Motorway Speed Limit.

[flip-flop]

Should we abolish speed limits on motorways? (I had the absolute pleasure of driving through Germany recently and, I felt, it works like a dream - on a very bright, dry night I cruised along, perfectly safely, at twice our M/Way speed limit!)

[Impret-Sir]

Yes, not on all motorways, and not on every stretch, but on a lot of it, the limits are about 20 years out of date, I would extend them first, perhaps to 80 or 90mph for two years, then abolish the maximum for certain stretches.

[spaced]

speed limits are put in place for a reason - especially on motorways.

[flip-flop]

Wrong I'm afraid - may have been the case 40odd years ago, but a 70 limit is simply not relevent nowadays - cars are significantly safer today and braking distances are a fraction of what they once were.

[JudgeJ]

But unfortunately, flip-flop, drivers (generally, not specifically) have not seen a commensurate improvement in their attitude and skills. It is not much use having a car that can stop from130mph in 200 yards (when the �standard� stopping distance from that speed is 325 yards) if the person in the lane to your left pulls out in front of you when you are 100 yards behind him.

The speed limits try to strike a balance between what is safe and what is reasonable. What is safe means different things to different people and the �worst case� (i.e. the most foolish, most inconsiderate, or most inept) drivers have to be accommodated. Wew are not all as good as you.

Raising the speed limit would raise casualties. Don�t take my work for it, look at what the professionals (not just the police) say.

The danger is that you (or I) may be among those increased casualties. You have to drive almost 100 miles to gain just 20 minutes by travelling at 90mph rather than at 70mph. I don't fancy being killed or seriously injured just so that you can have an extra few minutes in bed.

[Gef]

Flip-flop, cars might be "safer" today but they are not designed to keep you safe in a 140mph crash. Also I would like to see evidence about stopping distances (not braking distances) being a "fraction" of what they once were.

On the French motorways I have driven at 82mph without any problem but have always been aware that I would have less reaction time at this speed.

In one way I have no problem with impret-sir's answer but I also agree with what JudgeJ says.

If someone pulls out in front of you, because they haven't seen you, then a crash at 140mph is a bit of a mess to say the least.

[Impret-Sir]

JudgeJ, I would just like to point out that the unrestricted parts of the autobahn actually have less accidents per mile per year than the restricted ones, not more.

[JudgeJ]

Almost all of Britain�s motorways are many times more congested than the unrestricted part of the German network. Just travel up the M6 (including the �mountain� section in Cumbria) at any time of the day or night and you�ll see what I mean. I would imagine (though do not know) that the unrestricted part of the German network is similarly less busy than the restricted sections.

In addition, in my experience, German drivers� attitudes are somewhat more mature than those displayed by many British drivers. As I said previously, we have to legislate for the worst case.

[Paul22118]

I would like to throw in my two pence worth.

I truly believe that the 70 mph limit is too slow.

I think most drivers could sensibly cope with an 80 mph motorway limit, not dual carriageways.

flip flop may have been correct on that road at that time on that day, but we have to generalise and I feel we are long long overdue a motorway raise to 80mph.

ps even if everyone does seem to drive at 80 minimum these days, it should be legal to do so.

[Skids]

The Police Forces/Government won't make as much money out of you if you're not breaking the speed limit.

[bigdaddycain]

this is one topic i would normally say most definately increase the speed limit...however,we judge everybody elses driving standards to our own abilities. i can only speak from my own experiences,can anybody here recall the last time you drove around your own respective towns without coming accross some clown doing at least 50mph in a 30? What speed are they doing on a motorway? 120ish? i once drove at 145mph for about two minutes on the motorway one night,and can honestly say that the level of concentration i had to apply was exhausting to the point of breathlessness!..i was still getting overtaken by other vehicles! Its more to do with other drivers attitudes,the higher the limit,the more it will get flouted.