I say limit cars to 90 mph?

Question

First I am a trucker, we can not go faster than 56 mph....Cars are a lot quicker than they use to be, the problem is that most people are incompetent when it comes to driving fast, after all the average person is not built to think as fast as a car can go...

So I say limit the car to 90mph max

My argument for it is, it is safer , better for the enviroment, you will not lose your licence for hitting 100 mph...after all, why should cars be made to drive at speeds of 150 mph?, there is no point,,truckengines ar bigger, and without a limiter are capable of 90 mph, but nobody would want to see 38 tons travelling at this speed...

I am interested at what other people think

Speed is pointless, causes stress, and kills, in the wrong hands, and personally I think the majority fall into this category

Simon Twatt....how can all goods be deliered to the shops where you shop by train, think it through...the computer you own has been delivered by truck, the chairs you sit on the make you buy...

I also agree there are a lot of bad truckers on the road, but I would love to see you drive one , the amount of cars pulling front of the truck and forcing us to brake would make your hair curl..

As for my driving I keep a distance between vehicles, hold 4 certificates for defensive driving courses, but to slag me of , with out knowing me tells me you need a brain transplant

The reason I said 90, is the fact that a little extra speed can get you out of danger...

As for tucks doing 70 mph, then you are mixing them up with 7 and a half ton vehicles, but this i been changed slowly so as they will only do 56 mph, next time look at the wheels to determine if is a HGV, the 7and a half tons have smaller wheels

Brian R, believe me when I say large trucks are goverened to do 56 mph, this is why you see many selfish truckers tring to overtake another who may be driving at 54, and due to uncourteous driving will not lay of the accelerator to allow the other person in..
As for people saying speed doesnt kill, this is true, what I am saying the majority of people can not handle these machines, and it is they who kill...

Answer 1

If you take public transport, you're limited to a sensible speed. When people get behind a car, they abuse the speed, either by choice or lapse of concentration. It is important why we have limits and to be honest, I drive too fast.

If my car was limited by GPS speed limits, I won't be able to cut people up, allow a 17 yr old to smash my car at 90mph in a 30mph zone, and save quite a bit in fuel bills.

One country has a light on wagons that flash if you break the speed limit. We should have them on all vehicles in the UK. It should be illegal to sell a vehicle that breaks the speed limit of 70mph.

Answer 2

Speed doesn't kill! ..crashing kills.Crashing is caused by many factors, one being INAPPROPRIATE speed.Driving at 30 mph past a school is legal but dangerous, driving at 95 mph in a Porsche on an empty, dry motorway is safe but illegal.
70 mph is MUCH too low a limit.Travel on any motorway in good conditions and the VAST majority of drivers drive at around 80-85 mph...they are all technically criminals..RIDICULOUS. The 70mph limit was decided in the 60s when Ford Anglias etc took ages to stop , modern cars can stop in half the distance(a case for 140 mph limit maybe?)..the archaic 70 mph limit is still with us.
Speed doesn't cause stress, it's pootlers who won't let others past that causes stress.
Limiting a car's speed electronically would be downright dangerous. Imagine trying to overtake a car with plenty of room ahead and your engine suddenly cuts out, you are left on the wrong side of the road and other cars will be approaching by now.Would some of the 'trundlers' on here want to outlaw overtaking too? ..so that everyone would be stuck behind the ubiquitous geriatric on a main road travelling 35-40mph.What a life.

Answer 3

Jawohl. Why should other people be free to choose. Let's see if we can't totally eliminate all risk by limiting cars to 25 mph and moving freight to rail.

Which would you say is more dangerous:

a. 17 year old chav in 10 year old poorly maintained Fiesta at 70 mph.

b. 50 year old professional in Jag XK at 100mph.

Thankfully I live in a country where the authorities are a little more enlightened (Germany). I tend to sit at 160 kph (100 mph) on the autobahn and I find that it is rare to get someone pull out in front - drivers know to look behind, I keep to the inside - there will be a Porsche/BMW/Merc wanting past at some point, and (this one will seem strange to people used to British motorways) I pull back into the inside lane after overtaking.

