Will the NSL limit ever be raised?

[clk320x]

Do you think the UK will ever raise the NSL to match that of other European countries ?

It seems rather out-dated with modern vehicles pulling up in half that quoted in the Highway Code.

 

[flowrider]

Not whilst the green brigade keep lobbying to reduce the speed limits.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Most European countries have lower limits than us already. Germany have a tiny number of derestricted autobahns

 

[Maco]

An increase to 80Mph on motorways would seem sensible, considering most trafic officers admit themselves that they wouldn’t produce a speeding fine until after that threshold.
I remember speaking to a few driving instructor friends of mine who also thought 70 on the motorways was to slow.

Personally I don’t think it will happen though, the amount of cars on the road is increasing all the time. The country is already on a health & safety craze, so doubt it will happen.

 

[Maco]

Do you think the UK will ever raise the NSL to match that of other European countries ?

It seems rather out-dated with modern vehicles pulling up in half that quoted in the Highway Code.

What’s your thoughts on it?

 

[clk320x]

What’s your thoughts on it?

I think if they can use ‘SMART’ motorways to reduce the speed limit in congested times, why not use them to increase it when there is next to no traffic on the road/ conditions are good?

Everything seems to only work one way.

The Highway Code also needs updating, many of the quoting stopping distances etc are out of date and don’t apply to modern cars.

Yes as you say 80mph seems sensible, I believe the last government run by Cameron did try to impose this but were met with much resistance from the environmental and ‘speed kills’ brigade

More enforcement needs to be happening in and around schools and other 30mph limits and less on the motorway in my opinion.

Interested to hear others thoughts

 

[Red C220]

I can't see it changing. With smart motorways I wouldn't be surprised if it were reduced by stealth.

 

[clk320x]

Most European countries have lower limits than us already. Germany have a tiny number of derestricted autobahns

Is it not 130kph (81mph) in most European countries?

 

[Wolfie1]

I think the 70mph speed limit is the most ludicrous thing ever! When they plucked that number out of the sky there was real crap on the road like ford cortinas, zephyrs, allegros, beetles, morris minors, minis and the likes, a really modern thing them days was solid disc brakes wow. Now cars have so many more safety devices and are just sooooo much better, tyres are wider and grippier etc etc, so logic would dictate that its a lot safer now to do 90mph than it was back then when they introduced the 70mph speed limit

 

[Maco]

Agree with you there, I travel from County Durham down to Liverpool for the football. The closer I get to Manchester/Liverpool the more congested the motorway becomes & you hit the variable speed limits of 40/50/60mph.
On the way home when your passing a handful of cars every few mile why not increase that variable speed to 80Mph. If the roads are clear with sensible road conditions then the extra 10mph would seem perfectly safe to me.


I’m guessing people will argue that because people do 80 in a 70, that would then turn into 90 in a 80.

 

[GeeJayW]

Most European countries have lower limits than us already. Germany have a tiny number of derestricted autobahns

From what I've seen:
Autobahns often have a 120km/h (75mph) limit in place, especially near towns, cities and major junctions. But on sections out in the sticks they are often derestricted, with the majority of drivers cruising at 160km/h. Getting clocked at 160 in a 120 means you get to keep your licence. 41km/h over the limit, licence gets taken away. Have an accident above 130km/h and by default the driver is deemed to have contributed to it. The normal standard of autobahn driving seemed better to me that typical U.K. motorway driving, especially lane discipline.

French autoroutes are 130km/h (81mph) unless it's raining, then a lower limit (can't remember what it drops to) is applied.

Italian Autostrada is also 130km/h. Driving standard can be pretty poor, again in my experience.

U.K. motorways today are usually too congested for speeds much higher than the current limit. Leaving the limit at 70mph, but not always doing anything about motorists driving at speeds up to 80mph probably works most of the time. If the limit went up to 80, there would be more people doing 90+ unless the 80 limit was strongly enforced.

On many A-roads, it's of course not uncommon these days for a 50mph limit to be in place. I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes the norm for single carriageway roads outside of built up areas.

When the road is empty, I think there should be much less emphasis on punishing motorists for exceeding the NSL whilst otherwise driving safely. Never going to be the case though.

 

[190]

There would be a chance of the NSL being raised if we still had empty stretches of motorway. Back in the early 70's I can remember driving from Manchester to London at 90MPH all the way in one of Wolfie 1's crap cars. That would now be impossible and the opportunities to drive fast will eventually become so rare I agree that smart motorways will effectively reduce the speed limit.

 

[Maco]

Another major factor is that roads aren’t been updated in a timely fashion. Up here in the north the A1M at leeming bar/catterick has been getting updated from a 2 lane system to a 3 lane system. The finalisation date has been & gone, spring 2017 was the predicted finish time. It’s now been put back to March 2018. The cost of the road was £380,000,000 & only a 15 mile stretch has been done.

If a speed limited raise was ever to happen Surely it wouldn’t be for many many years.

 

[MancMike]

To be honest mate up until a couple of years ago I was asking myself the same question. I loved bombing it down the motorway as fast as I could get away with. I did brake tests in my RX8 which had huge brakes, and being low and light with big wheels it could stop on a dime, and so obviously the limit is outdated, and it is.

Now though, I don't see the future of motoring to be people bombing it as fast as they can down the motorways because you can't do anything but hope to get to your destination asap. Some will tell me it's several decades away, but I don't think so, I think as cars become electric and self driven (and let's face it, self driving on the motorway is the easiest for any autonomous car), we'll be driven by the car and while self driving cars now still require full driver attention or they tell you off, in the not so distant future, I think laws are more likely to change to allow for autonomy than to increase speed limits, and most will be content in that they can use the time to read, write an email, browse reddit, or whatever it is they normally do with their phones. There's law that's about to change regarding the use of mobile phones while driving, and that's to allow us to use our phones to park our cars, like the S and the 7 Series can do via the app, so it's already in motion.

 

[mat8n]

Surely it's more important for people to learn how to drive better first than faster?
I did my 350 mile drive home yesterday and again got so wound up with 'wrong lane' hoggers and general bad driving, which slowed me down massively.
Once the bad drivers are clear the traffic generally speeds up to 75mph+ anyway.

 

[anglaslt]

Is it not 130kph (81mph) in most European countries?

Here on highways 130kph summer 110kph winter. I think it is sensible given the poor winter conditions. It was raised recently by 10kph.

 

[Stu22]

Judging by the standard of driving on today's overly congested roads, I really can't see an increase ever being a sensible proposition.....

 

[renault12ts]

When the GBP learn to drive like Europeans then they may argue for the same speed limits...until then it will not rise.

 

[GeeJayW]

When the GB public learn to drive like Europeans then they may argue for the same speed limits...until then it will not rise.

Can't see that happening anytime soon, if ever!

 

[anglaslt]

When the GBP learn to drive like Europeans then they may argue for the same speed limits...until then it will not rise.

An interesting topic and an interesting perception of European drivers when statistically their fatality rate is almost twice that of the UK. Having said that, I do find drivers on mainland Europe generally more disciplined, more willing to give way and far less confrontational. The poorer statistics, particularly in Eastern Europe, I think has a lot to do with poorer roads, poorer traffic enforcement and an insurance system that is not so obviously risk-based and therefore more available.

There are occasions in Europe where you can actually still enjoy driving, something that I rarely experience in the UK these days.

Road deaths in the European Union – latest data | ETSC