UK Speed Limits
- Thread starter Voley
- Start date
I think the limits are ok, it's just peoples ignorance and/or disregard of them that's the problem.
I'm going to Harwich tonight from Gt. Yarmouth and every time I do it I stick to 50 on national speed limit single carriageway cos it's dark and twisty on the A12 down to Ipswich and 60 is just a little bit too quick to be able to stop in the distance I can see, even 50 is a bit dicey at times. However I can guarentee that as usual I'll be tailgated most of the way. I'm in a Transit this time rather than my car so my limit is 50 anyway.
I'm going to Harwich tonight from Gt. Yarmouth and every time I do it I stick to 50 on national speed limit single carriageway cos it's dark and twisty on the A12 down to Ipswich and 60 is just a little bit too quick to be able to stop in the distance I can see, even 50 is a bit dicey at times. However I can guarentee that as usual I'll be tailgated most of the way. I'm in a Transit this time rather than my car so my limit is 50 anyway.
Bahnhof Strasse
Let's av ya fuckin' dancin'!
Dunno why everyone raves about the Germans being good on the motorways, they're terrible for tailgating.
Should be higher on UK motorways, 90 would be good, but maybe with a French style lower limit during bad weather, maybe 60. That should make people think about how atrocious their driving is in poor conditions.
On a side note, on Saturday I followed a copper for about 12 miles, he just happened to be going the same way as me. We started on a 40mph duel carriageway, where he booted off at 60. We then went on to a 50mph duel carriageway, he nudged up to 70, then another 50 zone where he done 70, then some 30mph roads where he was doing 45.
I know how fast he was going cos I kept pace, he could hardly nick me for it.
Should be higher on UK motorways, 90 would be good, but maybe with a French style lower limit during bad weather, maybe 60. That should make people think about how atrocious their driving is in poor conditions.
On a side note, on Saturday I followed a copper for about 12 miles, he just happened to be going the same way as me. We started on a 40mph duel carriageway, where he booted off at 60. We then went on to a 50mph duel carriageway, he nudged up to 70, then another 50 zone where he done 70, then some 30mph roads where he was doing 45.
I know how fast he was going cos I kept pace, he could hardly nick me for it.
The germans aren't too bad, the dutch are worse. I'm going to experience both tomorrow.
I do find in both Holland and Germany, people don't seem to view everyday journies as a race like they do here. There's more respect for other road users no matter if they are going faster or slower.
Bahnhof Strasse
Let's av ya fuckin' dancin'!
The Dutch are bad, they get that from the Belgians!
But in Germany I can be bowling along at 110mph, go to overtake someone, in to the empty fast lane and a couple of seconds later a big BM or Merc is inches from my bumper with his lights flashing. Gets me thinking all anti-Germanic thoughts that does.
Griff
Feeding the foxes
weltweit
Well-Known Member
I lived in Germany and the Autobahn are interesting. However even in unlimited bits they have a sign saying something like "80 beim nass" which means 80kmh when wet. A good idea because wet roads offer much less grip but this rule is usually ignored. Yes, lane discipline is much better in Germany.
A lot more people are killed on the roads in Germany than they are in the UK. In my experience driving on A & B roads in Germany drivers tend to keep to the speed limits much more than we do in the UK.
Are UK speed limits ok at the moment?
Yes they are not bad, you can in practice exceed 70mph on the motorway and 80-90mph will usually be ignored. Going over 100 is a serious act and can land you a ban.
Uk speed limits are not too bad as they are.
A lot more people are killed on the roads in Germany than they are in the UK. In my experience driving on A & B roads in Germany drivers tend to keep to the speed limits much more than we do in the UK.
Are UK speed limits ok at the moment?
Yes they are not bad, you can in practice exceed 70mph on the motorway and 80-90mph will usually be ignored. Going over 100 is a serious act and can land you a ban.
Uk speed limits are not too bad as they are.
mattie
missing in inaction
If I remember correctly (usually the preface for some completely idiotic work of fiction), anyone on the autobahn who is exceeding a speed 'limit' is automatically considered to have contributed to an accident even if the accident wasn't necessarily their fault.
True or false?
