Motorway Speed Limit: Should it be raised?

[nathb84]

Is the current motorway speed limit too low? Personally i belive it should be raised. The 70 limit was set way back in 1965 and since then alot of things have changed. Some interesting reading on the subject can be found here

http://www.abd.org.uk/motorwayspeedlimit.htm

I know it only really supports one side of the argument, but its the side i agree with, lol. What do you all think?

[Hanuman]

endof the day its not speeding that causes the accidents its the idiots pulling in / out / causing problems, anyone knows without having to admit it, by far the av speed on a 3lane motorway is well over 80, inside lane is for lorries doing about 65 and a few cars just under 70, middle generally about 70-85 depending on where ect, outside depending on where and traffic overtaking / 90 +

i think raise the limit but be alot harsher on new rules actually meaning outside lane overtaking only, middle lane like say 75- 85, and you would get a steady flow of traffic then

[Viper]

roads like the A1 etc should have something like a 100 limit.

roads like A64 maybe 80 ish

[Graham]

hmm i think that if it was raised then would people speed even more though?

[nathb84]

I do agree with you graham but i think like hanuman said, the rules would need to be enforced alot more.

[Graham]

i think its fine how it is. why do you need to go that fast? new drivers and old people would find it hard to keep up with. and then when a lorry goes to overtake then everyone will have to slam on there brakes

[stevenet15]

i think they should be raises as the speed limit were set years and years ago when cars did not have the technology that they do today like ABS, ESP, and the fact there built to safety regulations unlike before they were made out of wood and didnt even have seat belts etc... now were more advanced the limit should be raised. In germany on the autobarns there is no speed limit and they have very few accidents as people are more aware of people driving fast tey double check before they move etc...

[carter]

i think they should be raises as the speed limit were set years and years ago when cars did not have the technology that they do today like ABS, ESP, and the fact there built to safety regulations unlike before they were made out of wood and didnt even have seat belts etc... now were more advanced the limit should be raised. In germany on the autobarns there is no speed limit and they have very few accidents as people are more aware of people driving fast tey double check before they move etc...

back in them days though there was hardly any cars on the road.


i think the limit should be 80 tbh

[Danhunt]

shouldnt be raised too much imo, 80-85 would be ideal, i mean your still gonna get the nutters exceeding the 100 mark, but then thats an instant ban and would be their problem. + there are so many shit cars out there nowadays half of them couldnt reach 100 ;)

[Viper]

i think its fine how it is. why do you need to go that fast? new drivers and old people would find it hard to keep up with. and then when a lorry goes to overtake then everyone will have to slam on there brakes

no... you dont have to go at the speed limit do you.. its just there to say dont go any faster.

people would'nt have to slam their brakes on if the lorry drivers dont pull out right in front of someone else!

[Mystic]

Maybe they should just have the fast lane as a limitless lane & the white lines between the limitless lane would be about 5 foot thick or have zig zagged lines in them to keep a bigger distance away from the limited lanes

[Jimmy-Boy]

IMO there should be 3 lanes lane 1 slow lorrys etc, lane 2 70mph people and lorry over taking lane, lane 3 100+ and if ur car is not capable of that instant ban!

[Lambo69]

IMO there should be 3 lanes lane 1 slow lorrys etc, lane 2 70mph people and lorry over taking lane, lane 3 100+ and if ur car is not capable of that instant ban!


I agree with the first 2 but 100+ is just asking for trouble,

A lane for slow vehicles, and the middle and 3rd lane should be soley for faster vehicles, but only tihnk it should be raised to 80 odd, our roads arnt race tracks.

[Hanuman]

as i said lane one. lorries as they do 65. lane 1 75mph and under, lane 2 should be like 75-85 thats easily a safe limit and pretty much what people do so it aint changin the law just stopping stupid points and would make a more consistent flow as someone doin 70 in the middle lane hogging is terrible when the inside is clearly doin like 69, the outside as it is now for overtakin, i dont think we should be saying 100+ i juts think we should be legalisin the limit to easily 85, but end of the day itl never happen as theyl lose money and its pointless them spendin money on new laws that already make them a nice profit so we gota live with it aint gonna change

[bullit]

it should be raised but then whatever it goes up by im still gonna go over it

[craig180]

Car safety has improved massively but peoples reaction times are still as slow/fast as ever. It's not speed that kills, it's lack of spacial awareness and concentration. The difference between someone with no spacial awareness pulling out on you at 70 and the same at 100 doesn't bear thinking about

[Scott]

80% of the population cant drive properly on the motorway as it is. I personally would welcome a greater limit but given the amount of twats who already drive like idiots at 70mph i would be far more fearful when the limit was rasied even further.

