Should the speed limit on motorways be raised/revewed?

Question

It's well over due. Even in Spain they have a variable speed limit that goes upto 90 when its straight & uncongested.

Answer 1

Undoubtedly it should. A higher limit would help to relieve congestion which would be safer.

Journey times could be reduced thus relieving tiredness, especially for longer journeys.

Drivers may even become more alert which would be very much more safe.

Speed is a safety factor, always has been and always will. Can there be anything more absurd than "speed kills" ? Obviously it doesn't, it is the foolish driver that kills and in the overwhelming number of cases without speed being a factor.

Greater flexibility of speed means a greater degree of safety available.

Answer 2

The 70MPH limit was origianlly set up in the 1960s by the then Transport Secretary Barbara Castle, who didn't even have a driving licence. Most importantly, this was a knee-jerk reaction after reports of accidents, and rumopurs of high-speed car tests on the motorways. Plus. the limit was set at a time which &0MPH was probably the top speed of your 1960s car, which back then, would have 1960s drum brakes, 1960s tyres, 1960s steering, 1960s suspension, and 1960s everythng else. perhaps another problem was that people had no trianing/experience of fast-moving traffic back then.

Fast forward to 2006. We no longer drive Ford Anglias in huge numbers. we all commute in the Focus, or the Vauxhall Astra, etc. Most cars seen on the orads are no older than 15yrs old, and they all have disc brakes, some with ABS, they've all got better tyres, better engines, and improved suspension over their 1960s predecessors. They're also much safer should you jhave a crash, too. We may not have motorway driving in thge test, but they're been with us for ages, and some training is available as well.

70MPH may have been sensible for older cars, but tiems have changed. Many parts of the network could safely have an 80, or perhaps 90MPH limits. Besides, if you have a car that isn't comfortable at those speeds, just stay in the left-hand lane, and let the faster traffic pass safely. Simple as that.

There may be conditions where lower speed limits are approprite, perhaps in poor weather, or in roadworks. It's all about common sense really.

Answer 3

The current speed limits hardly seem "democratic" when so many people, given the choice, break them, try driving at 70 on any UK motorway. Driver error is probably a much more significant factor in most accidents but doesn't have the same potential for raising revenue. There is also the very dangerous and flawed assumption that by sticking to the speed limit drivers are safe.

Safety Camera Partnerships MAY have good intentionsions but the adverts put out by my local organisation are condescending and grossly insulting to drivers, particularly young drivers. It doesn't help their cause at all.

Decent training would be a far more effective answer. Drivers would then be better equipped to use their initiative on speed safely.

Answer 4

90 is just stupid. If something happens in front of you, you have no control over your vehicle to avoid an incident on short notice. No way. I think 65 is sufficient (since 65mph actually means 75). Plus there'd be more aggresiveness on the road, since there are usually only two lanes, but you'd have people driving at about 4 different speed ranges, since some people are not comfortable over 65. So your slow lane would have some old guy going about 60 and then you'd have people passing him at about 70... with all the people going 80, 90, and 100 crowding behind them and possibly colliding if visibility or traction is poor.

No, it's a terrible idea. Maybe out west where there's no trafficand you can see for miles, but if there's any traffic or entrances and exits, hilly terrain, or otherwise limited visibility, 65 is plenty fast enough.

Answer 5

No. I remember when the 70mph limit was imposed. An experiment was carried with one car being allowed to drive at whatever speed it wanted and a second which had to stick to the new 70mph limit. They drove from Leeds to London on the M1. The unregulated car won by a few minutes, 10 if I remember correctly, but was involved in 5 near collisions. It just isn't worth it without even taking into account the environmental arguements.

Answer 6

80-85MPH would be ideal speed. Many accidents on Motorways aren't cused by people driving too fast, they are caused by people driving too slowly. This can be much more dangerous than too much speed. E.g In good visibility and with minimal traffic everybody is cruising along the motorway at 75-85MPH, perfectly safe speeds given the conditions. But one person is doing 50MPH. This one car suddenly becomes a brick wall in the middle of a road where everybody else is doing 25-35MPH. Now the last time I checked nobody had ever built a brick wall in the middle of the road for 2 simple reasons, its stupid and its dangerous!! Therefore because the one car isn't keeping up with the traffic and is causing an obstruction everybody has to take evasive action to avoid that one car.

The only problem I believe we have is that in very wet conditions with poor visibility, you still see maniacs driving over the speed limit. In these conditions a lower speed limit may be in order. I'd recommend a speed limit of 85MPH in normal conditions, but lowered to a limit of 55 in conditions where visibility requires fog-lights according to the highway code. I would like to say earlier than this but because it would be so difficult to judge which limit you should be going by it has to be set at a point that you would need rocks in your head not to be abiding by it.

Answer 7

unusually good question.
Nowadays , most people in government institutions are brainwashed or threatened into conforming to the politically correct views of their superiors.Meaning they can no longer speak their own minds.But before blair took office many road traffic police officers wrote articles suggesting that the motorway speed limit be raised.opinions varied usually 80-90mph.
Hopefully, responsible drivers would apply the correct speed to conditions of the roads and the higher speeds when safe would reduce bunching, therefore lubricate the flow of traffic.(sooner your parked on your drive , you cease to be part of the problem)
Of course , there are drivers who will abuse the increased speed limit, but they already speed if they want to!
Most continetal countries have sections of motorway with speed limits in excess of 70 with no increase in accident rate and relative reduction in congestion.Massive improvements in handling ability of motorcars with an increasing amount of safety equipment fitted as standard combined with road surface science improvements mean that trials of increased m/way speed limits are overdue.
Unfortunatley , with a govt obsessed with control and desiring a shift to public transport , i genuinely dont believe it will be possible because they would rather increase congestion so as to justify more stealth taxes from motorists and for private transport to be less desirable.If safety at speed is a concern, make it an important and essential part of the driving test.

Answer 8

I think 80mph in the dry and perhaps 65 in the wet would be a good compromise. I feel that it is unfair to ban slower drivers though. If some one wants to drive at 50 as long as they aren't hogging the outer lanes, then there's no problem. I do think that drivers who think they own the outer lanes bexcause they are driving at way over the speed limit should be heavliy penalised.

Answer 9

I think a lot of accidents on the motorway take place because of slow moving vehicles not necessarily people going too fast. I think the inside lane should be for lorries and slow drivers with a recommended speed of 60mph, the middle lane should be 70mph and those of us who like to get places a lil bit quicker the outside lane should be 80mph.

Firstd1mension you proved my point, its slower drivers that cause the accidents! If people want to drive that slow they should use b roads not motorways.

Answer 10

of course it should , sometimes it is safe to do far in excess of 100 mph whereas I have been in fog on the motorway when I have been petrified driving at 20-30mph, too scared to go fast and dreading some idiot coming too fast behind me
I would much rather see lit up speed limit signs along the motorway which change in regards the volume of traffic and the weather .