hades

Variable speed limit with a max of 90 when both traffic and weather is clear enough to allow it, dropping to lower speeds according to weather as well as conjestion. Most variable speed limits come with cameras, so people don't tend to speed massively anyway. Get realistic speed limits, and enforce them, you're more likely that people will actually pay attention to the slow ones when it matter too. All IMHO.

IPKIS

I'm with you
unlimited would be nice they could then charge to use the motorways i wouldn't mind paying it either

Buckrogers

Slighty off topic, but some politician (sp?) muted the idea of variable lanes...ie no central reservation, 6 lanes could be changed to 4 going north 2 going south for peak times, if needed. Works over in the USA, but over here, with every third car refusing to move from the middle lane....

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

Thay have that in Birmingham now, not sure if it is elsewhere. Would not surprise me if it was.

Leslie

Most cars I see travelling at speed on the motorways are doing 85 mph and that would seem a reasonable limit. Exceeding those speeds should have a heavier penalty, especially for three figure speeds.

Luminous, in the year of the Cobra we had supersonic fighters and even the Canberra would do close on 500mph!

Les

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, you're right about that Leslie. I must be thinking about another incident several years before. Ah well

MattW

IIRC someone on here (or family/friend) was done for 76 on the M4. I agree with you in part, I think 100mph + is much too fast, however 70mph does feel slow.

Ideally I would look at a limit of 85 with a prosecution threshold of 90mph, believeing we will have no limit is pie in the sky.

SJ_Skyline

90 as a maximum dropping to 80 in poor weather. 50 as a minimum limit which should help flow. Finally, legalise passing on either side.

jbryant

Perhaps a good way to get all the $hitboxes off the road, after their highly stressed engines explode into chunks taking their chavvy occupants with them... Only downside is the inevitable fact that innocents will be added to the fatality mix.

Joolz

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Also no overtaking stretches for HGV, No HGV traffic on Bank holidays and some weekends. Advisory speed limits 120 kph, you f**k up, you die bigger and badder!!! The TUV test for cars (MOT) is much stricter they even put weights in the car to check shocker condition, no ****ty bangers about, better roads and yes much better class of driver. A much better fines system, D & D is also applicable to push bike riders. Regularly travelled at a 100+ but still obeyed the applied limits when indicated. You can even take you waste oil to garages or wash areas for disposal. Toppers better than a drain any day!!!

tucker101uk

The autobahns have no limit - and they must be some of the best run and safest roads in the world???

Why cant Britain manage the same?

OllyK

More cars per square mile, pi$$ poor drivers, driving incentives based on speedo watching rather than skilful driving - or to put it another way, our system has been allowed and latterly designed to be crap.

Freak

or to sum up: a nation of ********.

TheBigMan

Bang on!!

^Qwerty^

I'm sure when I was in France recently, they had two signs on the motorways near Paris, one for a dry road, and one for a wet one. Not difficult is it, or at least it would be a start.

Also as a TrafBiB pointed out, once you get over 100mph, the risk of going through/over the central reservation increases, thus having no limit and driving to the conditions is never going to happen.

Shame really, as the motorways around here are dead on a night.

OllyK

The highway code kind of takes that in to account with increased stopping distances in adverse weather - how often do you see some tit doing 100+ sitting inches off the car in front when it's pi$$ing it down?

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

They do have "advisory limits" of 120 kph (80 ish). And the Germans have wet and dry speed limits too. They have also been know to put speed cameras in wheelie bins to!!! Recently travelled to Germany and was regularly almost spun around by the speed wash of big BM's, Audi's and Merc's. Only saw one Scooby all the way there??

Oh yeah, we also won the War.

Dream Weaver

I'm guessing you live down South somewhere, probably near the M25 so if thats busy then all motorways must be busy

My local motorways are fine 90% of the time to do 80, 90, 100 whatever. I tend to stick to 80 as I'm tight and dont like the silly fuel consumption over that figure, but i'm comfortable going much faster when traffic/conditions allow.

For example a few cars were late on Sunday to meet a convoy on the M6 down to the FCS show and we had 20 minutes to get to the M6 so we hoofed it along at circa 110, but it was 5am and dead so it was easy to do.

IMO the limit should be 100mph reduced to 80 at peak times, but with stiffer penalties for breaking them. Go over the limit and you get a 2 month ban etc.

But it wont happen like you say so its pointless discussing it.

Dream Weaver

Yet we aren't as efficient as them, and our country is generally crapper it seems.

porkerboy

70 mph is too slow - one of the slowest limits in europe.

In italy it was recently raised to 150kph i.e around 94mph.

And its also worth remembering that virtually all speedos over read. when speedo says 90mph the gps actually says 84mph - so most people who's speedo say 70mph are probably doing around 65mph.

