November 5, 201114 yr .........and the government is preparing to listen to the arguments for increasing the motorway speed limit! Indalo
November 5, 201114 yr yes but UK is the slowest anyway in Europe. UK 70mph = 113 km/h Belgium = 120km/h France = 130km/h Poland = 140km/h Germany = Unlimited (unless restricted) Acceidents happen everywhere and even at 50mph there might be terrible crashes.
November 5, 201114 yr Oil $500 a barrel by 2015? and we are being encouraged to use more of it.....Plus we are far more densely populated then our European neighbours. Edited November 5, 201114 yr by eddieo
November 5, 201114 yr yes but UK is the slowest anyway in Europe. UK 70mph = 113 km/h Belgium = 120km/h France = 130km/h Poland = 140km/h Germany = Unlimited (unless restricted) Acceidents happen everywhere and even at 50mph there might be terrible crashes. Alex, that's something to be proud of - UK being the slowest, most environmentally friendly as a consequence. The government is wrong to think that speed will improve flow and it certainly will increase consumption. With the recession speed has reduced on motorways. Maybe we should have a special fast lane for the very wealthy only to use?
November 5, 201114 yr If I travel on the motorway at peak times my average speed is around 50 to 60 mph. Unless it's the company car :-) I usually play a game to see how much mpg I can get out of the car! But I'm sad.
November 5, 201114 yr I hear someone fell over yesterday. Lets hope the government introduces a walking speed limit. Or to put it another way, one crash does not inform the debate in any way at all.
November 5, 201114 yr Juicy Bike we already have that , it`s called the outside lane .Usually populated by Drivers who aren`t paying for their own petrol !
November 5, 201114 yr It's a MAXimum speed limit, no-one is making anyone else go that fast if they don't wish to - perhaps we should also limit ebikes to the same maximum speed as disabled electric chairs as well, just in case - what happened to those freedoms our Grandfathers fought so hard for - nanny state enthusiasts, bah humbug!!
November 5, 201114 yr .........and the government is preparing to listen to the arguments for increasing the motorway speed limit! Indalo Wow that was quick - so a report has come out already blaming excessive speed for the crash?
November 5, 201114 yr .........and the government is preparing to listen to the arguments for increasing the motorway speed limit! Indalo Wow that was quick - so a report has come out already blaming excessive speed for the crash? Alex, that's something to be proud of - UK being the slowest, most environmentally friendly as a consequence. Sod that! I'd personally like to see the motorway de-restricted after say 10pm and before 5am with variable speed limits between those times depending on traffic flow and weather/road conditions. My Scorpio Cosworth (yes, 2.9l 24v V6 of 220bhp goodness) only manages an extra 2mpg @ 60mph as opposed to 80mph (28mpg vs 26mpg), so I don't buy the environmentally friendly argument for lower speed limits. Congestion is far more environmentally unfriendly than higher speed limits. Edited November 5, 201114 yr by amigafan2003
November 5, 201114 yr Maybe not for that type of car amigafan, but the vast majority of mainstream cars have a vastly greater percentage than your 7.69% increase in fuel consumption between 60 and 80mph. Yours is designed without fuel consumption in mind.
November 5, 201114 yr Juicy Bike we already have that , it`s called the outside lane .Usually populated by Drivers who aren`t paying for their own petrol ! In Germany you can go as fast 250km/h but only a few is driving with the speed of 140km/h +. I seriously think 70mph is a bit too low and equivalent of 120-130km/h would be just about right.
November 5, 201114 yr It takes alot more power to go 80mph rather than 60mph. Just like getting a push bike from 15mph to 30mph takes considerably more effort. Over double the power required due to the effects of drag.
November 5, 201114 yr It's a MAXimum speed limit, no-one is making anyone else go that fast if they don't wish to - perhaps we should also limit ebikes to the same maximum speed as disabled electric chairs as well, just in case - what happened to those freedoms our Grandfathers fought so hard for - nanny state enthusiasts, bah humbug!! I'm not so sure this is truly freedom. It costs money to go fast, and using up resources seems to be becoming more of a privilege than a right. Conspicuous consumption has never been my cup of tea, or mug for that matter.
November 5, 201114 yr It's not hard to see why the government want to raise the speed limit. As the price of fuel has been rising, people like me aren't buying it any more. I read that fuel consumption is down by around 5% or more. Considering that most of it is tax revenue it's one way of clawing it back. If the speed limit is 70 people will travel at 80, make the speed limit 80 more drivers will go 90 using even more fuel. One the crash last night, i was heading back home to Yeovil after a clubmeeting and saw a lot of emergency vehicles heading towards Taunton, i knew something was up. It was really foggy in places. The pile up had nothing to do with speeding. When there is sudden blanket fog and you drive into it vision is gone.At what speed is it safe to drive at in conditions like that? the answer is get off the motorway when it's foggy if you can, it's simply to dangerous. Condolense's to all the injured and those who lost their lives.
