80mph Motorway limit looks to be coming this summer

[219]

Hopefully it will be passed in July....

"Ministers hope to get the 80mph measure through Parliament before MPs break up for their own holidays in July."

M-way speed limit set to be raised to 80 this summer - Politics - News - People.co.uk

Be careful what you wish for !

The current limit is enforced very leniently with a lot of people being able to travel at 80 without much cause for worry , and in some cases faster ; a new 80 mph limit is likely to be enforced much more rigidly , certainly in the months following introduction .

 

[JohnDeere8530]

why are the government really doing this? I cant find a plausable reason. Ideally all traffic on major roads should be travelling around the same speed. If you increase speed to 80mph the speed differential will rise, due to lorries and some motorists sticking to their normal speed of around 50 to 60mph. This is one factor that causes accidents on the motorways

Addnl our roads are congested so raising the limit will increase congestion as I am led to believe stopping distance (or more accurately safe travelling distance between one vehicle and another) does not increase linearly with speed. An given % increase in speed = much larger % distance between vehicles = less vehicle throughput per hour

 

[219]

Excellent news. Now all we need is a minimum speed on the motorway plus a complete ban on all coaches and lorries from the outside two lanes.

The minimum speed limit of 20 mph was introduced when our first motorways were opened , for the specific reason of keeping the slowest traffic , which might not always be able to maintain that speed , off them - that is why mopeds etc are prohibited from these roads

 

[219]

In most places there are only three lanes.

Most places in Scotland there are only TWO lanes

 

[MOCAŠ]

Most places in Scotland there are only TWO lanes

Wasn't aware of that. In which case banning lorries from the outside two lanes (as was proposed) would mean banning them altogether.

 

[219]

Coaches and lorries are banned from using lane 3.

As are vehicles towing trailers ( restricted to max 60 mph , some combinations 50 mph ) .

 

[219]

watching a lorry overtake a lorry is frustrating when you know its going to take them 10 minutes to do so.

Not if you have the luxury of a third lane to pass the pair of them .

 

[219]

There should be no minimum. My lorry just manages 50mph. I know some lorries that are 45 mph flat out.

I agree , most people are in too much of a hurry .

The roads are there to be shared by all users - by all means drive fast if you can do so without endangering or inconveniencing others - otherwise fit in .

 

[219]

Thats a bit selfish to other motorway users isn't it?

It is a 'bit selfish to other motorway users' to tailgate others already doing 70 mph so that you can travel at unlawful speeds - yet this happens every day .

 

[Dieselman]

why are the government really doing this?

Because Govt. Ministers like to appeal to the populace in the name of vanity.

In reality the time taken over a journey is almost irrelevant, it's 10 minutes saved per 100 miles travelled, assuming you can maintain the 80mph over the full 100 miles, which will be more difficult due to not being able to fit as many cars per mile of road...

If it comes in it will get reversed once the fuel stocks get depleted even more quickly due to needing more fuel to go faster.

 

[219]

Interesting point. I suppose you could have a non-HGV minimum of 55mph (to split the difference between 50 and 60) and strictly restrict HGVs to the lane 1 unless overtaking.

That is already the case on two lane motorways , actually applies to all traffic .

On three lane motorways , other traffic has the third lane available so I see nothing wrong with a lorry driving continuously in lane two if he is maintaining a higher speed than lane one and could not maintain that speed there .

But as the average speed of traffic increases (congestion apart), the argument for banning vehicles that can't attain that average becomes stronger. The more variance there is between the speeds at which vehicles are travelling, the greater the risk of an accident.

I agree , but I doubt the average speed has changed much over the years : when the first motorways opened fewer cars could do very high speed ( aside of the very occasional Mercedes , Jaguar , Aston Martin etc ) but the traffic levels and therefore congestion was so very much lower that most people could drive at their chosen speed all day long .

 

[Dieselman]

It is a 'bit selfish to other motorway users' to tailgate others already doing 70 mph so that you can travel at unlawful speeds - yet this happens every day .

