80 mph!
- 21 March 2012 11:52160622
- Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
21 March 2012 12:25160630intressting idea,i hope it works out well enough to roll out across the country.it seems to work ok on the continent on certains roads,there is a section of road between calias and dunkirk with an 80 mph speed limit. - 21 March 2012 12:31160632Ah yes. Operation 'STACK' becomes operation pile-up?
Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing. - Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
21 March 2012 12:33160634they got plans for stack tom. - 21 March 2012 12:44160638Oh?! That's OK then Brian. Nothing unplanned ever happens?Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
- 21 March 2012 13:04160641i think it is a recipe for disaster the present limit of 70 m.p.h means in practice that 80 m.p.h. is acceptable, i don't know of anyone done for driving at that speed.
raising to 80 will mean that people will do 90 and couple that with most motorists lack of knowledge on stopping/braking distances then pile ups are likely. - 21 March 2012 13:14160646Is there to be an equally strict lower limit, i.e. no speed-limited trucks?Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
- 22 March 2012 00:02160770I don't see any reason not to raise the National Speed Limit (NSL) on motorways to 80 mph if the road can take it. As Howard has already pointed out it's not exactly uncommon for cars & motorcycles to be driven at that speed anyway.
Problems will arise, however, if the the limits for other classes of vehicles don't rise as well - and I can't see that happening. What people tend to forget (if they knew it in the first place) is that certain classes of vehicles have lower limits which are also dependent on the type of road. There's a handy chart in the Highway Code (Rule 124) - http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070304.
But we're only discussing motorway speeds here which simplifies things a bit. Car and motorcycles will be able to run at 80 mph, but cars/motorcycles/vans towing trailers will still be limited to 60 mph, buses and coaches up to 12 metres in length will still be limited to 70 mph. And then there are goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes (and up to 44 tonnes) that can do 60 mph. That last bit is a bit of a red herring because goods vehicles are physically limited by law to 90 km/h (about 56 mph).
As it is the speed differential that tends to cause the problem rather than the speed itself it might seem that an increase in the NSL just for cars and motorcycles is going to cause a problem. I don't actually think so, not if they're already doing those sort of speeds illegally.
Tom has hit on one of my favourite bug-bears though, a minimum speed limit! I am fairly certain that, many years ago, there was a minimum limit and I've hunted high a low to find reference to it, but without success. As some of you may know I drive HGVs for living and there seems to be an increasing tendency over the past couple of years for some car drivers to "dawdle" at around 50 mph on the motorway. These dawdlers aren't driving ancient machines that are incapable of doing higher speeds, these are modern cars well capable of doing the NSL and beyond. Certainly for us truckers coming upon someone dawdling can be highly inconvenient and potentially very dangerous. It's bad enough that many supermarket reefers are limited to 50 mph but to come across a high-powered car doing the same, or less, is quite scary at times. There have, I am told, been instances of these particular drivers being stopped and charged with dangerous driving, or driving without due care. But that is far less frequent than drivers being pulled over for speeding, and even that doesn't happen very often!
What seems to make a nonsense of the proposition, in my opinion, is the steady reduction of speed limits on rural roads. The prime example of this in our area is the Alkham Valley Road with it's 50 mph and 40 mph limits imposed where none were required - and are regularly exceeded, particularly by the residents of Alkham itself! I've had my say on that particular problem in this forum in the past so I'll leave that issue for another time.Phil West
If at first you don't succeed, use a BIGGER hammer!! - 22 March 2012 08:13160783I have no problem with the 80 mph limit for cars and motor-bikes. As Phil says most cars and bikes exceed that anyway.
The cost of petrol can also be a controlling factor (it is for me), but seeing some of the cars going flying past, it isn't for them.
I agree with Phil about the dawdlers, they may as well use the A roads, a lot say they hate motorways anyway.
Roger - 22 March 2012 14:02160870My brother-in-law has several vintage cars, he refuses to take the older ones on a motorway or main duel carriageway because they are too slow to be safe.I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
- 22 March 2012 14:53160876The idea of a minimum speed limit is discussed [see link below], but I post the link because of the advert on the page as it will be of interest to some here...
http://www.safermotoring.co.uk/there-minimum-speed-motorway.htmlIgnorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing. - 22 March 2012 18:47160914some interesting comments on this thread, one bit i notice from phil was reference to the alkham valley road which i find attracts some very aggressive drivers for some reason.
the only time i have felt nervous on public transport was on a bus going through there, the driver seemed to feel he could challenge the cars driving through.
on top of that people that live there have to drive out of their houses with very limited vision making it even more hazardous and i seem to remember there being fatal accidents in the past. - 23 March 2012 11:06161007Peter's brother-in-law obviously has the sensible approach, though I should point out that the older cars are not necessarily unsafe - just the other idiots on the road!
A minimum speed restriction on a motorway would probably be unworkable, as the article Tom's link highlighted. There are times when certain vehicles will have to travel at a "sedate" speed. You come across the odd Convoi Exceptionel of very heavy or wide loads that are unable to move very quickly. Another one I came across recently was a small convoy of cars lead by a hearse, which I thought was quite inconsiderate to be using a motorway at 45 mph! It must have been quite frightening for the drivers in this convoy to be overtaken by a stream of HGVs thundering past at just under 60 mph just off the ferry.Phil West
If at first you don't succeed, use a BIGGER hammer!! - 23 March 2012 13:11161018Not unsafe per se but the 1909 Renault has a flat out top speed of 40 mph!I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
