Strictly Enforced Speed Limits May Adversely Affect Safety

[Meldrew2]

I'm not aware of any 20 limits on long stretches of clear road, so cruise control wouldn't be appropriate.

You're lucky. There's loads of them in my area. Many of them are through routes that used to be 30 limits (and some even used to be 40). Our local Council has got a bit of a 20 fixation at the moment...

 

[Meldrew2]

Just checked the lower speed for cruise control and speedtronic in a small selection of Mercedes. It's 30kph = 18.6mph. So no more excuses.

30 mph in my W163.

 

[grober]

https://www.cambs-police.co.uk/roadsafety/docs/201305-uoba-joining-forces-safer-roads.pdf

It should also be pointed out that ACPO guidlines would indicate that 20mph is effectively 20 +10% + 2mph =24 mph and 30mph is 30+10%+2mph= 35 mph before prosecution

 

[Meldrew2]

Do all forces still work within these guidelines?

I seem to recall there being a thread a while ago saying that some forces do not allow the 10%...

 

[grober]

Do all forces still work within these guidelines?

I seem to recall there being a thread a while ago saying that some forces do not allow the 10%...

Don't know on that one its "discretionary" as you say ---- the 2mph is an instrument accuracy allowance thing evidently. What it perhaps highlights for different reasons altogether is what might be termed " limit creep" a phenomenon where drivers do actually adhere to a speed limit but their " interpretation of the speed limit which is basically the speed limit + a bit. What's the average speed on the motorway-- 70mph exact or 70mph+ a bit? Perhaps not so prevalent now with average speed cameras.

 

[rf065]

If you want to see 20 limits on long stretches of wide, clear roads, visit Oxford where they've been deployed as a blanket - even on main arterial roads in and around the City.

Edinburgh City Council announced recently they plan to restrict all traffic to 20mph also in the future. Many other cities may follow in the future wether it works or not.

Russ

 

[KennyN]

Edinburgh City Council announced recently they plan to restrict all traffic to 20mph also in the future. Many other cities may follow in the future wether it works or not.

It started in Glasgow a few months ago , 20mph enforced by cameras.

According to a "survey" the average speed in / around the city centre is > 20mph anyway so why do we need an enforced one , surely not another money making scam ???

Kenny

 

[Deleted member 65149]

It started in Glasgow a few months ago , 20mph enforced by cameras. According to a "survey" the average speed in / around the city centre is > 20mph anyway so why do we need an enforced one , surely not another money making scam ??? Kenny

There's a big difference between a 20mph LIMIT and 20mph AVERAGE.

 

[doctorpaul]

Is it even POSSIBLE for an E63 to travel at 20mph?

 

[renault12ts]

It started in Glasgow a few months ago , 20mph enforced by cameras.

According to a "survey" the average speed in / around the city centre is > 20mph anyway so why do we need an enforced one , surely not another money making scam ???

Kenny

I think you mean < 20 (less than).

 

[geraldrobins]

Is it even POSSIBLE for an E63 to travel at 20mph?

I'm sure the answer is yes if the appropriate gear is selected.

 

[KennyN]

I think you mean < 20 (less than).

I did , apologies - it wont happen again

Kenny

 

[itaintemeyouno]

https://www.cambs-police.co.uk/roadsafety/docs/201305-uoba-joining-forces-safer-roads.pdf

It should also be pointed out that ACPO guidlines would indicate that 20mph is effectively 20 +10% + 2mph =24 mph and 30mph is 30+10%+2mph= 35 mph before prosecution

Not quite correct. Enforcement STARTS at 10% +2. So 35mph in a 30 and you would see a NIP come, 34 and you would be unlikely to see one.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Not quite correct. Enforcement STARTS at 10% +2. So 35mph in a 30 and you would see a NIP come, 34 and you would be unlikely to see one.