I mean people sit in the middle lane of a motorway because for some bizarre reason they beleive the left hand lane is a slow lane and the middle and right hand are fast lanes?!?!?!

An increase in limit would be nice but driving education for most would be a far better thing

[KamRacing]

I'd like to see some motorway training as part of the drivers test.

Once people have to do that then raise the limit..

[Barry123]

80% of the population cant drive properly on the motorway as it is.
rep'd

I mean people sit in the middle lane of a motorway because for some bizarre reason they beleive the left hand lane is a slow lane and the middle and right hand are fast lanes?!?!?!
scott use your magic admin ways to let me rep you a second time


An increase in limit would be nice but driving education for most would be a far better thing
make that a third time.

[S70KES]

think its something which wont be changed but i do agree with all your comments. cars have improved so much over the years but you still have the shitters out on the roads and the idiots whom think that mot tax and insurance is point less.

[Barry123]

in addition the motorways are so busy these days that actually getting anything above 60mph is a bit of a miracle. it'd be nice to have speed limits in line with say france, 80mph on good weather days, 70mph on rainy days but as scott says, almost everyone in uk cant drive on the motorway properly anyway.

Kamster nailed it too, teaching and testing of motorway use SHOULD be on the driving test.

inside lane is not the slow lane.

[bullit]

with the cars of today doing 70 mph in a pukka salloon feels like 20. my mates audi at a tonne feels like 50 as cars are getting so refined now. raise it for england

[Hanuman]

they need to change it just to sort conjestion, i alwayssss get stuck in traffic, on a fri bout 7 30 just after the sheffield turn off travelling south i look to the right see northbound traffic and its a standstill tailback for at LEAST 20miles every single friday nite i see it never any accident not everyone is turning off just blatently tailback from poor driving,,

if the middle lane saw was literally 80-85 that would be a consistent flow hardly any tailbacks and police should pull people who dont abide by it

normal tail back is

inside lanes lorrys doing 65 inside lane hoggers doin 69-71 all bunched up as no1 can go outside as thats people trying to overtake, some idiot trying to overtake middle doing like 75 people in the outside catching up doing 85-95 all cause a tail back about 4mile down the line its mental how u see traffic get to a hill and see there is no reason for it

[Scott]

they need to change it just to sort conjestion, i alwayssss get stuck in traffic, on a fri bout 7 30 just after the sheffield turn off travelling south i look to the right see northbound traffic and its a standstill tailback for at LEAST 20miles every single friday nite i see it never any accident not everyone is turning off just blatently tailback from poor driving,,

if the middle lane saw was literally 80-85 that would be a consistent flow hardly any tailbacks and police should pull people who dont abide by it

normal tail back is

inside lanes lorrys doing 65 inside lane hoggers doin 69-71 all bunched up as no1 can go outside as thats people trying to overtake, some idiot trying to overtake middle doing like 75 people in the outside catching up doing 85-95 all cause a tail back about 4mile down the line its mental how u see traffic get to a hill and see there is no reason for it

Thats not going to work though as some people just dont feel comfortable doing those speeds so will stick to the left lane at 40 mph then people move out and bang its happening again.

Far better idea would be to have average speed cameras at traffic hotspots during rush hour and limit the speed to 40. Then everyone will be at a comfortable speed and the traffic will flow freely. Insane? worked perfectly in glasgow through the busiest part of the motorway when they were doing road works

Thanks Ads ;)

[Hanuman]

if people aint compftable doing over 50 on the motorway they shouldnt be onit! thats the point traffic is caused by people going to slow / to fast so the law isnt working or not been watched enough, accidents are happenin as people aint comftable and do somit silly, or just pure and simple happens from an ass hole, as you said if everyone did 40 traffic flows, so everyone doing the limit of 70 at least in one bloody lane no traffic, but they aint gonna pump billions of pounds in helping traffic they to busy takin it

was thinking the other day 6months ago saxo vtr 6mnth tax 90£ i think 6 months later £96, now say £6 diff for everyone who renews x how many cars in brittain (which pay tax) how much EXTRA proffit is that on top of what they get, and we still have awfull roads. awfull policing of road. safety. traffic ect its mad

say 5x 100 000 000 thats an EXTRA 5mill on top of what they already were takin why do they need the extra. what exactly are they doing with it bloody offit this country like for tax

