such a road today: speed limit was 30 Most of the ones round me, leading away from town into the countryside are actually 20.

 

[Fab Foodie]

A great excuse to use one of my favourite German words. Good news on speed limits! You can respond to the consultation here.

... and the flying pigs spotted today survey is here www.nofarkinwayisthatevergonnahappen.com

 

[Boris Bajic]

I think this would make sense in many cases. Many of the lanes around us are just such narrow, winding ribbons.

My kids use various of them as training rides and a sudden car-from-nowhere surprise can be unsettling. In the wrong circumstances, I imagine it can also be a bit hurty or terminal.

My only reservation is this: Most people seem to drive these lanes at between 35 and 45mph anyway, despite the usual NSL signposts.

I'm sure there would be cases where a 40mph limit lowered speeds... but would there be many?

 

[dellzeqq]

there's a delicious contradiction here. Nobody wants other people to speed near their village. That, of course, has nothing do do with speeding in other villages, but it's their village they bleat about. Most councillors in (for want of a better phrase) rural parts spend their time reacting to the gruntings of their constituents. Bright new shiny speed signs are testament to their 'effectiveness' - indeed they're but one small step away from gassing gypsies - and, as we know, everybody likes to be effective.

I'm telling you, metrosexualcarboncyclingpeeps - it's all good!

 

[Boris Bajic]

there's a delicious contradiction here. Nobody wants other people to speed near their village. That, of course, has nothing do do with speeding in other villages, but it's their village they bleat about. Most councillors in (for want of a better phrase) rural parts spend their time reacting to the gruntings of their constituents. Bright new shiny speed signs are testament to their 'effectiveness' - indeed they're but one small step away from gassing gypsies - and, as we know, everybody likes to be effective.

I'm telling you, metrosexualcarboncyclingpeeps - it's all good!

As an urbanite with slightly more than one foot in the country, I detect a whiff of playful mischief in your jokey generalisations about rural attitudes and local politics.

As a former resident of Brixton (mid 80s) and Bow (for many years), I saw and heard far more grunting from constituents than I do now in the green fields of the Three Counties. The attitude to gypsy and traveller communities was also far nastier and more brutally displayed there than it is in the Marches.

Out in the sticks, few people seem to hold the sort of dual-standard approach to speeding through villages that you cite, apart from wealthy second-home owners who can occasionally have a deeply unrealistic view of rural life. These people tend to be Londoners.

There has been no mention in local-council meetings of gassing gypsies in my adopted parish since before 1958.

 

[dellzeqq]

As an urbanite with slightly more than one foot in the country, I detect a whiff of playful mischief in your jokey generalisations about rural attitudes and local politics.

As a former resident of Brixton (mid 80s) and Bow (for many years), I saw and heard far more grunting from constituents than I do now in the green fields of the Three Counties. The attitude to gypsy and traveller communities was also far nastier and more brutally displayed there than it is in the Marches.

Out in the sticks, few people seem to hold the sort of dual-standard approach to speeding through villages that you cite, apart from wealthy second-home owners who can occasionally have a deeply unrealistic view of rural life. These people tend to be Londoners.

There has been no mention in local-council meetings of gassing gypsies in my adopted parish since before 1958.

you do me an injustice. I meant it. And, being one of the very few people on this forum to have worked on the land (and have been left for dead by the driver that rear-ended me doing 55), I know what I'm on about.

On the plus side.......living in the sticks does mean you get to win the village quiz every year.

As for my proposition - you wait. Every village will want a 30mph limit, and when they get that they'll want a 20mph limit

 

[Nihal]

All this is fine,but could anyone help me with the pronounciation of Gesch.............

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

All this is fine,but could anyone help me with the pronounciation of Gesch.............

As you asked.... http://www.forvo.com/word/geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung/

 

[Nihal]

As you asked.... http://www.forvo.com/word/geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung/

Sorry i asked

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Sorry i asked

I think the best rule with long German words is not to panic. Mind you, my German is pretty rusty and I thought the geschwind bit meant disappear and grenzung had to be something to do with Grenze, which is a border. So I found myself trying to make sense of ''threshold of disappearingness.'' Though I was wrong, it's true that a fast moving object will tend to move beyond the threshold of disappearingness.

 

[Nihal]

...........................

 

[Fab Foodie]

It would be a step in the right direction - and to those who will say there's no point because the limits wouldn't be enforced there's the argument that once they're in place at least they can be enforced, even if it's post hoc (after a collision for example). How about a 30 mph limit in any road that doesn't have markings down the centre? It wouldn't be any more difficult to remember than the current rules about 30 mph on lit unmarked roads.

Warning: Common sense alert.

 

[rvw]

Completely off topic, but too good a German portmanteau word not to contribute:

Oberdonaudampfschifffahrsgesellschaftscaapitänsnumbereinsausgangsuniform

Probably apocryphal, but still fun.

 

[srw]

Probably apocryphal?!

Upper-Danube-Steam-Boat-Transport-Ferry-Company-number-one-captain's*-uniform.

If anyone can produce any evidence of there ever having been a steam ferry on the upper danube with more than one captain I'd be fascinated.

*I think you have a redundant "a".