Motorway Limit

[Peter]

Inappropriate means driving at a speed without taking into account the conditions.

It seems totally ridiculous to me that I can drive on a motorway, at 5pm rush hour, in torrential rain and thick fog, in darkness, at 65mph and the law deems me safe.

Yet if I drive on a motorway at 5am on a summer morning in good weather, with not another car in sight, but at 75mph, I am unsafe.

Innapropriate is driving at 35mph in a 30 zone outside a school at chucking out time, but would attract the same punishment as doing 35 in a 30 zone on an industrail estate in the late evening, which would be nowhere near as dangerous.

[IdolDroog]

Completely true.

The trouble with any speed limit is that people usually go about 5mph over it so even if they could put it up another 5mph or 10mph you could end up with people doing 30-35mph in an area originally meant to be 20mph

[jaybo]

I can agree and disagree with this one speed limits are draconian as in the ability of the cars today are far superior to those in 1961 , and me myself drive a bmw , we're not all twats (only 99% of 'em) the limits are too rigid wr're not all criminals as the goverment would portray us , law abieding citizens like myself break speed limits but when and where it's safe to do so , half past two tuesday morning your on the m1 no traffic as far as the eye can see you don't feel safe doing 70mph something wrong . At 30mph my car stops in it's own length . JJ

[Deuce Bigolo]

I've seen plenty of programs and even had it said by a friend who works in the highways department in Australia that the speed limit has very little to do with safety but everything to do with keeping the traffic flowing at the best possible average over all

Their reasoning is an Increase in the speed limit would result in more congestion

cheers
B....OZ

[IdolDroog]

Interesting. On a smaller note - imagine how stressful it would be navigating your way around an unknown area cautiiously whilst everyone whipped around you at 45mph in a 20 lol

[mart]

Yes, quite right, its always the other drivers who are dangerous. Funny thing , that. I've never heard/read a driver admitting that he/she sometimes is in the wrong when on a rant about speed limits, cameras drink-driving, etc.

Mart

[Deuce Bigolo]

Its all perception

If people would only stop and consider how much time they are really saving versus the extra danger they are placing themselves in

When you see what happens to a car when tested at 40MPH/56KMPH
in a head on collision you start to realise that the extra speed

Maybe a visit to a Local hospital ward would be a good thing for all drivers who think Speed isn't dangerous

cheers
B....OZ

[mart]

I think it was Jimmy Carter not Lyndon Johnson.

Mart

[davewells]

Never been 70 on a motorway, what's it like ? Don't think I could drive that slow !

[DavidS]

Boring!