True or false?
elevendayempire
Registered Loofah
I have a couple of bugbears; 1) raise the motorway speed limit to 80 to improve traffic flow, and 2) variable speed limits near schools. Yes, the precious little darlings 
have to be protected from the nasty cars with 20mph limits... but they should really only apply during school hours (plus a few hours each side to account for after-school activities). 20mph limits on roads outside schools that still apply at 3am are fucking ridiculous - what eight-year-old would be off to school then?
have to be protected from the nasty cars with 20mph limits... but they should really only apply during school hours (plus a few hours each side to account for after-school activities). 20mph limits on roads outside schools that still apply at 3am are fucking ridiculous - what eight-year-old would be off to school then?My father is hardly a sporting driver, but I remember him enjoying the autobahn on a family holiday years ago. He'd just traded a hatchback in for a Volvo 240 estate, and he found that until he got used to it he had to be a bit careful on British motorways since it was quite powerful and he easily ended up exceeding the speed limit. When we took it to Germany, however, he just relaxed and let it lope along at a comfortable 90mph. A lot of people were going a fair bit faster, but I don't remember it being at all intimidating, so long as you didn't sit in the outside lane.
The German road death rate is higher than in Britain, but AFAIK it's no worse on the derestricted sections of the autobahn than elsewhere in the country, suggesting that high speed isn't the main reason.
Bahnhof Strasse
Let's av ya fuckin' dancin'!
From what I understand it's the non-motorway roads where the carnage takes place. No idea why.
I had a client with a German wife and 3 kids. They all moved over to Germany, one night the wife and kids were out on their own and she crashed the car, killing all of them. Imagine going from being a married man with a largish family to a single man, litterally overnight.
subversplat
writer of wrongs
Autobahn style motorways, slow around town is pretty sensible.
I'd probably make big urban dual carrigeways faster too (the sorts with pedestrian tunnels or bridges) as people shouldn't be walking on that bit of the road anyway.
Also encourage chilled out cruising a bit more - you don't see the kids on 18th Street ragging their pimped-out Impalas! Maybe add hydraulic shocks to all new cars?
I'd probably make big urban dual carrigeways faster too (the sorts with pedestrian tunnels or bridges) as people shouldn't be walking on that bit of the road anyway.
Also encourage chilled out cruising a bit more - you don't see the kids on 18th Street ragging their pimped-out Impalas! Maybe add hydraulic shocks to all new cars?
It's probably less of a factor than it was, but I have heard it said in the past that the former DDR was the big problem since the roads weren't as good as in the west and a lot of drivers were inexperienced, at least with anything more powerful than a Trabant...
A lot of the roads are actually pretty bad where I'm going, in the Rhein-Ruhr area. I'd say the roads in rural norfolk are a lot better on the whole than they are there.
I'm going to be in the minority here and say I'd like them decreased. For example, and especially, the motorway speed lowered to 60mph. It would have the twin benefits of lowering the emissions from the exhaust, and massively decreasing the fuel usage, by approximately 20%.
Bahnhof Strasse
Let's av ya fuckin' dancin'!
Yep. It would reduce emissions. But it would increase gun crime. Just look at the USA where they lowered speeds to cut down on petrol consumption, yet shooting murders are higher than anywhere else. There is a link.
Bahnhof Strasse
Let's av ya fuckin' dancin'!
bi0boy
Power User
I think they are mostly ok. Some are too low e.g. 40 and 50 in rural areas where it should be 60, some too low e.g. 40 and 30 where it could be 20.
The main problem is the people doing the driving. What we really need (apart from better driver education) are dedicated traffic police armed with double-barreled coach guns.
The main problem is the people doing the driving. What we really need (apart from better driver education) are dedicated traffic police armed with double-barreled coach guns.
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
The problem is not just drivers though. Many pedestrians involved in accidents are at fault (even if the law doesn't allow for them to be legally so) too. The fact that almost invariably they're always going to come off worse off does not mean we should not try to improve their road awareness and behaviour.
I don't have a problem with reducing speed to 20mph (25 would be a more logical decrease IMO) on small, residential streets, but not all streets within a town or city should be subject to such change by any means.
Speeds on motorways and some dual carriageways should be increased to at least 80. Then again some 60mph roads could do with a lower limit.
As an aside note, is the UK the only country in Europe that chooses not to sign their national speed limits? I.E., we don't have any speed limit signs with '70' written on them; only the white background sign with the diagonal line crossing it. I hate that. It's as if they think they'd be encouraging people to drive faster if they dare tell them the limit is 70 mph.