[Barry123]

they need to change it just to sort conjestion, i alwayssss get stuck in traffic, on a fri bout 7 30 just after the sheffield turn off travelling south i look to the right see northbound traffic and its a standstill tailback for at LEAST 20miles every single friday nite i see it never any accident not everyone is turning off just blatently tailback from poor driving,,

if the middle lane saw was literally 80-85 that would be a consistent flow hardly any tailbacks and police should pull people who dont abide by it

normal tail back is

inside lanes lorrys doing 65 inside lane hoggers doin 69-71 all bunched up as no1 can go outside as thats people trying to overtake, some idiot trying to overtake middle doing like 75 people in the outside catching up doing 85-95 all cause a tail back about 4mile down the line its mental how u see traffic get to a hill and see there is no reason for it


increasing the speed wont do shit infact it'll make it worse.

take the m42... that has 340583409 speed cameras along it with active traffic management. work a treat since its installation, havent been in a queue since.

What is an 'inside lane hogger'? hahaha
take it you've never been on the inside lane then? you're the sort of person i'd be targetting for motorway training... no offence... but you would be on my list.

ever been in a traffic jam? which lane moves quickest? inside guaranteed.


Scrotty, i tried to rep but gotta spread the lurve.

[xsmile_be_happyx]

Thats not going to work though as some people just dont feel comfortable doing those speeds so will stick to the left lane at 40 mph then people move out and bang its happening again.

Far better idea would be to have average speed cameras at traffic hotspots during rush hour and limit the speed to 40. Then everyone will be at a comfortable speed and the traffic will flow freely. Insane? worked perfectly in glasgow through the busiest part of the motorway when they were doing road works

Thanks Ads ;)

that is true, those roadworks are a nightmare, but no once did you have to stop, it was always constant flow, same with the roadworks they are doing there!

I dunno about increaseing the speedlimit, i think it would cause more accidents

[vidal]

Variable lane speed limits is just asking for disaster, the outside lane(s) are for overtaking only and then the driver should pull into the nearside lane as soon as is practicable. Adherence to lane discipline should be the first thing we teach, before we even contemplate raising the speed limit. There is an argument, in my opinion very sound, but one which the Road Hauliers Association detest, in that all HGVs (limited by law to 56mph) should only be allowed in the inside lane.

Raise the speed limit only when people are safe to drive on the motorways, however if they are raised to 80 - 90mph, rigorously enforce the speed limits, possibly by means of SPECS, and then ban those that break these new, higher limits. The fact that detection is unlikely at present is what makes speeding a problem at the moment - if you are unlikley to get caught, you'll chance your arm.

V.

[Barry123]

Variable lane speed limits is just asking for disaster, the outside lane(s) are for overtaking only and then the driver should pull into the nearside lane as soon as is practicable. Adherence to lane discipline should be the first thing we teach, before we even contemplate raising the speed limit. There is an argument, in my opinion very sound, but one which the Road Hauliers Association detest, in that all HGVs (limited by law to 56mph) should only be allowed in the inside lane.

Vid,

I presume the HA dislike this because they're not allowed to overtake i.e use the middle lane... is this correct?

[Jules]

:boxing: i think it should stay the same, 100mph is to fast there are loads of young guys/gals running around in subaru impreza and older mitsi evos they would have a field day, and i dont fancy my chances at having an accident in any car at that speed regaurdless of the marvels of modern tech esp a saxo :panic:

[nathb84]

increasing the speed wont do shit infact it'll make it worse.

take the m42... that has 340583409 speed cameras along it with active traffic management. work a treat since its installation, havent been in a queue since.





Have you ever been on the m42 at rush hour? I have and it aint pretty

[Barry123]

Have you ever been on the m42 at rush hour? I have and it aint pretty

depends which bit... the section of the m42 between the m6 junction and the m40 junction is camera'd up and is FARRRRR better than it used to be.

[nathb84]

yeah i was taking about the section between the m6 and m40 junctions. However i cannot remember it not having all the cameras so couldnt comment on it being better or worse, i just know at rush hours it sucks.

