[sgiitk]

A short answer is Yes. With the old Amby I felt uncomfortable above 80-85kph, about 5kph higher with the FIAT 1100. The M800 started wandering at 75kph, while the NE118 was quite stable at 95! In my Accent I was quite happy with 110 or so , while with the Civic I have no issues even at 135.

It is a matter of vehicle dynamics, and any sensitive driver will find that above a certain speed he will feel the car shaky. You may have to grip the steering harder. This is often the first indication.

[brraj]

I feel safe in my magnum driving at high speeds but don't cross 100kmph in my i10 until n unless its empty highways.

In t-bhp drives many have asked
How do you control the car at high speeds?
Don't you feel scared driving at that speeds?
My answer to them is - Get into my car on a drive and then comment.

[asr245]

Yes. But my experience is based mostly on breaking (hard) and cross winds than the NVH levels, ride quality etc.

I drive 4 cars on quite often. My WagonR (daily commute), my ANHC (weekend drives), my dad's OHC Vtec (once in a couple of weeks) and my father-in-law's DZire VDI (once in a few months - though these drives are often on the longer side).

WagonR VXI (which has fatter tyres - on Michelin's XM1 now)
- becomes a handful if there are strong'ish cross winds and I am doing 80 or above.
- once experimented with hard breaking for a speed-breaker (was at 70kmph) from a distance which I thought was enough. Locked the wheels and slammed hard into the speed-breaker (at probably between 30-40kmph). Conclusion - It probably required double distance of what I thought was safe!
- quite noisy above 80-85 so I tend not to go above that even on DND and NH8.

ANHC (with 195/60/R15 Michelins)
- haven't done any break testing yet but had to once go from accelerating hard to breaking hard and the car was a little nervous and had to maneuver to keep it in a straight line.
- max I did was 120kmph on NH1.

OHC Vtec (on stock profiles with Michelin XM1)
- Did a 0-100 dash and then breaking hard till 60. Was very nervous on that breaking maneuver. The many other times I have driven it on a highway, it tends to lockup the fronts immediately under any kind of hard breaking.
- Tends to be nervous above 100 even on slightly undulating/patchy roads.

DZire (VDI on stock tyres - the thin ones)
- most terrifying of them all.
- never gone above 80kmph.
- have to approach every turn much more carefully compared to all cars above.


Forgot to add: Drove with my friend in his Civic from B'lore to Pune (on stock tyres). Roads were excellent in parts.
- max at 140kmph. seemed a pleasure to drive on that particular stretch of road.
- hard to break hard from ard 125kmph when a dog suddenly crossed the road. Car kept in a straight line and wasn't nervous at all. Though the purpose was lost as I must have hit the dog at about 70-80 kmph and killed it.

PS: I feel anything above 100kmph is unsafe all over India unless you can see clearly upto half a km ahead on both sides of the road.

[chetanhanda]

Originally Posted by syravi

Hi folks,
While changing over from Maruti 800 to my New Wagon R, I made a discovery that needs some thinking. So I bring it up with you.

When I used to drive my Maruti 800, a speed of 50 kmph used to look just the right speed. Beyond this, I used to feel that I am treading on danger ground. 40 kmph used to be the speed I was most comfortable with.

In Wagon R, I would think I am driving at the same speed I was comfortable with in my Maruti and yet be surprised to see that the speedometer would say 60 kmph. Also 80-85 is the new speed I will think beyond which Wagon R starts looking a bit risky. So just by a change of car model, my notion of safe speed has changed.

In Wagon R, 60 kmph feels stress free.

Previously, sitting in my Maruti and watching people drive at 60 Kmph used to look dangerous driving to me on busy roads (not highways or expressways).

Wagon R braking, engine handling probably explain the leap in the safe speed that it has achieved.

So here's my question.

When seated in Wagon R and watching people cross me at 80-90 kmph looks dangerous. These cars are typically Volkswagen, Scorpios, Altis etc.

Would sitting in those car and driving at 80-90 look like safe driving?

So shouldn't safe speed depend on the car you drive? I am not talking of legal speed limits, just safe driving speed limits.

Or is it a function of skill? In which case I am the same driver whose notion of safe speed changed with the car I drove.

Yes, maybe another skilled driver would have driven Maruti at 50 and Wagon R at 80 and thought of those speed as safe compared to mine.

But then it goes on to prove the same thing again.

That speed depends on the car you drive.

Am I right or am I wrong?