Not totally correct. It is only a guideline and can be ignored locally. For instance about ten years ago fines were handed out to every motorist clocked at 31mph and above on a two-lane dual carriageway section of the Farnborough Road in Farnborough. It stayed this way for a few months and must have generated a small fortune. On a positive note, it was outside a BMW dealership

 

[Adamccc]

For me, the biggest issue with speed limits is that the generally consistent correlation between road characteristics and the posted limit has largely disappeared.

Exactly this - I've seen 20mph roads where there are no houses, safety rails on the kerbs and about 6ft of grass before the pavement (where barely any pedestrians are) and then 40-50mph roads full of terraced housed who's doors go straight onto a 4 foot pavement!!

What annoys me even more, is speeding is treated like the be all and end all to bad/dangerous driving and fatalities when the majority of the time (especially in the last decade) it's not the case. For example, there's a lovely road out of our town to the A1 - very much open, couple of straights etc... sadly over quite a few years a few deaths have happened on it. A couple down to drink driving, some to black ice and most to mobile phones, and what did they do at the start of the year... they put up average 50 cameras all the way down it! On a road where none of the incidents had been related to speed they put up those up! I know it's hard to track people using phones but they are the biggest problem on roads today, that and lack of skill in driving - the UK needs to adopt a German style of driving test that takes 2 years to complete and gets retested regularly.

Edinburgh City Council announced recently they plan to restrict all traffic to 20mph also in the future. Many other cities may follow in the future whether it works or

This doesn't bother me at all, I like to drive fast but there's a time and a place, which isn't in a town/city/village center but if they're going to do this, then they should up the limit of other more open roads. The A1 where it opens up to 4 lanes either side near Peterborough, whenever I drive on that road there's almost 3 lanes completely empty - why on earth has that not been piloted at higher speeds? The 70mph was brought in in 1965 and all cars have improved unbelivably in that time, the brakes and handling on a base VW will outperform those on a Ferrari from a few decades ago, yet we're still stuck with the same speed limit.

[/RANT]

 

[190]

If 20mph limits become widespread in situations where they are unwarranted, one certain consequence will be increased pollution. 20mph is not an efficient speed for a car if it has an internal combustion engine.

 

[Alex225]

For me, the biggest issue with speed limits is that the generally consistent correlation between road characteristics and the posted limit has largely disappeared.



This means that no longer can you be reasonably confident that if you select a speed that is appropriate to the characteristics of the environment then you can also be 95% certain that you are compliant with the legal limit. You therefore have to devote additional attention to scanning for speed limit signs and checking the position of the needle on the speedo instead of actually driving. This cannot be sensible.

Such a good point! Applying correct common sense to roads should mean you're doing the appropriate speed.

Small, residential road, houses, junctions etc of course 30mph is the logical, safe speed. Yet there is a dual carriageway near to me which is broken up between sets of lights, some sections are dead straight, clear line of sight yet all restricted to 40mph. You tend to find yourself monitoring your speed and looking out for speed traps the entire time where as you could safely do 50+ safely.

To me when it comes to speed traps they come across as revenue earners more than safety measures. I'm sure that's not conclusive but I don't think speed limits are always practical or the safest.

 

[Sp!ke]

My experience of 20 mph limits in London is that it puts cars into much greater conflict with bicycles. Bikes are now overtaking cars travelling at 20... often on both sides of the car at the same time.

Certain roads I know are more dangerous now with a 20mph limit that they were at 30mph.

 

[kid-jensen]

I read somewhere that very few prosecutions have been handed out for exceeding the 20MPH limit by a SMALL amount because there is no reguirement for speedos to be accurate below 25MPH.

Is this just Internet bulls*it or is there some truth behind it?

 

[whitenemesis]

I read somewhere that very few prosecutions have been handed out for exceeding the 20MPH limit by a SMALL amount because there is no reguirement for speedos to be accurate below 25MPH.

Is this just Internet bulls*it or is there some truth behind it?

This is correct, see section 19

The Motor Vehicles (Approval) Regulations 1996