I would like to see a limit of 110mph in dry conditions but the problem is britain is full of crap drivers. The local chavs would no doubt start to have races down the motorways - and that would leave to carnage. I say raise the limit to 80mph and prosecute people over 90mph -seems fair.

Broxi

iTrader: (11)

I think no Maximum for cars, But a Maximum being 70Mph for Lorries Coaches and Towing Vehilces but think a few changes need to be done first with the introduction of Minimum Speed Limits, In good weather conditions. In adverse weather conditions then speeds in lanes 2 & 3 should drop to Min 70 Max 85. however when you come up to any Hold ups where the traffic is moving slow due to road works or accidents. all cars and Bikes Must Leave Lane 3 espesialy when the traffic is at a stop. This allows a Safe Lane for all Emergency Vehicles to attend the scene Quickly and Safely.
Any Driver caught using Lane 3 Should recieve a Heavy Fine and a 6 Month Driving Ban with a Motorway Ban of 12 Months, meaning if that driver wishes to go up and down the country once his 6 month ban is up he would need to use A/B roads.

Lane 1:
Minimum of 70 MPH for Cars, M/Bikes and For Lorries and coaches towing vehicles etc. with a Restriction that all Lorries coaches and towing Vehicles can only use lane 1Maximum of 84 Mph above this Cars and Bikes Must Use Lane 2 or 3 depending on speed.

Lane 2:
Minimum of 85 MPH with a Maximum in this Lane of 99 Mph Above this you Must Use Lane 3.

Lane 3:
Minimum Of 100 MPH with a Recomended Maximum of 120 MPH any driver doing more than the recomended speed causing an Accident should face a Life time Ban. If a death is caused as a result then a Prison sentence should be Imposed.


I think accidents on the Motorway are not so much caused by drivers Speeding But by slower moving vehicles pulling out in front of the faster moving vehicle's.
I have been on the M5 and seen someone going so slow i could not believe it. the Driver was wearing? You Guessed it a Tweed Hat. aged abought 75. I stopped at the next services for a coffee and when i pulled out he was only just going past so i pulled up behind and checked what speed he was doing, i followed for 1 mile and he was averaging 28Mph on my Digital speedo dropping to 24 at one point. Funnily enough he was driving a Sierra Cosworth Most likely his Son's LOL this to me is Dangerous and should not be allowed.
I was probably as bad as he was for doing those speeds, just wanted to see how slow he was going.

jasey

Sliding scale of abilities is needed


Creme de la creme off duty Police - 156mph
Scooby Drivers (Male) - 155mph
Scooby Drivers (Female) - 70mph
Farmers (or anyone wearing a flat cap) - Banned from Motorways completely
Old ***** - Banned
HGV - 55mph
Caravan towing plonkers - Banned
Newly qualified drivers - 55mph
BMW Drivers (All) - 40mph (Limit to lane 1 only)

That should sort it !

OllyK

If you think enforcing a 70mph minimum on a motorway covered with snow (see A14 / M11 a couple of years back) is a good idea, you need issuing with a straight jacket and a padded cell.

wakeboardar

another vote for 85

borat52

personally i think the problem is not outright speed but variance in speed.
if everyone is doing 100 then its safe because you are all moving slowly relative to one another.
the problem is when the outside lane is doing 100 and some lorry or idiot is sat in the middle lane doing 55 - thats really dangerous because if he pulls out you cant react in time.
solution -> motorways are a pain to make bigger because of the bridges only being made for 3 lanes ect so we need slip roads for the M-ways. Dual carriageways either side of the main 3 lanes but completely separate. Lorries are restricted to the slip roads and the number of junctions onto the main motorway limited to reduce people using it for short hops.
keep the limit on the dual carriageway as 70 and then make the minimum speed for the main motorway at 80.
i dont see any reason to place a limit on the main motorway - but police it to ensure people use it correctly - ie keep left. As the lorries are gone you shouldnt get this wildvariance in speeds and the outside lane can finally be freed as an overtaking lane rather than the queue of cars trying to overtake the lorry in the middle lane.

Would also support stretches/times of no overtaking for HGV's.

Tiggs

"if everyone is doing 100 then its safe "

based on what????

something goes wrong at 100 and all hell would break loose.

i used the motorway today, 85mph, prob 76mph real speed....no prob, no danger of a ban...perfect speed...law is fine with me.

porkerboy

So you'll do 85mph indicated but consider an indicated 100mph unsafe - on what grounds?

You say the 70 law is fine at the moment, yet you admit to doing an 85mph indicated speed (more likely to be 80mph true speed) - so you would like to see the limit raised then?? If not - dont do more than 70mph

TheBigMan

I'll stick to 80mph limit.

However less tolerance over that.

I find driving OVER 80 on anything other than an empty motoorway stresses me out cos of everyone else becoming obstacles.

Yep, 80mph, with only 5mph of tolerance.