UK Government to consult on speed limits

(29-09-2011 06:17pm)cjfp Wrote:  @drrv - IMO, unfortunately the majority of British drivers have the wrong mental attitude to driving to make it work in the same style as the continent.

yes i agree, if people in the U.K. would use the motorway lanes correctly for over taking, rather then just hang in the middle or outside lane.
i am sure the traffic would flow much better.

I'm probably safer (with 20 years accident free driving experience) at 90mph in a brand new Evoque on a clear road on a dry day than an 18 year old in a 15 year old mini at 60mph on a wet day...

Add to that the fact that it's unlikely you'll get done at anything under 85mph on the motorways, quite frankly, raising the limit to 80mph has little relevance in truth.

The day they replaced humans with cameras, was the day the roads got more dangerous.

The speed limit should be 80mph, europe manages just fine with that - including countries like italy where the motorway network varies massively in condition.

The police should clamp down on the awful drivers who refuse to use the lane system properly, move over unless overtaking, or face a fine. I constantly get abused for requesting people to move over, not because I am a road hog or speed freak, but because people are ignorant to the rules and think they must get to the outside lane and stay there.

If this attitude changes we will gain 30% of the roads back and things will move along much better!

Oh and if they can stop lorries overtaking each other and tax them per mile and time of day (cheaper at night) that would be fantastic.

This is becoming my letter to Santa!

(29-09-2011 07:43pm)Gthornton Wrote:  The speed limit should be 80mph, europe manages just fine with that - including countries like italy where the motorway network varies massively in condition.

The police should clamp down on the awful drivers who refuse to use the lane system properly, move over unless overtaking, or face a fine. I constantly get abused for requesting people to move over, not because I am a road hog or speed freak, but because people are ignorant to the rules and think they must get to the outside lane and stay there.

If this attitude changes we will gain 30% of the roads back and things will move along much better!

Oh and if they can stop lorries overtaking each other and tax them per mile and time of day (cheaper at night) that would be fantastic.

This is becoming my letter to Santa!

i remember a few year back driving through France and and noticed how people only seemed to used the middle and outside lane to overtake, and people flashing to remind people to move out the way did not seem to be considered bad, people would just move. and the roads flowed more freely because of it.
then as i got close to the ferry ports in the north i stated to see U.K. Plated cars start hogging the outer lanes again, and things just slowed down.

Tailgating is a major problem, not just here but elsewhere in Europe. I was followed by a Belgian in his whatever behind my 911 turbo at over 100 mph in April. He was so close to me I couldn't see his headlights in my mirror.

I also agree about lane discipline. The idiot in the FFRR I was following on the M5 this evening just stuck doggedly to the outside lane, with two empty lanes to his left.

I think Tim has lost it when he talks about ruthless enforcement of speed limits. Accidents are caused by bad driving not excessive speed except when conditions mean excessive speed is bad driving.

I regularly go to Germany and drive at 160 mph when the conditions are right. It's fine. At other times, I have some idiot in an Audi behind me trying to prove a point. I just let him pass.

Well we have great weather over here in Aus (Perth to be exact), a cold day for us is when it gets to 10, obviously no snow or ice, good smooth roads, wide lanes, good lighting and our freeway maximum is 100kph.. So about 60mph.. Even on the country roads maximum is 110kph or 68mph..

but then again we dont have keep left enforced or even taught, so you are well within your rights to pass on either the inside or outside, as you do get drivers who will sit in the outside lane doing your equivelant of 50mph and dont give a t*&* about anyone else..

and we dont have your insurance laws so any 17 year old kid can have his parents buy him a V8 quite easily.. So again we suck on that..

So anyway if you think you have crap speed limits and crap drivers, come to Aus

The thing that annoys me on the motorway is when I am driving the express service into glasow and I am doing a perfectly legal 60mph and come across someone sitting at 50mph, pull out to pass and they decide that they don't want to sit behind a bus they floor it leaving me looking like a tit, so I admit defeat and pull back in only for them to do it all over again.

I don't see a problem with 90 on the motorway. The real problem is idiots with poor lane discipline who insist in staying in the outside lane on a 2 lane motorway or dual carriageway with the inside lane empty, or who sit in the middle lane likewise with the inside empty.

Get out of the way, or get undertaken. Undertaking should be legalised and these idiots should be pulled over and booked - they cause a lot of the congestion in the first place.

I agree with everything said about attitude, lane discipline, appropriateness of speed and style for the conditions. For me, the utter lack of awareness of many drivers confounds me to silence (then usually a tirade of non-biblical verse). This is painfully obvious on not just motorways and A/B roads, but just driving round town at junctions, roundabouts etc.

I truly believe there should be a much, much stronger awareness element to our driving lessons/tests - when I was learning way back when, it was drummed into me to check not only my rear view mirror, but also my door mirrors and blind spot on a regular basis and to always have an "escape route" (i.e. always know whats going on around me and what potentially going to happen - without being paranoid of course!). With a bit more awareness and a bit more patience, both traffic flow would improve and driving agression would reduce. It is not just about speed because sometimes driving fast can be fine and perfectly safe.

I do quite a bit of driving in the Republic of Ireland, and even though it has changed in recent years, there is still the general attitude that if a vehicle is coming up behinds you that wants to get passed, and as long as it is safe to do so, you stick your left indicator on and move over a bit and let them by. It does help that a lot of the roads have a small hard shoulder that can be used for this, but it is the attitude that makes the difference as drivers don't get aggro because they are frustrated at not passing.

Anyway, not much riles me these days, but bad driving particularly through not paying attention really does. Do these people not know they are in charge of a potential murder weapon?

As a german guy, I can tell you that there is the discussion to limit speed in germany. All other countries in the EU have got a speed limit. I think in the next 10 years there will be a speed limit, because of enviroment protection as main reason. In my oppinion it is ok to have a 130 kph maximum speed (and only soft trouble, if you are catched driving 10 more).

I like it to drive more then 200 kph (up to 250), but do you know what?! Traffic is to much as you can drive it often. The different between fast drivers an the others is too big. Trucks are allowed to go 80 kph, somebody overtaking it by a speed about 100 you must break - that is risky.

Everytime when I visit the Netherlands I am totaly relaxed. On the way back passing the frontier everybody seem to be forced to drive as fast as possible. (me too )


(sorry for my bad english, but have you ever tried to write german? )