I find UK motorways at 70 mph frightening: there is no lane discipline; all the cars are going at more or less the same speed so everyone is half asleep and you feel that you are going very slowly because the cars either side are not passing or being passed at any great difference in speed.

Speed does not cause accidents but automaton driving as in the UK does.

One thing I do heartily agree with is variable speed limits - they really work if properly applied and observed.

And I see you have bought into this climate change nonsense too.

The one change I think might help is if 20 mph limits were more rigourously introduced and enforced in areas of high pedestrian density which is where most fatal accidents occur. This works well in Germany and actually targets the real danger areas (schools, housing estates and so forth).

Why not just have another Yorkie in your 56mph road block and chill out?

Answer 4

That is absolutely ridiculous! Let me tell you why. Yes, like you say, most people are incompetent whilst driving fast. Most people, not everyone. People are only dangerous when they lose concentration.

If you limit the cars to 90mph, most people will drive to that limit or just under (70 - 80).

Firstly, imagine this. There is an accident whereby you need to accelerate quickly. You drive a car limited to 155mph (most German-built cars and others). If the traffic is travelling at 70-80 mph then your engine will have no trouble getting you away from the accident. By limiting an engine to such a proposterous speed as 90 you would be unable to acheive such levels of acceleration, thus it would be very difficult to accelerate. Your car would go from 70 to 75 and then begin to increase speed less and less quickly as the engine reached its peak. You would be in danger.

Secondly, you are correct; nobody wants to see 38 tons travelling at this speed. Which is precisely why you shouldn't. Nobody else will, but in case of an emergency you need to be able to accelerate. If you lose control, you don't brake. So don't drive heavier vehicles at higher speeds; I'm presuming everyone has some idea of their vehicle's weight.

Speed is not pointless, it does not cause stress (I don't know where you got that from); although it does kill in the wrong hands. In the wrong hands! Exactly; if there was a way to prove this accurately you would see that the majority of the time poor skill is the predominant factor in road accidents, not speed. People in Scandinavian countries drive in worse conditions (snow, ice, blizzards), at the same speed or greater and they have less accidents. That's because people there know how to drive properly and skillfully. Driving tests these days only teach us how to do a 3-point turn, how to approach a speed bump and why you should stop at traffic lights. Just teach people how to drive!

Answer 5

Why bother with a limit at all, no one seems to take any notice of them any way.A couple of years ago motorists were told not to use a mobile while driving, you seen an odd one here and there using a mobile. It is now law that you cannot use a mobile and every goddam driver is on the phone, it seems paramount nowadays to do directly the opposite of what you are told to do. Anyway 90 on the road around here is normal mainly for the fact it's a 30 mph limit. So I say forget every rule that was ever thought of and F*** everybody. Your's Thankfully a non driver

Answer 6

I have just purchased a new Porsche 911 and i drive not only in the UK but also in the Continent so you are saying that i should cross Germany at 90 mph! What is required is people to be educated about speed and maybe have a system like they do with motorcycles (i am also a biker) so only until you have reached a certain standard you can have a bike with a certain BHP. I agree that i daft 17 year old should not be allowed a full power vehicle until he has reached a certain age or proficiency. Blanket restriction for me is a no no! Anyhow my car and lots of vehicles are restricted by the factory.

Answer 7

huh? trucks are limited to 56mph? I don't know about it, but I follow trucks all the time and some go pretty darn fast. I remember not long ago this guy doing 80+ for hours across TX. I think speed limits should be according to conditions. Making someone drive 56 mph when they're driving across the desert and there's nobody else on the freeway is insane.
In cities, there should definitely be speed limits. I think the main problem is not the speed limits, but immature kids who take stupid risks behind the wheel.
And I agree with raising the age minimum for driving as well as for voting. The vast majority of young people are just plain stupid. (and that included myself when I was that age).

