80 MPH motorways... ;)

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80mph

I think its time that the speed limit should be raised, but I think people will still drive faster than 80MPH quite simply because the cars they are driving have become better and we are lead into a false sense of security with helpfull things like abs etc..........time will tell if it is the right decision or not!:thumb:
 
I think its time that the speed limit should be raised, but I think people will still drive faster than 80MPH quite simply because the cars they are driving have become better and we are lead into a false sense of security with helpfull things like abs etc..........time will tell if it is the right decision or not!:thumb:

It's unlikely you will be nicked doing 80 in a 70(unless you are driving too close to the car in front/road conditions are bad)so can't see it being changed,if they did then more people would be doing 90+
 
and the day we run out of oil will come 20% quicker. That might make the Gov't think it's not such a good idea.


So will DM be getting himself a well run in, recycled (pre owned sorry) petrol sipping machine to stay that day:devil:
 
take it from me it wont happen. Too expensive in terms of deaths, extra fuel being burnt (environment impact / CO2 targets for UK as a whole being disturbed) and the sheer cost of upgrading the signage etc.

Additionally I'm not sure there would be any obvious benefit. There would only be a very very small increase in traffic flow (vehicles passing a set point per unit time) by traffic travelling at 80mph compared to traffic travelling at 70mph. From memory this increase in flow rate is about 1% due to :-
1.The distance between two vehicles has to get bigger as their speeds increase.
2.In the real world the "smooth flow" of traffic is disturbed to a greater degree (resulting in more sudden braking situations etc) due to the greater differential in speed in between all vehicles using the road (ie some people inc lorries will still travel at 50-60mph regardless of the new speed limit)

I can see more merit in it going the other way if any
 
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I've wrote to my local MP already about opening up a '6 cylinders or more lane' that's allowed to do 100 mph.

As soon as I get a satisfactory reply, I'll update on the forum.
 
Most motorway signs hereabouts are 70 rather than NSL due to differences between Scots and English law .
 
and the day we run out of oil will come 20% quicker. That might make the Gov't think it's not such a good idea.


I'm sure your comment was tongue in cheek, but in case :

I doubt the motor car will be the reason we will run out of oil, given all the other demands for oil products, and while we may have delusions of grandeur about our sceptered isle, we are really just a sleepy backwater these days. The empire is long gone (sadly), and we are in debt up to our necks. Raising the speed limit to 80 mph will have no impact on the global price of oil.
 
I've wrote to my local MP already about opening up a '6 cylinders or more lane' that's allowed to do 100 mph.

As soon as I get a satisfactory reply, I'll update on the forum.


You may be lucky in Yorkshire, but unfortunately the green lobby is too strong down South! I think you should try for independence:D
 
and the day we run out of oil will come 20% quicker.
That's just the sort of distorted nonsense we can expect to hear from the green lobby. As anyone who has driven on a motorway in the UK recently will attest, the defacto "limit" is around 80mph, not 70. As such, all that raising the legal limit would do is cease to criminalise the regular actions of a large number of people. It will not change the use of fuel or the accident rate one jot.
the sheer cost of upgrading the signage etc.
The cost of signage hasn't discouraged Oxfordshire County Council from despoiling our countryside by the erection of many thousands of completely irrelevent 50mph signs where previously there were none.
 
I would support a rise to 80mph, there are plenty of times on motorways where the motorway is empty, so no stop start etc

However, this raises 2 issues at-least: -
a) Should the "you lose your licence speed" stay at 100mph or raise to 110mph
b) What about minimum speed limit ?

Of course damage is done in an accident based on difference in speed between the two objects, so surely an increase in the speed limit should also come with an enforced minimum limit (of a differential to the current limit to cope with variable speed limit areas?). Drivers driving very slowly (that shouldn't be using the motorway at all imho) effectively take away 1/3 of the capacity on a 3 lane motorway and probably more as people have to change lane to get past them.

Richard
 
Given that most busy motorways are to become controlled motorways like the M25, where the normal limit set limit is 40mph they could raise the speed limit to 100mph.....
 
Driving on a four lane section of the M40 yesterday, the de facto speed limit was 60 because for one car in the inner lane at 55, there were two in the next lane at 57 then three in the next lane at 58. The remaining 100 in the outer lane were behind someone overtaking at 60.

If people can't be bothered to use a really wide section of motorway with a speed limit of 70, can't see it making a jot of difference to raise the limit, except on normally empty roads where people already do it.
 
As no one bothers to enforce the 70mph the debate is irrelevant
Personally I'd rather they debated and resolved the other issues currently destroying the way of life most of us are used to and enjoy.
 

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