Motorway speed limits

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Durzel

Guest
I'm bored so I thought I would post this to see what feedback it gets..

I am of the opinion that motorway speed limits should be abolished. I would even go as far as to say that I would be in favour of the national speed limit going from 60 to 50mph if motorway restrictions were removed.

There were 15,418 total recorded accidents on Britain's motorways during the year 2000, compared with 499,266 accidents on all other types of road (A/B/C) (according to Government statistics).

Any initial thoughts to kick off the discussion? :)
 
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ShockingAlberto

Guest
Yes, the majority of people cruise at at least 80 on motorways anyway. It's rare to see people actually at 70 for most parts, so i dont see that the speed has a huge effect on safety on fast roads where people arent going to have to stop/slow down.
 
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Nighty-

Guest
Durzel has high hopes for his new car then ....
 
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old.Grumbledook

Guest
man wish i could walk fast enuff to care
 
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stu

Guest
Variable speed limits - quicker in good conditions, slower in bad ones (eg heavy rain, fog, traffic)
 
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Nighty-

Guest
You need one of those people mover things grum
 
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Wij

Guest
I'm not sure about no limits but certainly raise them. 70 mph was fine when ppl drove Ford Anglias but now :/
 
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kan

Guest
Wanna make the roads safer?

dont let anyone Drive on them till there 25 years old then :)
 
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old.Reverend Flatus

Guest
Originally posted by ShockingAlberto
Yes, the majority of people cruise at at least 80 on motorways anyway. It's rare to see people actually at 70 for most parts, so i dont see that the speed has a huge effect on safety on fast roads where people arent going to have to stop/slow down.
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Unfortunately the flaw in this argument is that if you increase the limit to say 80 mph, people would then drive at 90.
 
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Durzel

Guest
The Tories are actually spearheading a plan to raise the limit to 80mph which, as you rightly say, would only mean people would drive that bit faster anyway.

For my own part, I seldom drive at 70mph on the motorway - usually I cruise at between 80 and 90. On odd occasions (when it's clear) I'll put my foot down and do 100-120, but these occasions are few and far between. I would consider this to be relatively safe driving - I'm not endangering anyone else, I'm not recklessly weaving in and out of lanes. If I hit someone doing 100 who was travelling at the national motorway limit (70) it would equate to a 30mph crash. Many crashes on everyday roads end up being more than this.

Anyone who drives on a motorway on a regular basis will note that a lot of people drive at between 80 and 90mph. Occasionally you see someone doing 100+, but this is usually rare.

I would personally be happier with a 90mph limit, with "instant license losing" speeds being 100 and above.
 
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Nighty-

Guest
I hit someone doing 100 who was travelling at the national motorway limit (70) it would equate to a 30mph crash.
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No! It's very unlikely they'll just get shunted forward, they're gonna skid and go off road, hit things etc
 
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Wij

Guest
Sounds OK to me. I drive 80-90 most of the time myself. If there's a lot of traffic then I go slower. The main thing is to NEVER go too much faster then the lane immediately to your left in case someone pulls out without looking. I'll travel at 60 if I have to when the middle lane is going slower even if there's nothing directly in front of me. It's not worth the risk. Also NEVER be pressurised by some cunt behind you into driving too close to the car in front, even if you want to get past. I know all about cars in front suddenly slamming the brakes full on :(

But if the traffic is right I will happily do 100 :)
 
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SoWat

Guest
They have no speed limits on some sections of the german autobahns (not all), but the germans are much more disciplined drivers than us brits, i.e they actually indicate when changing lanes, and then only move if they're not going to end up as a BMW bonnet decoration (which is handy if you're the one blatting along at 130mph+).

I generally drive at around 80-90, with a brief 100+ now and then (M40 is good for that).

So, increased Motorway limits yes, but with a crackdown on the truly gormless drivers that haunt our MWays (if you're a frequent motorway driver you'll understand!).
 