Answer 8

firstly, speed does not kill, it exaggerates an accident to the point where death is more likely, as you read this, there are thousands of drivers exceeding the speed limits none of whom have an accident or die, as for not being able to think fast enough that is an innaccurate statement, the problem on the roads is that every vehicle is travelling at a different speed,, if on an motorway for instance, you knew that the car in front was travelling at 90, the hgv at 56, the coach at 60 you would know what to expect the reality is that any vehicle could be traveling at any speed, the technology is already available on top of the range vehicles to significantly reduce the possiblity of accidents, electronic speed limiters, press a button and you cannot exceed the required speed limit, on your steering wheel enter a 30 zone press the 30 button and thats it , the same for 70 etc, then anyone caught exceeding the limits can be punished severley, instant loss of licence and your vehicle crushed, i think that it is also time that lanes on motorways and dual carriageways should be speed controlled 50-60, 60-70, 80-90, the safety and reliability of all vehicles has improved and we should be making better use of that, rathter than diminishinig the skill of the engineers and designers and takeing a step backwards because succesive governments have not had the conscience to maintain and improve our road network, there was one idiot that mentioned trains as the answer, and when i say idiot, i mean brainless moronic and stupid, when you drive over a motorway bridge you see a constant steam of traffic, drive over a railway bridge and all you see is mile after mile of empty track, we are a tiny country, railways are no longer a viable means of transport, they work on the continent, when you can travel several hudred miles on one train through different countries, but not hereif we paved over the railway tracks and turned them over to only hgv's we would have less congestion on the roads, faster and more reliable transportation of goods and a lot less pollution , are you aware that a train produces more harmful emissions per passenger than a car, and you still need to get yourself or your goods to the train and from the train, no the only way out of the mess our politicians have got us into is a complete and radical alteration of our transport system, oh, and shoot the politicians, speed is not the problem , it is not pointless, it does not cause stress, if you could travel on a motorway at 140mph on clear well maintained roads you would arrive at your destination in less than half the time giving you more time to relax and enjoy your life, you would not have to drive frantically through bulit up areas because you have be delayed on the so called faster roads

Answer 9

i think that the speed limit should be raised to 90 on motorways as that is the safest lane to drive in unless an idiot is doing 50 in the outside lane.With a 90 mph limit and if everybody obeyed the law there would be no need to limit the engine.If i had a Porsche 911 or whatever limited to 90 i wouldnt take long to de limit it

Answer 10

No, speed limits vary by country and areas, so it would be probably illegal to restrict UK cars to prevent their equality with say, German cars, where speed limits are often higher than in the UK. We have a somewhat open market in the EU, which allows us to buy cars manufactured for other countries, and the same exists in revers.

You'd be up against the £muscle of car manufacturers to, who know that many customers love speed, even if they rarely or never get the full potential from their cars. Not to mention car buyers who want the maximum speed to be beyond the - current - legal speed in their country. Many police dept's think speed limits could be raised to say, 80mph on motorways, which would approach the norm. for most drivers anyway. It would just help decriminalise the majority, which the police don't normally target anyway - there's not the money nor the resources to do so.

Bad driving frequently kills, whether a driver is speeding or not. Put resources into improving driving skills.

Good luck! Rob

Answer 11

These people keep contradictiong themselves. One guy says he flies up on two trucks going fifty trying to pass each other. Another one says they follw trucks going 80. Trucks are set at speed according to who owns and drives them. Most car drivers practically kill themsleves to pass no matter how fast the trucks are going. If they did 100 the car would go 101 just to pass. So you cant please everyone, they are either to fast or to slow make up your mind. The other issue is some guy said everything should be shipped by rail, well I do not see train tracks at every store or gas station. And as for the guy who said we should be put on seperate roads why dont you go to another road, trucks pay taxes just like you and while your at it do not buy any gas you idiot because a trucker brought it. Some people are really selfish and stupid and this posted question proves it.