Of course, safe driving speed depends on the car.
Better car the faster you can travel more safely.
Maruti 800 vs Mercedes is a good example.

[cranky]

You must be able to stop the car fully and safely at any point in your journey, including imagined obstacles. Which means on unfenced highways you must leave enough margin of error for peds, cattle and traffic down the wrong side. And in cities, must account for the whims and fancies of drivers around you. For example, the typical 'safe' speed in Calcutta would be lower than that in Delhi, but because Delhi traffic is far more voluminous and chaotic/unpredictable the speeds seem to be similar.

That apart, yes the car does make a pretty big difference. From my Premier President to the Matiz to the Opel Corsa and now my T-Jet, the safe speed has always gone up - the better braking and handling in each case, along with lower generated and intrusive noise does help add to the feeling of safety.

I have had moments in the Linea where I felt I would not have been able to control it if it were a lesser car - and this is not at breakneck speed, but much lower speed within city limits when avoiding the morons that pass for drivers in most cities in India, or the occasional random obstacle that sprung up overnight.

[libranof1987]

Among the many factors that deem a speed "safe" for driving, the most imp. are :
- driving skills of the driver
- car capability
- road condition

80 km/hr in M800 would scare a driver but 120 km/hr in a heavily planted Opel Corsa would seem a breeze. But, 80 km/hr in M800 for an experienced driver would be fun while 120 km/hr in the Corsa for a newbie would be a scare-fest.

The max. speed you can get it depends mostly on whether you feel comfortable going at that speed in the vehicle on the road. The driver, vehicle and the road all play vital roles; one weak link and things will get ugly.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Safe driving speeds does depend on the car. but, not ONLY the car. It also depends on

• The Driver, his reflexes.
• Road Condition
• Traffic Conditions
• Lighting
• Tyres & Brakes. You can go faster in the same car with better tyres and brakes
• Suspension

Haven't you forgotten to add one important point! "Speed Limit".

[rajeev k]

Definitely yes. In an old Amby 40KMPH would appear to be a very high speed, in M800 at 60, in Swift at 90 and so on. The road surface too play a part as on a bumpy road it is dangerous in a safe speed on good tarmac. Efficiency of brakes is another vital one in determining safe speed. Weather is another key aspect.In other words there are many deciding factors.

[Tempelhof]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Safe driving speeds does depend on the car. but, not ONLY the car. It also depends on

• The Driver, his reflexes.
• Road Condition
• Traffic Conditions
• Lighting
• Tyres & Brakes. You can go faster in the same car with better tyres and brakes
• Suspension

Agreed fully.

I'd add the following:

• Road Visibility
• How much of driving happens through the brain and how much of it happens through the 'spinal cord' - relates to reflex - the most important factor of all
• overall condition of the equipment
• how well the driver knows the equipment (Human-Machine Interface)
• Concentration level of the driver

I drive a Civic and my normal speed is anywhere between 20 kmph to 155 kmph - depends on many factors stated above.

Some body mentioned about something called 'Speed Limit' - what is it?

[syravi]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

Yes for sure.
If you travel in Ambys at 60 kmph the feeling is that you are flying where as in later gen cars 60 would not be even noticeable from inside.
Further at speeds above 80 kmph one has to literally stand on the brake pedal to bring the Amby to stop. Same is the case when reversing an Amby in to a slope.

True. We too had an amby for 25 years (my dads). 40 used to be like crazy speed and dad used to seldom drive above 40. And those days cars were free. One car every 25 houses and today 4 cars in every house

Originally Posted by bblost

I was once riding my Thunderbird with a pillion. Speed around 70 or so on a beautiful winter evening. She leaned forward and asked me why I was riding so slow.

I pointed to my speedo that was hovering over 70.
She was confused and said there is something wrong with my bike as her scooty feels faster at 40.



Suspension, tires, handling go a long way in how comfortable a driver and passengers feel.

I can totally relate to what had happened. That's exactly how I felt about Wagon R. At 40 it seemed slower than Maruti 800.

Originally Posted by gvivek75

Reminds me of the day I drove the Astra for the first time on Delhi-Noida DND Flyway. Had been used to driving around in a M800 before and here I was doing 130 on the Astra with no idea of how fast I was till I saw the speedo.

As luck would have it, I duly got flagged down and fined for over-speeding too

It always feels the same when you approach the zones where speedos are present. Even low speed on the speedometer is high!

