Road speed limit cut to 50mph

It's been interesting to watch and read the reaction from the majority on here who are unfortunate enough to be stuck in the overcrowded and congested parts of England.

Applying a 50mph limit to A roads in Scotland and particularly in the areas north of Perth (to pick an arbitrary point) is ludicrous (sorry but no IMHO here).

Enforce the current laws properly instead of implementing more UK nanny state rules, regulations and laws, or alternatively implement speed limits appropriate to the roads instead of having a national standard.

Vive la Révolution.

Jim

It seems we're all agreed then, stupid people taking unacceptable risks are to blame, not the speed limit

And I agree, before overtaking, figure if it's actually going to speed your journey up any...

There we go. Sorted.

I'm probably repeating some of the posts above but with my own spin (no pun intended) applied.

Reduce the national speed limit to 50mph to reduce fatalities and other serious accidents - great idea. Then, in a few years' time reduce it to 40mph ... If none of us left our houses there would be no car accidents. (Isaac Asimov's I, Robot anyone?)

That's not to say we should have no speed limits but I'm far from convinced that this proposed measure will have any net benefits.

As someone else said, why 50? Why not 49? If we converted to km what would the speed limit change to? Hey, perhaps that's the idea! The government has found a way to make the transition to metric easier ... 50mph become 80kph.

As has been mentioned modern cars are designed for travelling at speeds in excess of 50mph and will have best fuel consumption at that speed or slightly higher. Who cares if we have to change gear much more often so as to keep the speed those few mph lower?

Perhaps better would be banning smaller engined cars from leaving the cities (where they are better suited) - anyone for that idea?

More speed cameras - lovely idea. I recall driving to Ilfracombe for the weeked a few years ago ... quite a drive from the Midlands for one night but the weather was kind and we had a lovely time - when there. I left the M5 in North Somerset and headed cross country into North Devon. With reasonable autumn weather it should have been a lovely drive. One thing spoiled it ... the continuous Speed Camera signs, perhaps every 1/4 mile or so. And it has only got worse everywhere since. On the A435 dual carriageway leading to the Maypole Island (roundabout) - a stretch of about 2.5 miles there are six or seven speed camera signs! What on earth are we doing to our country?

I generally do my best to keep to the speed limits - I sometimes drive at less than this speed when the road conditions dictate - as I don't want a fine/points (I was convicted on 30 Sep 1980 and I don't want a recurrence) but I know that I spend more time looking at my speedometer than I do looking out of the windscreen when I'm driving roads I don't know. And, believe me, that's not safe!

I want to see a sign which tells me what the recommended - not mandatory - safe speed limit is ... not every 100yrds or so ... and I don't want a sign that I'm on camera. Then, if I'm involved in an accident and speed is a contibutory factor my speed in excess of stated limit will be taken into account. I know this is too much to ask for but I can wish.

As for the reduction in the speed limit making people drive slower and safer. No chance! I drove to London (outskirts) and back on Saturday - M40 - using cruise control set at approx. 70mph for most of both journeys. I lost count of the number of cars which passed me as I drove much of the way in the nearside lane. Quite a number of cars (generally coloured silver) were travelling well in excess of 100mph. What makes anyone think such drivers will drive slower?

As for the "so-called" experts who set the speed limits. Are these the same "so-called" experts who are designing modern roundabouts? If so I have no faith in them and wonder if they have ever sat behind a driving wheel.

it all comes down to proper driver education from the word go. i am a class 1 hgv driver as well as being on my companys training team, we assess our drivers every 6 months or more depending on their records or any complaints, if they give an unsatisfactory assessment they are taken off the road and given further training { for this the other drivers will take the proverbial out of them something chronic }
this can also lead to a disaplinary situation.
although there are bad hgv drivers we are trained to drive the vehicle where as car drivers are trained to pass the test.
DRIVER EDUCATION IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD,REDUCED SPEED LIMITS WILL ACHIEVE NOTHING BUT MONEY IN GOVENMENTS COFFERS.
NUFF SAID

I will be a lone voice here, no doubt. Looking beyond the splash headline, it seems the report does not actually say reduce ALL single carriage A roads to 50mph.

'A' designates a type of route, not a type of road - the main route between largish places, but there are A roads and A roads. It is not proposed to reduce the limit on suitable modern-quality single carriage A roads, but on the smaller type only. Where I live, the nearest dual carriage way is 15 miles away and the nearest 3-lane motorway is 40 miles away. Most main routes hereabouts are ancient pre-motorisation single carriage roads that have had the prefix 'A' added, but they remain wiggly and unsighted. There are many crashes.

