do you know WHY we are restricted to 70 mph in england?

Question

our roads are the safest in europe & are tested to track safety. why do you think????

interesting answers..traffic and speed enforcement has very little to do with road safety! you are 3 times more likely to be killed on the roads of france(18 road deaths per 100,000) compared to 6 in britain.
todays cars are built for safety with safety cages,anti lock brakes & so on. cars are able to travel at unlimited speeds on the autobahn in Germany!
politicians & bureaucrats have stumbled on issuing more tickets & traffic offences as a great way to make money! a great way to add to their tax income without anyone noticing. a tax that dosent increase inflation & doesnt show up in the budget really is the answer to every politicians prayer!
Want to know more?? email me & il gladly expose the lot of them!!!

Answer 1

The 70 mph motorway speed limit was NOT set by any sort of science, or even as a considered safety measure.

It was a totally arbitrary decision taken at a meeting of the then Ministry of Transport in 1965, following a couple of incidents involving Jaguar E-Types and AC Cobras on the newly finished M1. Prior to that event, there was no motorway speed limit, as the Government genuinely believed that no-one would actually wish to drive a very high speeds..

In 1965 a typical new car was a Ford Anglia with an absolute top speed of about 85 mph and much inferior brakes & handling. Even the E-Types and Cobras that forced the Government's hand for the 70mph limit, were driving around on cross-ply tyres, with no ABS, no airbags, no safety crumple zones and no traction control.

Since 1965 cars have improved out of all recognition, yet the motorway and dual carriageway speed limit remains at 70mph. It is certainly time for a review and probably time for a change.

Answer 2

The limit is an attempt at fuel economy and safety. USA has had the double nickel (55 mph) for the longest, just for these reasons, and is only now starting to creep back up to the 70 mph restrictions. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a highly publicized study suggesting that the 1995 increase in highway speed limits has led to an increase in highway fatalities . The study found that deaths on rural highways had risen by 35 percent because of the new law.

Answer 3

Further to Twisted_ace's point, the law introduced in 1965 was not rigorously enforced becauase, as he pointed out, most cars of the era were capable only of about 70-95mph.

When the Middle East oil crises came about in the early seventies, fuel was drastically rationed and car owners were urged to give up their cars. There was lots of news footage of long queues at filling stations and the speed limit was then enforced with an iron will.

As twisted also pointed out, cars of that era had greatly inferior brakes to todays cars, for example, a car with greater power and weighing almost 1 1/2 tonnes today can stop in less than half the distance of a 1960's car with no more than about 35hp and weighing 3/4tonne or less, yet the Dept. of Transport stopping distances on the back of the Highway Code remain unchanged.

Speed, of its self, is not a killer; we have safer roads now than we did 30 years ago; it is purely down the sensibility of the individual in control of the projectile they drive.
When you drive on the M-way in the rain and there are idiots hurtling past in the outside lane at 90mph, thats where the problem with accidents lie.

You cannot enforce sensibility in all drivers, but you can enforce a safe limit to drive at and punish those who are caught over that limit!

Answer 4

Blame car maker AC, who back in the 60s tested their cars at up to 200mph on the then-new M1!
The minister responsible for introducing the limit was one Barbara Castle, the minister for transport at the time, who couldn't even drive!!
At the time, it wasn't really an issue for most motorists, as most cars would struggle to reach 70mph, let alone exceed it. These were the days when a Ford Anglia or Morris Minor were considered the peak of motoring technology.
It's worth looking at the braking distances on the back of the Highway Code, & comparing them to the braking performance of modern cars, most of which can stop in about half the distance shown.
If only the performance of modern drivers had made similar advances......

Answer 5

the reason we have a 70 MPH speed limit on the motorways is because the company that made THE AC DAC COBRA in the sixties were caught by a reporter doing over a 150 mph on the M1... this reporter asked the ministry of transport if the government were doing secret tests on public roads the government denied this so he investigated and reported the company to the police and the government and so for public safety the government introduced the 70 mph speed limit and it has been with us ever since....

Answer 6

The restriction was introduced in the '60s to reduce fuel consumption during a shortage. When the shortage was over it was retained using road safety as the excuse.

Answer 7

when motorways were first opened in the uk there was no speed limit thefore you got loads of numbnut boy racers taking cars to there limit and they were being used by some companys for speed trials the accidents became so bad they introduced the 70 speed limit

Answer 8

At sixteen you could holiday a 50cc scooter with L plates, and 17 you could holiday 125cc. in case you bypass earlier you're 21 yo, you're constrained to 33bhp (you could holiday any length engine, besides the undeniable fact that it must be constrained by skill of a broking / storage). in case you're 21 and over, you have the choice to take DAS. You study on a 500cc (usually) and then as quickly as you have handed you attempt you could holiday despite you like. you won't be able to holiday on the toll street till you have handed your attempt inspite of your age.

Answer 9

To avoid accidents. The roads in england are NOT safe.

Just this morning I was walking in the side of the road (as I do EVERY morning to catch the bus to work) and was very nearly hit TWICE by vehicles going way to FAST.

Answer 10

Probably because it is a reasonable speed that most people can control. Many people may not have the response times needed to handle higher speeds safely.