Why not 90? 60?
Presumably to bring us into line with Europe...?
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80mph (speed limit to increase)
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Posted 7 months ago #
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Presumably to bring us into line with Europe...?
Europe doesn't have standard motorway speed limit, it varies country to country from 100-130kph.
Posted 7 months ago # -
My cars limited to 80mph.
Can I stick in the fast lane now..
Posted 7 months ago # -
It seems that most of the near accidents I encounter come from people desperately trying to slow to 70 to avoid a ticket.
What makes you think we won't have exactly the same thing only 10mph faster?
Presumably to bring us into line with Europe...?
If we're doing that then why not do it properly and move to kilometres and kph.
Think of the huge numbers of jobs it would create: changing every road sign and speed limit across the land. If that wasn't enough then we could always switch to driving on the right at the same time
Posted 7 months ago # -
What makes you think we won't have exactly the same thing only 10mph faster?
+1
Accidents are caused by the speed differential. Presumably, the 45mph vehicle will still be doing that speed when the limit is raised. 10mph more speed differential means more accidents, which will be worse ans the cars are moving faster and kinetic energy is proportional to velocity^2.
Posted 7 months ago # -
graham S - because I'll stick to 80 like I have for years
Should also be a MIN limit to reduce the speed differential too
Posted 7 months ago # -
chriswilk: you might, do you reckon anyone else will?
The speed limit is 70, a large number of folk drive at 80+
If they up the limit to 80 then those same folk will probably drive at 90+. Maybe not straight away, but I'd guess that after a couple of years the number of speeders would be roughly the same.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Long drives down the M74 with virtually nothing on the road, cruising at 80 and not looking at every bridge to check for cameras. Not having to deal with heavy braking every time the car infront sees a "motorway patrol" car
Drive at 70. Problem solved.
Posted 7 months ago # -
If they up the limit to 80 then those same folk will probably drive at 90+.
As I've already said, I don't think they will. They'll just be able to get on with driving at 80mph without worrying about cameras
Posted 7 months ago # -
Drive at 70. Problem solved.
Not really, there's dozens of folk who slam on despite being below the speed limit already.
If they up the limit to 80 then those same folk will probably drive at 90+. Maybe not straight away, but I'd guess that after a couple of years the number of speeders would be roughly the same.
I'm not sure that's the case, but I've no proof either way so it's pointless saying it ultimately.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Not really, there's dozens of folk who slam on despite being below the speed limit already.
I drive at 70, and I don't seem to have any of these problems. I don't need to look out for cameras or police cars, and if anyone in front brakes to say 60mph, well, that's why I leave an adequate braking distance.
Posted 7 months ago # -
I drive at 70, and I don't seem to have any of these problems. I don't need to look out for cameras or police cars, and if anyone in front brakes to say 60mph, well, that's why I leave an adequate braking distance.
Brilliant! One of the best I've seen.
Posted 7 months ago # -
What I wonder is - do any of these morons who speed up and slow down in between the cameras on the new 'average speed' sites on the M1 ever get caught. I was watching a few of them doing that over the weekend. Idjits.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Can anyone explain this rare phenomenon, you don't see it much, but you do see it;
Large empty motorway (M74 on a Sunday afternoon for example), small car in outside lane cruising along. You come up behind them and move in to outside lane to come up behind them. They instantly see you and move over (good awareness). You pass and while you are going back in to the inside lane, they move immediately back in to the "fast lane" and maintain their cruise.
I find it very bizarre, but also quite entertaining.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Brycey - I see this often on the M74, sometimes outside lane, but more often in the middle.
Posted 7 months ago # -
I followed a car down the M4 last week. By the time I noticed him and clocked the milage, it was at least 25 miles he spent in the middle lane, but I'd been aware of him well before that, so probably 40+ miles. All in the middle lane.
Thing is, he was doing roughly the speed I wanted to do, 65-ish, but he couldn't maintain his speed either, so every time I passed him he passed me back, then slowed down 1/2 mile up the road. It was then hard to re-pass becasue he had a permenant blockade of cars stuck behind him that I got caught up in. So in the end I decided to match his speed from in front, just to keep out of the way. I sat about 400 yards in front of him, in the inside lane unless I was overtaking. The amount of cars that passed him and pulled into the inside lane behind me was astonishing. He never took the hint.....
Posted 7 months ago # -
Should also be a MIN limit to reduce the speed differential too
1. Min limit would be downright dangerous. What about adverse weather conditions. I've been on M'ways where the traffic has been travelling at at 10mph because of tempestuous rain. Not much traffic but virtually no visibility. Having an arbitory cut off point for good and bad conditions would be dependant on vehicle type, conditions, driving skill (perceived or otherwise...!) and personal appraisal of the conditions. This could potentially lead to greater disparity of speeds.
