80mph limit on motorways.

[RedHerring2]

What's all the rush anyway? Lower it to 60 and make public transport fast and comparable in price.

I agree with your logic, canta - ooh aah, but being pragmatic, it's not going to happen anytime soon, is it?

For instance, if I and A N Other wished to go to London & back, it'll cost about £60 in fuel and the journey times are about 2.5 hours driving sedately, from chez-nous to the northern outskirts of the London underground (as we tend to do). The we'd park and ride.
However travelling by train would cost about £150, with the journey time of about 4 hours.

It's plausible to discount the other costs of car-ownership 'cos I need it for the rest of my lifestyle.

What's a more likely scenario, is that public transport costs won't come down in line with private transport, they'll not rise as quickly as private transport. That will be the mechanism for encouraging greater use of public transport, i.e. making the costs of car-ownership prohibitive.

 

[LooPrEvil]

Lifting the speed limit to 80mph to 80 mph will be a good thing, but I doubt it is actually being done for the benefit of the motorist.

In recent years the lower speed limit has been introduced at 20 mph so with an 80 mph being introduced, the speed variation between lower and upper limits will be 60 mph. This no doubt will lead to confusion for motorist not actually knowing what limit they are in (because 'speed repeater signs' are not used at regular intervals), and ultimately more speeding tickets will be issued.

I feel speed repeater signs should be used say every quarter of a mile to before the police are allowed to target motorists. Now you sometimes do not know if you are in a 30, 40, 50 or even 60 mph zone, particulary if you missed the first speed sign, or have forgotten what it was - motorists need reminders!

 

[ladylola]

The main reason for the intended increase is stated by the government as ECONOMIC, transport secretary Hammond claims benifits of hundreds of millions of pounds worth. I haven't yet read in this thread anybody say that they think these supposed benifits are actually real, how is a rep getting to a meeting ten minutes earlier or for that matter leaving the office ten minutes later really going to generate all this money?
As to the safety aspect Health secretary Andrew Lansley says it will result in a higher number of road deaths. I suppose we will have to wait and see on that one. If cars do drive at 80 then probably not but if 80 nactually becomes 90 then maybe he is right.
Martian and joes little tiff- speed differences do have an effect but rather more indirectly in my view, getting "stuck" behind a vehical traveling 20mph slower causes frustration in some drivers and can lead to bad decisions. Maybe it's time to include motorway driving in the driving test?

 

[Corgigrouch]

Has anyone else noticed the trend for car drivers to drive at 10-20mph below the speed limit on A roads and the reluctance for those who are behind them to overtake, even when it is clear and safe to do so?. It doesn't seem to be the older generation who are the guilty ones either...

 

[RedHerring2]

........It doesn't seem to be the older generation who are the guilty ones either...

You mean, the ones that look like Sunday School teachers?
Very noticeable differences in driving in France and UK, apart from the difference in traffic density, French drive faster and are much more willing and able to overtake.

 

[LooPrEvil]

........It doesn't seem to be the older generation who are the guilty ones either...

You mean, the ones that look like Sunday School teachers?
Very noticeable differences in driving in France and UK, apart from the difference in traffic density, French drive faster and are much more willing and able to overtake.

Possibly in France the speed limits are clearly and frequently marked on roadside signage so the motorist knows what speed zone they are in, unlike Britain where 'repeater signs' are little used, which allows the motorist to continue to be persecuted.

However I do not think French motorists are as skilled as their UK counterparts.

 

[Corgigrouch]

I sometimes wonder if the British have been so brow beaten by health and safety that they are no longer able to take a calculated risk (Which is exactly what overtaking is) and so will err on the side of caution to the point where they will just follow the pack no matter how slow it is... Speeding too is now regarded as one level up from being paedofile and so will drive at a speed that is well below the speed limit just to make sure that they don't get a speeding ticket (Surly folk will point at you and laugh as you walk down the street if you have 3 points for speeding)

Bear in mind that even if you drive at the limit as indicated on your speedometer it is designed to read slightly high, so you are guaranteed to be on the safe side of the law without having to deliberately driving like an old fart.... Sadly, the motoring public these days have so little technical knowlage about how their car works..

I'm a forgetful old sod but I always make sure that I know what the speed limit is for the road that I'm on, I see no point in loads of repeater signs for the ****** to weigh in. I would say that the standard of British driving is in decline when compared to other EU countries

 

[joe-90]

If we all travel at the speed limit then the chances of an accident are much reduced.

 

[Corgigrouch]

If we all travel at the speed limit then the chances of an accident are much reduced.

You are of course right but god! what a dull world we would live in... The art of having a close shave and getting away with it is part of what makes us different from robots..

If we all wanted to go down the route of all doing the same speed, then the solution is simple.... Every car is made with a speed limiter set to a default of 20mph and the speed is only permitted to rise when you pass a speed restriction sign for a higher speed which sends a signal to the car allowing the maximum limit shown on the sign...

 

[joe-90]

Yeah but when you have a close shave and don't get away with it you wipe out some kid's Dad or some Mum's kid. Isn't it time you grew up?

 

[LooPrEvil]

If we all travel at the speed limit then the chances of an accident are much reduced.

WRONG!!

If we all travel at a speed to suit the CONDITIONS the chances of an accident are much reduced.

 

[Corgigrouch]

Maybe and maybe not... the one thing I do know is that there are more people on this planet than it can sustain.... Everyone has to die, even me and if I had to live life being safe and not taking calculated risks, (and I speak not just about driving but in life and in business) then there is no purpose in life as we as a race would stagnate too afraid of the consequences to risk having original thought.... It is those who find reasons not to do anything, who only exist to be negative who need to grow up.. Those who take calculated risks are the ones who make life better for everyone

 

[Corgigrouch]

If we all travel at the speed limit then the chances of an accident are much reduced.

WRONG!!

If we all travel at a speed to suit the CONDITIONS the chances of an accident are much reduced.

Technically Joe is right, assuming that the road is perfectly straight, has no junctions and no one ever stops to get out at their destination...

To those of us who think, to suit the conditions is far better. Unfortunately the term "To suit the conditions" requires original thought and calculated risk which Joe does not approve of...

 

[joe-90]

If we all travel at the speed limit then the chances of an accident are much reduced.

WRONG!!

If we all travel at a speed to suit the CONDITIONS the chances of an accident are much reduced.

We are talking about motorways and that is why they have those big bright speed signs - so everyone travels safely at the same speed. Are you being intentionally obtuse or what?

 

[LooPrEvil]

If we all travel at the speed limit then the chances of an accident are much reduced.

WRONG!!

If we all travel at a speed to suit the CONDITIONS the chances of an accident are much reduced.

We are talking about motorways and that is why they have those big bright speed signs - so everyone travels safely at the same speed. Are you being intentionally obtuse or what?

That is the same whether the speed limit is 30 or 130 mph, yet people still dont travel safely - cars breakdown at the most inopportune moments, roads collapse, trees get blown into the carriageway, wild animals run into the carriageways, kids run into the carriageways, jumpers jump of bridges, drivers lose concentration, drivers fall asleep at the wheel, some drivers intentionally cause collisons - roads are one of the most dangerous places to be - FACT!