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max 50mph on roads coming next year
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sootyandjimFree Member
Not really Jam bo. It mainly boils down to two opinions.
“Cars are evil, m’kay.”
and
“No their not.”
SwelloFree MemberIt’s actually a pity this is necessary – I’ve always interpreted the NSL roads as “make your own mind up” and I don’t feel any pressure to do 60 if it’s not comfortable. To pick the extreme ends of the spectrum on roads that I know – the “missing link” at Coatbridge on the M8 between Edinburgh and Glasgow is officially an A-road and has the NSL – 70+mph no bother there in good conditions. At the other end of the scale – the mad singletrack road along Loch Arkaig in the West Highlands has the NSL – but you would be quite lucky to survive doing 25mph on it. Between those extremes, the same thought process should always apply – but we all know that it doesn’t and people will try to reach the limit regardless…
aracerFree MemberIMHO excessive use of speed limits only goes to reinforce the idea that you don’t actually have to make your own mind up.
TandemJeremyFree MemberKnown to most motorcyclists as the GLF* sign
*go like ****
hugoruneFull MemberI know Ill get shot down for even suggesting this point of view but if the police stopped putting their mobile speed traps on motorways and concentrated on the A roads they wouldn’t need to buy so many new cameras.
What is the point of enforcing a random figure (70mph) that was set in the 1960’s when your average car could only just go that fast? My car can and does safely cruise at 90mph on quiet motorways and having driven a similar car on two lane German Autobahns can safely cruise at about 110mph (dependant on traffic and weather conditions obviously). It is all about driving apropriatlely to the conditions. Slapping a 50mph speed limit on a perfectly straight and wide A road will just encourage overtaking and ignoring of the Law. Sticking a 50mph speed limit on a very bendy narrow road with poor visability will make some of our less intelligent drivers think it’s safe to drive round a hair-pin bend at 50 mph.
Ultimately the government will do what it wants and all you non-drivers will be happy.
druidhFree MemberSwello – Member
At the other end of the scale – the mad singletrack road along Loch Arkaig in the West Highlands has the NSL – but you would be quite lucky to survive doing 25mph on it.Or even hold in your breakfast, eh?
miketuallyFree MemberSlapping a 50mph speed limit on a perfectly straight and wide A road will just encourage overtaking and ignoring of the Law.
That’s why those roads would still be limited to 60.
Ultimately the government will do what it wants
The government will do what it can get away with, while keeping/getting the votes of key voters in marginal seats. It’s called democracy.
and all you non-drivers will be happy.
Why the assumption that people in favour of speed cameras and lower limits are non-drivers?
aracerFree MemberThat’s why those roads would still be limited to 60.
You think so? Looks like they’re planning on putting enough hoops for councils to have to jump through that they won’t bother.
coffeekingFree MemberWhat I love was the logic the case was presented with. The average A road user travels at 48mph, therefore a 50 limit will not affect the average user but will slow the ones who tend to drive fast.
NO.
The average user spreads their speed over a much larger range. Even if they dont speed, if you cut the higher limit off at 50 and everyone sticks at 50 max, you’re still going to reduce the average speed from 48. So what is happening is the law abiding citizen is going to be forced to take even longer to get to work on perfectly safe stretches of road, and the non-law abiding will continue to drive at whatever speed they like. And I suspect the number of non-law abiding citizens will increase drastically.
Why they assume that this will reduce the risks people take is beyond me – there will simply be more people overtaking and breaking the law – people speed because they feel the road is safe to do so (rightly or wrongly) – not because there’s a signpost with a target to beat.
The whole problem with government is that they apply rules that blanket treat the whole country instead of allowing people to take personal responsibility for their actions. Instead they try to wrap everyone in wool so they cant possibly hurt each other. I agree with urban speed limits, I’d even lower them in places, but rural roads should be left well alone.
miketuallyFree MemberThe whole problem with government is that they apply rules that blanket treat the whole country instead of allowing people to take personal responsibility for their actions. Instead they try to wrap everyone in wool so they cant possibly hurt each other. I agree with urban speed limits, I’d even lower them in places, but rural roads should be left well alone.
The problem is that they can’t do what really needs to be done, because of the reactions of motorists if you mess with their precious freedom to do whatever the hell they like. So, you get half-arsed measures instead, which won’t really make a difference.
coffeekingFree MemberIMO there is no need to mess with freedoms, teach people more about car control, danger anticipation, appropriate speeds for the road surface/weather etc and you dont have to limit speeds as the driver will do the job themselves. You dont see F1 drivers, rally drivers etc etc being killed in on-road accidents, and I’m fairly sure they don’t stick to 50mph on country roads.
Does anyone know whether the figures include things like stolen vehicles? I suspect they do (they’ll be taken from generic stats).
miketuallyFree Memberteach people more about car control, danger anticipation, appropriate speeds for the road surface/weather etc
They do. When you’re 17 (usually), and then you have to stick to it for an hour to get a licence.
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