Motorway speed limits to be cut from 70mph to 60mph

[AndyN01]

Hi Mr B,

How silly of you to think that someone who was in charge of Road Planning might actually drive on the roads and have a "working knowledge" over perhaps a few decades of experience to bring to the job.

I'm sure there's plenty of studies and theories and documents that can enlighten and be far better than actually getting out there in it .

Oh, and perhaps a smattering of common sense would be helpful too .

Can they ride a motorbike? Then they'd really be up to date with the condition of the road surfaces and the general standard of driving behaviour.

I'm firmly convinced that a whole raft of our current "challenges" are because the people making the decisions are not "time served" but parachuted in for a couple of years then whisked away to reek their havoc on the next poor unfortunate target.

Never, of course, do the chickens come home to roost while they are still there and it's too late once they've moved on. And, the next "new broom" will reinvent the "square wheel" that was abandoned three "cycles" before because it didn't work but hey, they weren't there then so how would they know and they certainly won't be listening to those people that were.

What a shambles.

Andy.

PS love the tag line.

[Neil1]

Originally Posted by KWIL

At least the grockles can use the flyover the Newton Abbot roundabout!"

True and I use it as well, don't half cut the time down getting from Newton Abbot to Torquay.

But you get as far as Paignton and it stops.

Plus it took 40 odd years to build, crazy really.

[Santara man]

All HGV trucks do between 55 and 60 mph are they going to reduce their max speed in line with the limit for cars. If not then trying to pass a truck on the motorway doing 58 mph at 60 mph could take an age leading to more congestion.
Do any minister's actually do any forward thinking?

[neilb740]

Originally Posted by Lancpudn

As most of the motorway network has been upgraded to 'smart' motorways I forsee a huge increase in fines dished out by those average speed cameras.

For "upgrading to smart motorways" please read "installing the road charging by the mile infrastructure by stealth"

Originally Posted by Lord Rover

Oh I love this, cutting down on pollution and yet there are things out there that produce larger amounts of pollution.

Aircraft anyone.

Global warming hysteria has gone off the boil and it wasnt weaning us off Arab oil fast enough. Ladies and gentlemen, may i introduce 40,000 dead from air polution hysteria.

If 40,000 are dying now then i dread to think how many were dying in the steam era when Crewe used to dissapear under clouds of smog for days on end and you couldnt step outside your front door without coming back black with soot.

[Alikris]

Originally Posted by Lancpudn

As most of the motorway network has been upgraded to 'smart' motorways I forsee a huge increase in fines dished out by those average speed cameras.

I usually complain that we don't have any motorways in Northumberland. Something tells me that over the forthcoming years I'll be increasingly thankful.

On my recent trip to Peterhead I couldn't believe the number of speed cameras (with average speed cameras on all the road works whilst they built the Aberdeen bypass). I've not ventured down south for many years (I remember driving around London in the pre M25 era), must be a nightmare driving there these days.

Ali.

[Lancpudn]

Originally Posted by neilb740

For "upgrading to smart motorways" please read "installing the road charging by the mile infrastructure by stealth" .

Yes indeed with the government standing to lose, what is it! £30billion or something in that ballpark from fossil fuel taxes!
They'll need to claw that back somehow.

[macafee2]

Originally Posted by Alikris

I usually complain that we don't have any motorways in Northumberland. Something tells me that over the forthcoming years I'll be increasingly thankful.

On my recent trip to Peterhead I couldn't believe the number of speed cameras (with average speed cameras on all the road works whilst they built the Aberdeen bypass). I've not ventured down south for many years (I remember driving around London in the pre M25 era), must be a nightmare driving there these days.

Ali.

what's wrong with speed cameras? installation should really be a waste of time and money but there are people that deliberately break the speed limit creating noise and pollution as well as sometimes making it difficult for other people to change lane. If these people wish to break the speed limit then let them take the consequences

macafee2

[macafee2]

Originally Posted by Santara man

All HGV trucks do between 55 and 60 mph are they going to reduce their max speed in line with the limit for cars. If not then trying to pass a truck on the motorway doing 58 mph at 60 mph could take an age leading to more congestion.
Do any minister's actually do any forward thinking?

do you mean overtaking at 60 where a lorry is doing 55 - 60 will hold up drivers that want to exceed the speed limit and so bunching takes place?

would it not be the speeders causing the congestion?

already journey times are in hours when traveling 200 or so miles even on clear roads. I don't want to see the limit reduced any more. I'd like to see it go up but as we have to many speed related incidents on our road, will settle for it as it is

macafee2

[MSS]

Originally Posted by Santara man

All HGV trucks do between 55 and 60 mph are they going to reduce their max speed in line with the limit for cars. If not then trying to pass a truck on the motorway doing 58 mph at 60 mph could take an age leading to more congestion.
Do any minister's actually do any forward thinking?

I am confused - easily done, especially by overaking lorry drivers.

Why would someone wish to overtake another travelling at 2MPH less than their own maximum legal speed?

Contrary to some of the above posts, I don't believe there is any doubt that travelling at 60MPH usually produces 10% to 20% better MPG than at 70MPH in a typical car. This has been well established data since the 1970's. People should try it!'

As a general principle, IMHO, all speed cameras should be hidden and randomly placed. There are people on the roads who think the speed limits do not apply to them and they are better than everyone else - this would teach them the errors of their ways and help the rest of us through their contribution to our taxation.

[kev-rev180]

i spend all day on motorways as i drive for a living would like to do 60 mph on them ever tried getting round the m25 in the day time i wonder if i can ofset when i am on the m1