If 70mph is the top speed on our roads....

[joe-90]

....isn't it time that cars were manufactured with smaller engines and a top speed of 70mph? This will result in less speeding, less fuel used, lower emissions, better safety and cars better prepared for the future fuel price hikes?

 

[noseall]

it will be a very brave car manufacturer that sets the precedent.

 

[noseall]

p.s.

a 1 tonne car that can do 70mph is still very dangerous, for those inside and outside the car.

 

[Rob]

iirc skoda tried something similar a few years ago. The cars speed was limited to which ever speed zone it was in via satellite.

hmmm...

 

[nickso]

or maybe 63mph joe?

 

[RF Lighting]

And what happens if you take you 70mph limited car to a country where 70mph is not the maximum legal speed?

 

[joe-90]

And what happens if you take you 70mph limited car to a country where 70mph is not the maximum legal speed?

Who cares? You buy it here, register it here, drive it here. You can still drive sensibly in a different country. It's not mandatory to drive like an idiot when abroad. You can always hire a car if you have a death wish.

 

[megawatt]

We need a sanity check here ...

1. Far more people are killed on the roads in 30mph zones than on motorways and dual carriageways.

2. Far fewer people are killed on the German Autobahns than on our motoways per capita.

3. Speed in urban areas is a major contributory factor to death ... Lower speeds ... Less deaths.

4. Speed on motorways is not a major contributory factor to death ... Speed differential and poor driving are.

This suggests to me that speed limiting vehicles to 70mph is a daft thing to do.

Bringing out urban only vehicles limited to 30mph would be more sensible ... Commercially suicidal though IMO

MW

 

[Shutpa]

We need a sanity check here ...

1. Far more people are killed on the roads in 30mph zones than on motorways and dual carriageways.

2. Far fewer people are killed on the German Autobahns than on our motoways per capita.

3. Speed in urban areas is a major contributory factor to death ... Lower speeds ... Less deaths.

4. Speed on motorways is not a major contributory factor to death ... Speed differential and poor driving are.

This suggests to me that speed limiting vehicles to 70mph is a daft thing to do.

Bringing out urban only vehicles limited to 30mph would be more sensible ... Commercially suicidal though IMO

MW

Well said MW

 

[joe-90]

I thought I was on your ignore list.

So do you suggest that the speed limit be removed altogether?

Maximum economy is achieved at (IIRC) at about 58mph. After that the wind resistance eats up fuel and pollutes the planet. Therefore, shouldn't the driving speeds reflect this?

Higher speeds means: Less reaction time, longer stopping distances and higher kinetic energy release upon impact. Which, naturally enough, means higher death toll. And argue till you are blue in the face - that will never change until you can change the laws of science. (which is why they are called laws as no-one ever will).

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

We need a sanity check here ...

2. Far fewer people are killed on the German Autobahns than on our motoways per capita.

We also need an accuracy check as this point is quite unfounded.

This is from Brake (the road safety charity) and is part of their contribution to the proposal of raising speed limits a couple of years ago:


The UK motorway speed limit and why it shouldn’t be increased...

Since 1965 the national speed limit on UK motorways has been 70mph. In 2004, the Conservative Party announced that if it came to power it would trial 80mph limits on some stretches of motorway. The AA Motoring Trust backed an increase in the speed limit to 80mph but only on controlled motorways, where the speed limit could be lowered to suit traffic conditions.

The Conservatives have argued that the limit on motorways was set decades ago, when cars were less safe and when roads were less well designed.

Brake, together with road safety organisations such as the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, is strongly opposed to raising the speed limit on any stretch of motorway for reasons set out below.

Why is Brake against increasing motorway speed limits?
The faster we drive, the less time we have to react and the harder we hit. The Parliamentary Transport Committee estimates that an increase in the speed limit from 70mph to 80mph would result in a 10% rise in casualties on those roads.[1] Research shows that reducing the average speed on a road by just 1mph is likely to reduce the frequency of crashes by 5%.[2]

International examples show that raising motorway speed limits can increase casualties. In the USA, a report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that when interstate limits were raised in a number of states from 65mph to 70mph, the death rates on those roads rose by 35%. In states that raised the limit from 65mph to 75mph, the death rates rose by 38%.[3]

Germany, which has autobahns famous for their lack of speed limits, has a motorway death rate that is 75% higher than in the UK.


These statistics demonstrate that any trial of higher speed limits is a gamble with people’s lives, particularly on British roads which are often plagued by rain, fog, sleet, gloomy days and congestion.

