Speed Too Great For Conditions

Bogart

New Member
Listen, it's a shame that guy and his girl got in an accident when they were just trying to get home from a nice dinner out... but I don't really 'get' the argument that has been raging.

I've gotten a 'speed too great for conditions' ticket when I hydroplaned out of control during a rain storm. What is the difference between my case and this case? Even though I was not speeding nobody said I was not at fault. Was I taken advantage of because I was a teenager?

:confused:
 

Railroad

Routinely Derailed
Bogart said:
Listen, it's a shame that guy and his girl got in an accident when they were just trying to get home from a nice dinner out... but I don't really 'get' the argument that has been raging.

I've gotten a 'speed too great for conditions' ticket when I hydroplaned out of control during a rain storm. What is the difference between my case and this case? Even though I was not speeding nobody said I was not at fault. Was I taken advantage of because I was a teenager?:confused:
If your speed was high enough for you to hydroplane and lose control, your speed was too high for conditions. A more experienced driver might have immediately taken his/her foot off the gas when the vehicle first hit the standing water. I got the same kind of ticket as a teen back in 1975, when I went around a blind curve in a rainstorm and couldn't stop in a short enough distance to avoid rear-ending a pickup truck. If I was going too fast to stop, I was going too fast.

The rest of the story is, your vehicle can require more or less caution in poor driving conditions. Many small cars, but also mid-size Camaros and small pick ups like Chevy S-10s and Ford Rangers, are VERY susceptible to hydroplaning. They require a slower than average driving speed in poor conditions.

Ice is unsafe at any speed - but it requires a good bit of concentration and sensitivity and practice to know what your particular vehicle will and won't do on slick pavement.
 

Bogart

New Member
Railroad said:
If your speed was high enough for you to hydroplane and lose control, your speed was too high for conditions.
So why doesn't that apply to ice?
 

Railroad

Routinely Derailed
Bogart said:
So you are saying that speed, in fact, was a factor in the accident?
I don't know enough details about the accident to answer that. But if I were a betting man, it was either speed or inattention.
 

Railroad

Routinely Derailed
elaine said:
At what speed does one hydroplane?
It depends on the depth of the water, the condition of one's tires, and the weight of the vehicle and its weight distribution.

When you hit a puddle and it tugs the steering wheel or makes a roaring noise, slow down until the car feels stable.
 

mAlice

professional daydreamer
Railroad said:
It depends on the depth of the water, the condition of one's tires, and the weight of the vehicle and its weight distribution.

When you hit a puddle and it tugs the steering wheel or makes a roaring noise, slow down until the car feels stable.


Do they take all of these things into account before they give you a ticket?
 
K

Kain99

Guest
A heart breaking story.... Speed must have been a factor. If it was the ice's fault everyone who traveled that road would have crashed.
 

mAlice

professional daydreamer
Bogart said:
At a Speed Too Great For Conditions I would think :shrug:
At what speed does one lose control on ice? :confused:

Good question. I can't even get out of my drive-way when it's icey. :ohwell:
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
I have slid on ice while going 10 mph. Really. I tapped my brakes and zing!

Accidents happen. They just do.
 

mAlice

professional daydreamer
vraiblonde said:
I have slid on ice while going 10 mph. Really. I tapped my brakes and zing!

Accidents happen. They just do.


You should have been issued a speeding ticket. For shame!
 

Bogart

New Member
vraiblonde said:
I have slid on ice while going 10 mph. Really. I tapped my brakes and zing!
Applying Railroad logic, a more experienced driver would not have tapped their brakes on while travelling on ice. Your speed was obviously too great for conditions, right?
 

Railroad

Routinely Derailed
Bogart said:
At a Speed Too Great For Conditions I would think :shrug:
At what speed does one lose control on ice? :confused:
Again, it depends on the kinds of factors (except water depth) that I mentioned before.

Under the heading of "don't try this," when I was a very poor young sailor in Groton, CT for 4 years, I couldn't afford to get my tires replaced. I successfully drove for at least 2 of those years on very worn out radials. Groton is prone to ice and snow in significant amounts. One year we were caught in a bad snow storm and had to keep driving because we couldn't afford a motel room. We made it home okay, though. But these were scary, SCARY situations and I'm sure the good Lord was l,ooking out for us, getting us through those times.
 

Bogart

New Member
Railroad said:
Again, it depends on the kinds of factors (except water depth) that I mentioned before.

Under the heading of "don't try this," when I was a very poor young sailor in Groton, CT for 4 years, I couldn't afford to get my tires replaced. I successfully drove for at least 2 of those years on very worn out radials. Groton is prone to ice and snow in significant amounts. One year we were caught in a bad snow storm and had to keep driving because we couldn't afford a motel room. We made it home okay, though. But these were scary, SCARY situations and I'm sure the good Lord was l,ooking out for us, getting us through those times.
pssst - *these are rhetorical questions*
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
Bogart said:
Applying Railroad logic, a more experienced driver would not have tapped their brakes on while travelling on ice. Your speed was obviously too great for conditions, right?
Well, had I not tapped my brakes, I'd have rear ended the car in front of me.

I think what happened to this couple was just an accident - plain and simple. He was driving along and hit a patch of ice. The cops would be the first ones to say he was driving too fast for the conditions, and they didn't say that. And I believe the cops, who were actually on the scene, before I believe Ken Rossignol, who not only wasn't there but has an unfortunate history of embellishing a story.
 
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