2. My opinion is that the 70mph limit that we have appears to work. The Police have a greater scope for discretion with our current limit. I know a M'way traffic officer from the Mersyside force. He intemated that in normal conditions they wouldn't bother with anyone travelling at 80mph. Those travelling at 85mph + were much more likely to attract attention. However, should the road conditions be such that 80 is dangerous, they will happily feel the appropriate collar. Quite right too if you ask me. Increasing the limit would remove that option and thus impeed the eductation of drivers engaging in unsafe driving.
Posted 7 months ago # -
From todays Daily Mash:
The move to raise the speed limit is designed to help commuters get more quickly to jobs that won’t exist in six months’ time, as well as allowing them to feel a tiny bit like Lewis Hamilton for the nine seconds per week the motorways are actually empty enough to reach 80mph.
Posted 7 months ago # -
What makes you think we won't have exactly the same thing only 10mph faster?
Heard of 85th percentile speed? I'd suggest that in the absence of any speed limits, most drivers wouldn't go over 80mph.Posted 7 months ago # -
I'd suggest that in the absence of any speed limits, most drivers wouldn't go over 80mph.
Based on? The 85th percentile is an interesting rule, but it you need a baseline to measure it from. It could be that 85% of UK drivers want to do 100mph+, but are currently prevented from doing so by the law and their own conscience.
Posted 7 months ago # -
"Heard of 85th percentile speed? I'd suggest that in the absence of any speed limits, most drivers wouldn't go over 80mph. "
My experience of driving in Europe suggests that you are wrong.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Theres no rational justification behind it, he just thinks the speed limit should be 80mph ... Why not 90? 60?
I was going to mention the 85th percentile, but others have beaten me to it. There's some biased but interesting reading over at http://www.safespeed.org.uk/speedlimits.html
he's just picked a number out of the air.
What's wrong with that? It's how the current 70mph NSL was set.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Should also be a MIN limit to reduce the speed differential too
I had it in my head that whilst there isn't a minimum speed limit, your vehicle has to be capable of at least a certain speed. I'm having difficulties in finding anything to back that up though, other than "certain slow moving vehicles" being prohibited as per the Highway Code.
Posted 7 months ago # -
had it in my head that whilst there isn't a minimum speed limit, your vehicle has to be capable of at least a certain speed. I'm having difficulties in finding anything to back that up though, other than "certain slow moving vehicles" being prohibited as per the Highway Code.
I'm not certain but I believe any vehicle using a motorway must be capable of 50mph. Everything that prohibited from using the motorway generally falls below this speed
Posted 7 months ago # -
For me the main issue with speed limit enforcement isn't how fast you are actually going, it's speed differentials. If you had everyone going at the same speed it'd be much safer and easier to drive, even if everyone was doing 80mph. That's why I think enforcement is important.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Human reaction times don't change though, and braking distances increase.
Posted 7 months ago # -
True, but differences in traffic speed cause lots of lane changes which ultimately cause many accidents I feel.
However I'm not in favour of upping the speed limit on environmental grounds, and on the grounds that if people think 70 is too slow they need to mtfu and deal with it.
Posted 7 months ago # -
For me the main issue with speed limit enforcement isn't how fast you are actually going, it's speed differentials. If you had everyone going at the same speed it'd be much safer and easier to drive, even if everyone was doing 80mph. That's why I think enforcement is important.
HGVs will still be doing 60mph. So the 80mph thing will make the differential worse.
Posted 7 months ago # -
I don't particularly want to go much faster than 70, so I presume that as I overtake people going less than this I will have to put up with even more irate **** who want to drive at 80+10% charging up behind me lights flashing inches from my rear bumper.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Only if you're incapable of pulling back in again after you've finished.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Only if you're incapable of pulling back in again after you've finished.
Experience suggests this is not the case. They want you pulled in as you're alongside the other car.
Posted 7 months ago # -
TBF,
Driving at the speed limit on a motorway is pretty hard, cos no-one does it. You're constantly either overtaking stuff or being overtaken. It's far easier to drive at 60 or 80 than it is at 70.
Posted 7 months ago # -
What they need to do is take the speed limiters of the trucks so they can get past each other and save the tail backs, I drive in the US a lot and never have issues with 2 trucks causing tail backs, and we need more cops on the road enforcing the law, drivers in the US obay the law as there are cops hidding on freeways and they will pull you and fine you, I do think we should do away with the points system.
Posted 7 months ago # -
What they need to do is
take the speed limiters of themake it illegal for the trucksso they canto try and get past each other with a 1mph speed differential and save the tail backs
FTFYPosted 7 months ago # -
I regularly do an indicated 80-90 on motorways, and around 70 on dual carriageways. That's indicated, which is what most people go by. Now, most vehicle speedo's are set to read 10% fast, so an indicated 90 = 81mph and 80 = 72mph. I know those figures are correct for my old Puma, as it had a true reading digital speedo, and I've checked my Octavia's speed against GPS. anyone have an issue with drivers doing an indicated 90 on that basis?
Posted 7 months ago #
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