Recently I had a W204 driver flash me when we caught the back of a slower moving queue of cars on a long dual carriageway.
As I had already caught the queue and there was nowhere for me to go what did he think I was going to be able to do, speed up??

After me gradually slowing down he got the message...

 

[crockers]

I am in the minority here - I don't agree with a 80MPH limit - it is ridiculous...


It should be 130 kph.....

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

Probably not the place for this, but having read some of the comments on this thread and several others, I'm tempted to buy a domain (lanehoggers.co.uk) and use it to name and shame drivers that do, good idea?

 

[219]

However, I feel lane discipline, poor judgement are the causes of motorway congestion. Often on the part of a HGV driver to take 30secs to pass another.

If you were in a car and did that, and a copper was behind you, you'd be pulled over for a chat.

30 sec is not really all that long , and not a big problem for anyone but the most intolerant drivers who probably have road rage incidents with alarming frequency .

If you take 30 sec to pass another vehicle on the motorway ( or dual carriageway ) whilst travelling at the maximum limit , any chat on the part of said copper would be pretty pointless as no law would have been broken .

I quite often set my cruise control to 70 on motorways and move from lane to lane as dictated by other traffic , if it means I take a minute or so to pass a slower car , so be it . If someone in a hurry comes up behind I will move over once past , but I won't be intimidated into going faster that I want to ( unless an emergency vehicle in which case I probably wouldn't have started the o/t in the first place ) .

I see no reason why I should modify my driving just to make it convenient for others to break the law - sod them !

 

[Dieselman]

Probably not the place for this, but having read some of the comments on this thread and several others, I'm tempted to buy a domain (lanehoggers.co.uk) and use it to name and shame drivers that do, good idea?

No. It would just get filled up with unjustified rants from the "get out of my way" brigade.

It would be

"This numpty...blah, blah"
or "This idiot..."

I find it incredible that supposedly thinking people that have risen to a position to be able to afford a quality car have such low level, basic thinking...or lack of..!!
They are just showing mindless bully-boy aggression..

 

[219]

Why should a lorry that can only attain 45mph be allowed on a motorway. A 50cc scooter is not, why should a lorry be allowed on that can only "attain" that speed.

The 50cc scooter is banned , along with pedestrians , cycles etc because they cannot maintain 20 mph minimum speed limit at all times - this was the criterion used when the regulations were set .

 

[MOCAŠ]

I agree , but I doubt the average speed has changed much over the years : when the first motorways opened fewer cars could do very high speed ( aside of the very occasional Mercedes , Jaguar , Aston Martin etc ) but the traffic levels and therefore congestion was so very much lower that most people could drive at their chosen speed all day long .

Back in the Sixties most mainstream cars could not comfortably maintain a cruising speed of 70mph for extended periods, so I suspect the overall average speed was lower. Also, if the limit goes up to 80mph now, those who currently do 75-80 (in the hope they'll get away with it) will do 80-85, maybe 85-90 if they're brave, so road conditions permitting, average speed should increase.

 

[219]

why are the government really doing this? I cant find a plausable reason. Ideally all traffic on major roads should be travelling around the same speed. If you increase speed to 80mph the speed differential will rise, due to lorries and some motorists sticking to their normal speed of around 50 to 60mph. This is one factor that causes accidents on the motorways

Addnl our roads are congested so raising the limit will increase congestion as I am led to believe stopping distance (or more accurately safe travelling distance between one vehicle and another) does not increase linearly with speed. An given % increase in speed = much larger % distance between vehicles = less vehicle throughput per hour

If it were Scotland only , I would be cynical and say "because we have an election coming up"

 

[MOCAŠ]

"This numpty...blah, blah"
or "This idiot..."

I find it incredible that supposedly thinking people that have risen to a position to be able to afford a quality car have such low level, basic thinking...or lack of..!!
They are just showing mindless bully-boy aggression..

Hear, hear! Must say I'm dismayed at the frequency with which posters on this forum refer to other drivers as idiots, morons, cretins, etc, often with only the slightest justification.