I totally agree that driver responsibility and education should be enough. But it isn't. No, you will never stop the testosterone-fuelled loonies, and HGV drivers who are not as well-trained as Deadlifter (which seems to be most of them), but this selective reduction in speed limits (which is, essentially, cost-free to apply, no change in infra-structure) may encourage the law-abiding 'marginals', who generally drive at just a pip or two above the limit, to think about their speed. I can think of some places (eg parts of the A140, A134 and A1101) that have traditionally been death-traps, where a significant downturn in numbers of serious accidents has curiously co-incided with a mandatory reduction in speed to 50mph. As I am not sure that every driver in East Anglia has been on a driving re-education course, I am led to believe that speed is a significant factor in accidents on main routes.

I say this as someone who enjoys driving along East Anglia's sweeping curves as much as the next person.

I will now duck.

James

James has a good point regarding "A" roads as does Jim regarding roads north of Perth.

The nearest main road to my house is an A road with the overall speed limit of 60mph, reduced as expected when it passes through villages or built up areas. There are a few overtaking spots where conditions are such that overtaking is a safe manoeuvre, but on the whole 60mph would be a break neck speed at which to attempt to travel this road. For this reason I tend to travel at speeds between 40 and 50 on this road (although my car is capable of 155mph).

I would observe that in tandem with a reduction in the maximum speed limit, there could be a case for the implementation of a minimum speed limit.

It is not uncommon to be stuck behind a line of traffic, held up not by agricultural machinery, but some loon doing all of 30mph. A lot of frustration is created by such timorous, nay inconsiderate drivers when the prevailing conditions are such that a higher speed (up to 60mph) is both attainable and no less safe. A reduction to 50mph may provide those who dawdle with additional justification for their slow progress, so they need to be incentivised to speed up.

I am not a boy racer, but I do like to make good progress along the road when conditions permit.

Rob

Rob

quote:

I am not a boy racer, but I do like to make good progress along the road when conditions permit.

Ach, go on admit it man, your a boy racer trying to be politically correct!

Actually , you make some valid points. I will be driving soon from Inverness to Lochcarron and will encounter roads where 60mph is perfectly reasonable and other parts where 30mph is likely to be dodgy. After all, 60mph on a single track road with passing places is definitely in the "interesting" category.

Cheers

Jim

drive to the road conditions, not the speed limits. just because it says 60 mph, 50 mph, 40 mph, 30 mph even 20 mph it does not mean you will be able to stick at the top end of the limit for the mileage of a particular road. controlling factors will include drivers skill, type of vehicle {size, 4x4 etc} and weather conditions also drivers knowledge of a particular route to be taken in said conditions.
take a advanced drivers test. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

quote:

Originally posted by Rob B:
I tend to travel at speeds between 40 and 50 on this road

Driving between 40 and 50. You must find that terribly boring.

A colleague of my wife was done for speeding, 36 in a 30 zone, part of her punishment was "speed awareness" classes. She was admonished for doing 50 in a 60 zone, and replied it's the speed I feel comfortable with, and was told she should be doing 60 ,otherwise she was upsetting other road users.

She didn't but should have responded with "it is MAXIMUM speed, not a MANDATORY one".

[QUOTE]Originally posted by BigH47:
A colleague of my wife was done for speeding, 36 in a 30 zone, part of her punishment was "speed awareness" classes. She was admonished for doing 50 in a 60 zone, and replied it's the speed I feel comfortable with, and was told she should be doing 60 ,otherwise she was upsetting other road users.

unfortunately this is called not making progress
and you can fail your driving test for it

quote:

Originally posted by fatcat:

quote:

Originally posted by Rob B:
I tend to travel at speeds between 40 and 50 on this road

Driving between 40 and 50. You must find that terribly boring.

I cope

quote:

I don't drive very fast so have no need for my taxes to be wasted stopping me doing something that I don't do in the first place. If people are driving too fast and causing accidents then target them not me.

This is a joke? No?

I am certain that it is not ...

quote:

Originally posted by fatcat:
About Time Too

It is the end of the world, I mean it really is if they do it.

quote:

Originally posted by QTT:

quote:

Originally posted by fatcat:
About Time Too

It is the end of the world, I mean it really is if they do it.

I couldn't agree more.

Just bloody live with it. All this was said when the 70 limit was introduced, result the world carried on spinning. It's an annoyance nothing more.
If ALL limits were to be made 50 then , maybe just maybe, a fuss should be made.