[Yates]

drivers in italy cant drive for shit, yet i think there speed limit is 90 and fuck all accidents

is should be raised and it should be a part of driving tests

[Hanuman]

i use middle and inside alot on the vtr thats how i get a beuty 400-440miles out the vtr on me motorway missions nice steady 70-75 does the mpg a treat, and when theres traffic all the traffic i get stuck on the a1 m1 cant say the inside lane goes faster :S dunno where u drive. they are all slow but eventually the outside will move off quicker,

cant say i need motorway training like, done a hell of a lot of miles never came close to an accident or caused one, steady 75 does me no harsh cutting in or out, but i was just givin me point, so dont pin point me out keyboard warrior :(

[SaxoJamie]

I think the motorway limit should be around 80 as it would still improve traffic flow without being stupidly fast as some old cars couldn't keep up if we upped the limit to 100 (my saxo may just scrape 100). I'm more interested in getting to the national speed limit quicker than exceeding it lol:P

[Rosstafarian]

I'd like to see some motorway training as part of the drivers test.

Once people have to do that then raise the limit..

amen to that. theres feck all on going quickly in the test...everyone will do it so it might as well be in there

[Rosstafarian]

increasing the speed wont do shit infact it'll make it worse.

take the m42... that has 340583409 speed cameras along it with active traffic management. work a treat since its installation, havent been in a queue since.



:y:

im with you on that one. forget overtaking on the right...stay in the lane your'e in with everyone else going the same speed,
only lorries seem to race around when its at 40.


feel some spanking green rep coming your way:y:

[Viper]

ross, your car struggles to get to 30!!! lol

what i dont understand, is that just cos the limit has gone up, why would that make people go EVEN faster?? do people actually speed just for the fun of breaking the law?

the limit should be raised as people are safely driving at speeds of around 90 on the motorways, so if the limit goes up, it would just stop it being illegal

[Graham]

i just cant jusitfy it going up to 90mph. that would just encourage people to drive faster. they will think oh if its 90 then 95 wont be too bad. i dont really care what sort of new safety features cars have these days i still wouldn't fancy my chances if i crashed at 90mph. maybe raise it to 80mph max but 90mph is outta the question imo.

[Barry123]

cant say i need motorway training like, done a hell of a lot of miles never came close to an accident or caused one, steady 75 does me no harsh cutting in or out, but i was just givin me point, so dont pin point me out keyboard warrior :(

Please... call me Sir Keyboard Warrior...

Honestly im not digging at you... Once I'm president of the world with my glorious Facist Party, there's plenty of people I'd make complete a motorway driving course not just you. its not the potential accident part that is the issue, its lane discipline. if more people moved into the inside lane when they should be there would be less congestion FACTOMUNDO. Instead our less facist government have opted to widen just about ever major motorway, costing a fortune and ultimately will not ease congestion... see M25 where lane discipline goes completely out of the window.

and when theres traffic all the traffic i get stuck on the a1 m1 cant say the inside lane goes faster :S dunno where u drive. they are all slow but eventually the outside will move off quicker,

I drive from guildford (below london) to Naffallerton (above york) regularly. the M1 is uber uber shite at the moment with lane widening between J10 and the M25 Junction, and the M1/M18 (J32)...

Im referring to full on traffic jams dude... I've heard, although a myth im sure, that lorry drivers would rather throw a fiver out the window than come to a complete stop. Lorry drivers tend to control their speed more and make better progress in the jams - thats what i've found on the countless times i've been up and down england.

:)

[vidal]

Vid,

I presume the HA dislike this because they're not allowed to overtake i.e use the middle lane... is this correct?

'Tis the truth, sir. Same thing with caravans in the south west that was proposed a few months ago (sorry, can't find a link at present). Just check out two HGVs passing each other on a 3 lane motorway, they can be trying to pass for miles.

what i dont understand, is that just cos the limit has gone up, why would that make people go EVEN faster?? do people actually speed just for the fun of breaking the law?

the limit should be raised as people are safely driving at speeds of around 90 on the motorways, so if the limit goes up, it would just stop it being illegal

Viper, unfortunately there is a thing called human nature. Many drivers feel that they are above speed limits, that somehow they don't apply to them. If everyone is travelling at 90mph, someone will still want to do 100mph, just to get to the front of the queue etc. Also, with lane discipline being as poor as it is can you imagine someone "swooping" from lane 3 to the exit at 90+

One other thing I've just thought of, almost our entire motorway network has been built (or rebuilt) since the 70mph limit, does anyone know whether any junction geometry, sighting points etc would have to be remodelled?

V.

[Deanlppl]

to be honest i dont think raising the speed limit would Ever happen..because it seems their lowering the speed limits everywhere else...

if somone hasent said already, in my opinion the best solution would to be have a 'reccomended' speed limit of 70.. with a Maximum speed limit forced

what do u think?