I have a couple of bugbears; 1) raise the motorway speed limit to 80 to improve traffic flow, and 2) variable speed limits near schools. Yes, the precious little darlings
Charming
Well, most primary and secondary schools by default are in built up areas, so the limit would only "revert" back up to 30mph for your precious 3am speed-fest.
Yes, it's a contributing factor. The percentage of blame is p to the investigating officer. The percentage blame is also used by the respective insurance companies in settling the claims. My ex had an accident at a notorious junction on the B1 in Dortmund (nicknamed kamikase junction). The police proportioned blame 30% to my missus and 70% to the pillock that hit her.
Certainly the Germans are similar with their 'town signs' (yellow rectangles with the name of the town, on leaving the town they are crossed by a red line). IIRC the speed limits are signposted when entering a town but the relaxation is assumed on leaving the town unless there new speed limit is different for the type of road that you are on.
IME, cars with electronic ignitions exhibit very little change in consumtion v speed except on the 'in town' 30mph stop-start cyle. Certainly my last three cars (Chavalier, Megane and Astra) show virtually no variation in range no matter what method of driving I use
Having done cab driving at silly o'clock in the morning I would whole-hearted agree.Charming
Well, most primary and secondary schools by default are in built up areas, so the limit would only "revert" back up to 30mph for your precious 3am speed-fest.
A couple of years back there was a copper done (but cleared) of speeding whilst road testing his car at 3am. Lots of outrage was produced that he did 150+ on a dual carriageway. I didn't really have a major problem with that provided the road have motorway style acceleration lanes for joining it. My big bugbear about that particular case was that he got away with driving at 90 in a 30 limit. Totally outragous on a road test. He was a police advanced driver, but that doesn't mean that everybody else is. If I had been driving as a cabbie in that area it is entirely possible to have pulled out from a junction expecting that he was travelling at a MUCH lower speed.
Personally I would allow autobahn limits on roads that are designed for those types of speeds (most M-ways), maybe 80 on a dual carriageway that only has acceleration lanes at junctions, but clamp down heavily on 30 and 40 limits. 20 outside schools. Get rid of the national speed limit and impose explicit limits, with reminder signs in all areas, so that no one has an excuse that they weren't sure what the limit is. Variable limits dependent on weather. The biggest thing is to educate drivers about tailgating, and responsible use of speed.
elevendayempire
Registered Loofah
Fine. Better than being stuck driving at 20 on an empty road, when the only reason you're driving at 20 is because of some kids who are all in bed.Charming
Well, most primary and secondary schools by default are in built up areas, so the limit would only "revert" back up to 30mph for your precious 3am speed-fest.
I do so love the way you immediately assume I want to hare along down residential roads at 60mph.
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
20 mph really is an absurdly slow speed to drive at for anything other than side residential streets. It is suitable for such roads and for certain areas (near schools etc) but it is certainly not suitable for continuous town city travel, particularly on main through routes and trunk roads.
20 mph also is a terrible speed to travel at environment-wise. For the immense majority of cars it is going to involve hi revs in second gear, resulting in disproportionate fuel consumption, pollution and noise.
I once gave a lift home to a friend who does not drive and is a big fan of imposing blanket 20 mph limits across all urban areas. The time was 9 pm, the street was nice and wide (still within London) and fairly clear of traffic. We were stopped at one set of lights and when it went green I decided to drive at 20 mph. My friend asked why we were going so incredibly slow, and I replied 'well, this is the 20 mph speed you advocate for all city traffic'. He ended up admitting there and then that the 20mph limit seemed in fact too low for some parts of the city, at certain times. I do get the impression that most people who advocate blanket 20 mph limits for built up areas don't drive or travel in cars much either.
20 mph also is a terrible speed to travel at environment-wise. For the immense majority of cars it is going to involve hi revs in second gear, resulting in disproportionate fuel consumption, pollution and noise.
I once gave a lift home to a friend who does not drive and is a big fan of imposing blanket 20 mph limits across all urban areas. The time was 9 pm, the street was nice and wide (still within London) and fairly clear of traffic. We were stopped at one set of lights and when it went green I decided to drive at 20 mph. My friend asked why we were going so incredibly slow, and I replied 'well, this is the 20 mph speed you advocate for all city traffic'. He ended up admitting there and then that the 20mph limit seemed in fact too low for some parts of the city, at certain times. I do get the impression that most people who advocate blanket 20 mph limits for built up areas don't drive or travel in cars much either.
Similar threads