How many casualties occur on motorways?
In 2004, 14,308 people were hurt in UK motorway crashes. Of those, 164 were killed and a further 1,137 were seriously injured – injuries including loss of limbs, paralysis and brain damage.[4]

Although there are fewer crashes on motorways per mile travelled than on other roads, when crashes do occur, they are more likely to be fatal because of the high speeds involved. 2% of motorway crashes are fatal, compared to 1.4% of all crashes.[5] Motorway crashes are also more likely to result in a pile up and therefore multiple deaths and injuries. Congestion and tailbacks after one motorway crash may also result in further crashes.

What will happen if the speed limit is increased?
Vehicles travelling at 80mph take longer to stop and will hit harder if involved in a collision. An increased speed limit would also mean an increased differential between the speed of trucks and coaches (limited to 56mph and 60mph respectively) and other traffic, affecting ‘flow’. An increased speed limit may also mean an increased differential between the fastest drivers and the most cautious drivers. This may also contribute to ‘bunching’ and unnecessary congestion. It may also contribute to drivers driving too close to one another. It is vital, particularly on such fast roads, to keep at least a two second gap between vehicles, four seconds in wet weather and 10 seconds in icy conditions.

 

[megawatt]

CSM: Brake are hardly an impartial contributor

In balance ...

Accident rates
Despite the prevailing high speeds, the accident, injury and death rates on the Autobahn are remarkably low. The Autobahn carries about a third of all Germany's traffic, but injury accidents on the Autobahn account for only 6% of such accidents nationwide and less than 12% of all traffic fatalities were the result of Autobahn crashes (2004). In fact, the annual fatality rate (3.2 per billion km in 2004) is consistently lower than that of most other superhighway systems, including the US Interstates (5.0 in 2003).

Taken from ... http://gettingaroundgermany.home.att.net/autobahn.htm#speedlimits

And another (albeit 10 years old now) ...
http://www.dma.org/~ganotedp/autobahn.htm

And another ...
http://www.amazon.ca/American-Autobahn-Interstate-Freeway-Speed/dp/0966913604

I'm sure for every one I find you'll find an equal number to contradict ... Statistics are such wonderfully subjective things

In my own personal experience, though, the real dangers I have seen on Motorways have all been due to speed differential and really bad driving practice ... Not speed.

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

Hallo Megawatt,

Certainly Brake are not impartial and, no, I am not going statistics gathering as life can generally be put to better use, but I have heard that fatalities on German autobahns are about three times higher than UK- 600 to 200. Others can search to confirm or refute either way.

Each of your references is US based. The comment: Despite the prevailing high speeds, the accident, injury and death rates on the Autobahn are remarkably low. Remarkably low, that is, for the US which has a p*sspoor record compared to Europe (Portugal excepted, of course ). The first reference is from the some outfit called Texas Highway Man. I lived in Texas for a while years ago and whilst that state has a claim to certain attributes, an inherent aptitude for driving would scarcely be one of them. The second reference is, as you say, 10 years old and has questionable clarity re its insistence on using US terminology to distinguish road types. The third just about sums up the puerile US perspective to what is a serious issue, for most people, driving fast is not irresponsible--it's fun.

In my own personal experience, though, the real dangers I have seen on Motorways have all been due to speed differential and really bad driving practice ... Not speed.

So what if had a tyreburst on a motorway that was occupied by no other vehicle than your own. Would you be likely to incur more damage if you had been travelling at 70mph or 100mph?

My experience of driving in Germany, where I also lived for a while, is that standards are generally high but that the autobahns suffer from two disadvantages: 1) average speed that most drivers wish to travel at is substantially higher than the UK and even more importantly 2) most autobahns are only two-lane.

 

[megawatt]

So what if had a tyreburst on a motorway that was occupied by no other vehicle than your own. Would you be likely to incur more damage if you had been travelling at 70mph or 100mph?

You're missing my point CSM which is ... The majority of the incidents I have seen on motorways have not been speed related and I would (personally) sooner be driving on an Autobahn in Germany where driving speeds are pretty consistent (and higher than here) rather than here where some people drive at 100mph and others drive at 50mph ... It is the differential that cause most accidents here IMO ... And Pratts of course!

I really believe that we have some of the worst drivers I have ever seen in this country and they all seem to appear on the motorway when I'm there

MW

 

[joe-90]

I really believe that we have some of the worst drivers I have ever seen in this country and they all seem to appear on the motorway when I'm there

MW

I guess it's pretty selfish of them to stick to the speed limits and get in your way?