[Barry123]

One other thing I've just thought of, almost our entire motorway network has been built (or rebuilt) since the 70mph limit, does anyone know whether any junction geometary, sighting points etc would have to be remodled?

V.

An interesting thought, although I'm unsure about junction geometry other than the slip roads for entering a motorway could well need extending to accomodate for a (low hp) vehicle to reach a sufficient (and comparatively safe) speed.

Despite all this the speed limit wont be raised and I personally think it shouldn't due to the very valid reasons listed above as well as the environmental impact (increase Co2 emissions), in the current light of things it would be rather daft to increase the limit when everyone is trying to reduce their carbon contributions.

[Rosstafarian]

ross, your car struggles to get to 30!!! lol

what i dont understand, is that just cos the limit has gone up, why would that make people go EVEN faster?? do people actually speed just for the fun of breaking the law?

the limit should be raised as people are safely driving at speeds of around 90 on the motorways, so if the limit goes up, it would just stop it being illegal



oi!!!1!!!11one!

cheeky bleeder. its faster than yours!
(might be ecause i only have 1 seat:panic:)

[Karl]

meh id prob drive at 70 whatever the new speedlimit is,
making your petrol last on a long boring road ftw.

[Robb]

i usually end up sitting at 80, purely because im too fast for the slow lane but too slow for the fast lane.

upping the speed limit wont really change anything, people will speed whatever the limit.

[m_cooke999]

my proposal is that on a 3 lane motorway the 1st lane should have a 70mph limit, the 2nd lane should be an 80mph limit and the 3rd lane should have a 90mph limit

that way you can drive in the lane which suits your speed of driving

[spectab16]

raised to 300mph

[hancocmc01_saxo]

I agree with all the people that disagree...

Imagine being in a car crash at 90-120MPH Especially in a saxo come on...
I know it would be lovely now and again to go down a road and open your car up but everything mentioned thinking times...lane hoggers and all the rest of it, it will never happen.

Plus the limit is 70 now if they put it up to 80 then that means they got to let you off doing 89 MPH as the law is you are allowed to exceed the speed limit 10% + 1MPH i remember reading. Where as now your allowed to do 78MPH and theres twits in the outside lane in BMWs and Mercs doing 90-120MPH

[Lambo69]

TBH i think its best as it is!! as loadsa peeps have said its not all about the speed its about how fast the human body can react when it needs to, some people all ready find that hard to do at 70mph.

Plus your car wont last 2 mins ragging at a ton plus everytime you go on the motorway

[CloVis]

Nhooo........

[JoeFurio]

unless your going 100mph+ your unlikely to be pulled on the motorway anyway

just take you time past volvo t5s and range rovers :)

[Japman]

I think the limit should be raise,each year me and my dad drive to austria,and when we get into germany its amazing

The way they drive is the best,noone is under 70mph,and asson as someone over takes they pull straight it

[m_cooke999]

the official thing is that if theres cops at the side of the motorway they wont bother chasing you unless you are deffaintly doing more than 90

[Scott]

I think the limit should be raise,each year me and my dad drive to austria,and when we get into germany its amazing

The way they drive is the best,noone is under 70mph,and asson as someone over takes they pull straight it

thats all very well. The british public cant drive though.

[m_cooke999]

the british public can drive its jus a few twats and sum old grannys that cant

[Scott]

What motorway do you drive on that only has a few people hogging the middle lane? Its a HUGE amount more than a few twats and grannies

[Japman]

totally agree with scott,the uk motorways are full of people who cant drive

In fact this country is all to cock with everything

[thekore]

With the increase in safety feature that are implemented in todays cars I think that the limit should be lifted. However, I still dont think that most drivers are ready or even competant enought to drive at speeds of 100+.

Increasing the limit to 85, or possibly 90mph would make a huge difference I think.

[MikeCracknell]

ross, your car struggles to get to 30!!! lol


If his struggles to 30, then yours struggles to 10 ;)

Raise it to 80, and educate idiots in range rovers/BMW/most german cars

[craig180]

We need to make sure people know what the "first overtaking lane" is for before even considering raising the limit!

It annoys me that the government raise millions each year in revenus from people exceeding the speed limit by a few mph - a minor offence in my opinion, yet 80% of the drivers on our motorways use the wrong lane most of the time. This causes congestion and can't be any good for the environment.

Educate first,

Idiots off the roads,

then raise the limits/introduse variable limits for certain conditions and times

[Yates]

hence why it should be in the driving test craig

[craig180]

hence why it should be in the driving test craig

I agree.