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old.Reverend Flatus

Guest
Also NEVER be pressurised by some cunt behind you into driving too close to the car in front...
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Damn right! In fact I'd slow down as I'd prefer to be shunted at the lowest speed possible.
But if the traffic is right I will happily do 100 :)
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Naughty.
 
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Durzel

Guest
I was under the impression that Germany had a lower motorway accident rate than the UK but apparently this is not the case.
 
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Summo

Guest
IMO British drivers are too shit to be given an increased speed limit. Driving in Germany and Spain I was impressed by how people drove in the slow lane and only changed lanes to overtake. Over here in every weekend motorway journey there are several llamas idling in the middle or fast lanes.

Is this related? Does it have a point? Maybe...
 
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SoWat

Guest
Germany have an astonishing number of 'ghost drivers', drivers that somehow get onto the wrong side of the motorway. I always have the radio on whilst driving on the autobahn, as you get a little warning if one of them is heading your way. It's sounds surreal, but it happens on almost every part of the autobahn system every day.

They seem to be mainly older types, and to be honest they must be fairly dim, as the slip roads there are the 'spiral' type (which take a lot of effort to drive down the wrong way), as opposed to the 'straight' ramps we have
 
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old.Kurt_Angle

Guest
No speed is 100% safe, but.....

First off there are the wankers that care about nobody else on the road, whatever the weather, i see them everyday on the motorway and A roads i travel on to get to work.

Imho most of these twats should lose there licence for atleast 5 years, these people are the 'scum' of the earth, and deserve no place on the road, till they learn to respect other people.

Ohh and back on the speed, 70-80-90, it matters not.

Whats important is you drive safe in the traffic, weather conditions, and like i say there are those that can do that, and there are those that don't.

The ones that do, you will find are the sort of person that cruises at 80 odd on a clear day, with medium to light traffic.

The ones that don't, you will find are the sort of person that does 80-90 in either heavy traffic, or right shite weather conditions.

Which one of them causes the probelms on the road:p
 
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Embattle

Guest
There was an arguement some time a go about making the speed limit 90 but at the same time making the penalty for breaking it higher.
 
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Summo

Guest
Originally posted by SoWat
drivers that somehow get onto the wrong side of the motorway.
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I did this in Spain! They don't have any verges separating the lanes over there, just a standard broken white line, same as the others. I was on a slight bend and reading the sign above the lanes. The lane for my route appeared to be the one to my left (falsely, due to the curve of the road) so I indicated and drifted over. Only realised what I'd done when I saw a pair of headlights beating down on me. :eek6:
 
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old.Reverend Flatus

Guest
Originally posted by Kurt_Angle
Ohh and back on the speed, 70-80-90, it matters not.

Whats important is you drive safe in the traffic, weather conditions, and like i say there are those that can do that, and there are those that don't.
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Absolutely, so the law has to cater for the lowest common denominator. This applies to other age related laws like drinking, sex, smoking etc. There are some people as you rightly say who couldn't give a flying fuck about anyone else, and so, unfortunately the more sensible people have to abide by rules which are really aimed at the 'thickos' (who seem to be in the majority).
Somebody quoted this to me recently "Rules are for the guidance of the wise and to be obeyed by the foolish" (or something like that). Just don't get caught!
 
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Durzel

Guest
I reckon most Police in this country would turn a blind eye if you were doing 90mph in clear, dry conditions - so long as you weren't obviously the only person doing it (ie. if everyone else was doing 50 because of roadworks or something).

I've been sat behind a police car once on the way to Bristol to go to University and as we reached the slip road he put the hammer down and was doing about 95 before even reaching the motorway. He wasn't even chasing/bluelighting anything either! :eek:

3 figure numbers (100mph+) are definitely the realm of license losing. I would imagine most traffic police would pull you over if you were seen doing 100+.
 
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Nozzer

Guest
Isn't it 25% over the speed limit it's effecitvely a ban?

So for 70mph that'd be... 87.5mph... no, can't be right, ignore me.

Anyway, the 70mph limit was imposed many years ago, when cars had shit brakes. Nowadays, they have good brakes, well, most do.
 
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