Originally Posted by thedreamcatcher

Very much. But your title is a bit misleading actually, as I perceived it to be something else, for which I had a different answer in mind

Well for one, how do you define safe. Where you are completely in control, alteast 2 seconds away from the person on front of you, can stop safely in an emergency and so on define this. As you go higher up the value chain, obviously factors like weight of the car come in, better handling and stability, safety features, better tyres, suspension and so on, all of which make you feel better in control of the car

Even if yuo take two sedans, a lighter car feels like it may take off after certain speeds, but a costlier sedan, will exude that planted feel.

So, obviously, money plays a huge factor here and as you go higher, it is because of quality that makes it feel safer. But despite all that, at the end of the day, big or small, the road is not forgiving. One mistake and you learn the very hard way

The safe speed is more of an instinct that I can control my car at this speed. And it is mostly right is what I have gained from experience. So when a pedestrian who stepped on the flyover at Mahipalpur (near Gurgaon, Delhi) to cross the road and got confused, I could stop the car at 80 kmph at kissing distance from him.

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[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Safe driving speed is dependent on most important thing:
reflexes and how fast your nervous system can intake information (sight, sound), process it, and activate the motor units (hands, feet)

You may feel safe/comfortable or anything, but the truth is we are not really designed to keep ourselves in absolute control at high speeds (higher than 35-40)

Obviously, safe driving has a lot to do with ones reflexes. Whilst I would be the first one to admit that people tend to overrate their own driving ability, the 35-40km/h is in absolute terms very low, but more importantly it’s not about absolute speeds either.

Here in my home country the Netherlands the maximum speed on the motorways is 130 km/h and very few accidents happen on motorways.

If I drive through my village at 30 km/h (which also happens to be the legal speed limit) that could still be too fast.

At 30 km/h I’m still travelling at 8.3 m/s. Depends on the person or what research you want to believe, but 1.5s reaction time is often used as a standard average in accident research.

The streets are narrow with cars parked on both sides. But wide pavements with kids playing. If any of those kids go after a ball that bounces of the pavement into the road. Between the kid coming out behind the car and my foot hitting the brake will take 1.5s, that means the car will have travelled 12.5 meters before it even begins to slow down. That kid never stands a chance if I drive at the legal max speed of 30km/h in our village. To be safe I have to slow down to a crawl of 10-12 km/h.

Several members commented on how the car itself has an influence on your perceived safe speed. The more comfortable, with less noise, vibration etc, the higher speed most of us would travel.

Also, the addition of all sort of safety features in our cars (ranging from seat belts to ABS etc) has created a fall sense of safety and on average people increase their speed due to these safety features.

Jeroen

[FrodoOfTheShire]

I graduated from a Maruti 800 to EcoSport. On the 800, a speed of 80-90 kph, the steering wheel would shake like crazy and make a lot of fuss as if its doing something mind-blowing! At the same time I myself would at times get carried away, doing some not-so-safe overtakes on the highways because of the 800's small size.

Once I started driving the EcoSport, on the first highway drive, my wife thought we were going slow at 40-50 kph, when I showed her the speedo doing 80! The EcoSport's heavier weight and better NVH compared to 800 made it feel much slower than it was.

And then ofcourse, I drive much more carefully and defensively since getting the EcoSport. Somehow, instinctively, I feel it when I cross 80-90 kph, the car feels as if its going too fast. So my average speed automatically gets set around 80-90.

[adisan]

True that the feedback from the car plays an big part in how people perceive its "safe speed". A very small car would have its steering vibrating at around 100 kmph, while a large one might still be steady at much higher speeds.

But the feedback from the car alone should not be used to determine its safe speed.

Because, the car would remain stable at those speeds only as long as there are no unexpected obstacles. What if one had to brake hard suddenly at high speeds? Would the vehicle have a tendency to topple? Will small and thin tyres have be able to handle such scenarios? Without considering these factors, one should not decide what might be a safe speed for a car.

Besides, there are speed limits defined, as others have pointed out.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

Definitely yes. In an old Amby 40KMPH would appear to be a very high speed, in M800 at 60, in Swift at 90 and so on.

I get the drift but the Amby was not such a slouch. It could easily travel at 80-90kph on a consistent basis without feeling unsafe.

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

I get the drift but the Amby was not such a slouch. It could easily travel at 80-90kph on a consistent basis without feeling unsafe.

What I was referring was that the wind noise from its body which is less aerodynamic and from its 1489cc engine which was not refined either. My point is clear now, I hope.
But it is nice that you have come across this post jotted 10 years ago.
I never meant that the Amby is not capable of doing 80 kmph speed.