Should the national speed limit on motorways be increased or decreased?

Answer 1

Increased. Especially the roads people travel long distances on to get somewhere a lil quicker. Well then again maybe not we have reckless teenage and college student drivers on the road. That is how my best friend was killed. He fell asleep behind the wheel after studying with no sleep for finals.

Vincent P. McGhee
RIP
8/22/84-4/26/02

Answer 2

It could be increased to 80mph but that would then mean that the police would not prosecute until you hit 94mph (80mph + 5mph +10% due to errors in your speedo & the speed camera).
That is pretty hair raising speed if you can reach it on todays crammed roads.

Would it not be better to have the HGV's remove their restrictors so they can travel at 70mph same as the cars? This would help to prevent the nearside and centre lane from getting completely choked up with lorries doing 56mph. trying to overtake each other which can last for miles before they finally get past.

I don't actually think increasing the national speed limit would help as we have far too many vehicles on the road. The motorways are now pay & display car parks!

Answer 3

By motorways, I guess you mean in Great Britian. As in the USA, speed should increase. Technology and roads are ready to increase speed while saving petrol/gas. A new car running 80 uses only as much as the same car going 70. More important though is enforcing minimum speed. Those slow pokes in the wrong lane are the reason danger has increased. If a driver is incapable of a minimum speed they should not be on motorways/interstates --- ever. Thats as in N-E-V-E-R folks.

Answer 4

I am a paramedic and i see the death and destruction caused on our roads all to often,
however i know the motorways are the safest roads to drive on anywhere and would not have a problem with the speed increasing after 10 pm untill say 5am,
However i would make all speed limits for housing areas 20 max,kids have no chance after 20 is exceeded and its common sense to drive slowly in built up areas,
no probs with 100 mph on the motorways after 10pm ,weather permitting..

thanks

Answer 5

Good question and very difficult to call.
On a personal basis, I think that vehicle design and manufacture has evolved sufficiently that most modern cars are easily capable of cruising at 100 mph.
The trouble is that at 100+ (not me guvnor!) things move past very quickly and unfortunately many people don't have the skills and or reactions to drive safely at those speeds.
I do think that penalties should be judged properly and not by speed cameras though. It's ridiculous to be punished for going a bit faster on an empty motorway in the middle of the night.

Answer 6

This should be a poll question rather than in here, but in my opinion the limits should be raised where appropriate, and lowered where that would be better.

For instance. M1, friday afternoon, pick any length, lowered to 50 and you would still be hard pushed to go that fast.

M1 wednesday night, nice summers evening, road all clear, why have any speed limit. Get on the road, get off it as soon as possible.

But, and it's a big but, if there is a limit it should be enforced.

Answer 7

speed limits should be dropped on motorways the same as germany.

some people will say this is a stupid idea but statistics show that germany has a very similar fatility rate to america on the motorways. you can drive as fast as you want in germany on the autobahn but generally are limited to 55-65 in america. that is living proof that a speed limit is not doing anything for safety

what you will find is that certainly in the UK dropping the speed limit wont make any difference to the way people drive, people drive at over 100 regularly here including me, the only concern I have is for getting points on my licence. modern cars are built to manage these speeds and people adapt to them. allowing lorries to do higher speeds will also reduce traffic an incredible amount.

Answer 8

Increased on clear, dry days when the traffic is light.

We have the technology for variable speed limits where we didn't have before.

And imagine the difference between a modern car doing 100mph and a car from the 1960's when speed limits were introduced.

Answer 9

I didn't see WHAT speed you were discussing, but I assume you mean 65 mph. since that's that standard upped after pressure in the U.S. by the oil & auto industry, as well as consumers who just wanted to FLOOR IT!

IMO, unless you're a trained stunt driver with a super vehicle (BMW, Ferrarri...even a GTO!)...DON'T GO OVER 60MPH!...even then, they die routinely ), DRIVE 55! Better yet, as a reason, if you want to save the planet on which your chidren/grandchidren and so on, will live...SLOW THE F*** down!

I mean, reallym WHAT is the rush??? Sure, it's fun to blast off into the sunset in your '82 Camaro...but eventually, you WILL wrap yourself around something like a tree (if you're lucky) an SUV, (if you're LESS lucky) or a family in theiry tiny import, wiping them all out.

THEN you not only have to pay whatever the court orders for ruining the lives of howver many lives you just ruined in your '82 Camaro, or whatever car you, Speed Racer, chose that day, but you ALSO have to live with the knowledge, for the rest of YOUR LIFE...that you are a killer.

Think you can do that? I've seen and talked to people who have committed Vehicular Homicide. They don't look so good, unless they have no conscience (and I'm here to tell you that unless you grew up in some foster home, abandoned by your parents, getting abused regularly, and abandoned 'cos your momma wanted to go pursue her crack career)...you HAVE A CONSCIENCE.

It will plague you 'til the day you die. NOW...


Having said all that...is it REALLY worth getting somewhere 5-10 minutes earlier and risking having ALL THAT HAPPEN???

Man, wherever it is you're going...you probably didn't even wanna go...like work, a job interview, a Thanksgiving dinner w/relatives you can't stand!

My advice to ALL: stay home, grab a beer, hide the keyes and watch whatever it is that's on TV. OR just take a nap.

Answer 10

Increased.

Montana has the highest speed limit in the country and also the fewest road fatalities.

Better yet, allow for no speed limit at all on interstate expressways, like the Autobahn in Germany.