November 5, 201114 yr If you really want to save fuel then go behind the lorry at 55mph. With good diesel cars you will get easily 70mpg and that's a very good result.
November 5, 201114 yr Well all i can say is that speed does kill i.e. the harder you are hit the more chance you have of serious injury regardless of road conditions seems like common sense to me ..!
November 5, 201114 yr Yes, well said mel. It happened at my local junction and with my eldest son an HGV driver usually heading home at that time (I didnt know then it was the Northbound carriageway ) there followed several anxious minutes before I managed to find out he was safe. However, my heart goes out to all those unlucky people involved....totally horrific and tragic. That area is renowned for sudden mist/fog patches.....speed usually does play a part in accidents but you will never unfortunately stop speeding......no matter what the speed limit is. I hold my hand up.....I speed, when I perceive its 'safe' to do so.....but never in built up areas, heavy traffic or bad weather......and I must admit its a bit of a bugger not having a spanish plated car anymore......that has made me a much slower driver than anything else. Lynda
November 5, 201114 yr Well all i can say is that speed does kill i.e. the harder you are hit the more chance you have of serious injury regardless of road conditions seems like common sense to me ..! All I can add is that I have the GREATEST respect for the pod sods in the emergency services, who have to go out and clean up after an accident, Its a job, but not one I would want. Rgds
November 6, 201114 yr .........and the government is preparing to listen to the arguments for increasing the motorway speed limit! Indalo There is nothing wrong with increasing the speed limit. I live on the Danish/German border and regularly drive in Germany where the speed limit is much higher. To me it feels much safer in Germany than in the UK. The M5 crash will end up being caused by drivers driving too fast for the road conditions. Those accidents will happen if you reduce the speed limit to 50mph or increase it to 150mph. I have no idea if or when the motorway speeds were last increased but I believe modern day vehicles have improved a lot since then. If you find a vehicle driving at the lawful speed on the motorway it is usually in the way of everything else. Steve
November 6, 201114 yr There is nothing wrong with increasing the speed limit. I live on the Danish/German border and regularly drive in Germany where the speed limit is much higher. To me it feels much safer in Germany than in the UK. The M5 crash will end up being caused by drivers driving too fast for the road conditions. Those accidents will happen if you reduce the speed limit to 50mph or increase it to 150mph. I have no idea if or when the motorway speeds were last increased but I believe modern day vehicles have improved a lot since then. If you find a vehicle driving at the lawful speed on the motorway it is usually in the way of everything else. Steve Totally agree......however in this case there seems to be a suspicion that it was caused by sudden black smoke blowing onto the motorway from the nearby firework display and bonfire. Lynda
November 8, 201114 yr Trucks and particularly artics are the biggest problem and they are speed limited anyway. In that crash there were three of them piled into each other in a row, something so often seen in motorway crashes. The police have been increasingly turning their attention to them since their implication in both causing motorway crashes and the severity of them is becoming increasingly obvious. We've all seen them piling down the motorway at around 65 mph just a few feet apart with no forward vision and no chance of stopping their huge tonnage in time.
November 8, 201114 yr Trucks and particularly artics are the biggest problem and they are speed limited anyway. In that crash there were three of them piled into each other in a row, something so often seen in motorway crashes. The police have been increasingly turning their attention to them since their implication in both causing motorway crashes and the severity of them is becoming increasingly obvious. We've all seen them piling down the motorway at around 65 mph just a few feet apart with no forward vision and no chance of stopping their huge tonnage in time. No, Flecc, sorry, I dont think trucks are the biggest problem......bad driving is the biggest problem on our roads , no matter what you are driving.....speeding caravans going out of control springs to my mind. However,back to this particular crash, the 2 lorries owned by Samworth Bros.( Ginsters) have a very strong health and safety ethic....their lorries are electronically restricted to 54 miles an hour, the only way any lorry can do over 60+ miles an hour would be going downhill. this particular stretch of the M5 is very slightly uphill. The law states a top speed limit of 60, all lorries have to be restricted , any higher speed after 30seconds shows up on the tachograph as an over speed which is picked up at their MOT's. Lorries are restricted to 56, with some companies restricting lower than this, I believe Tesco are restricted at 52mph. I think its unfair to always blame the lorry drivers, whilst there are always bad apples, most lorry drivers are professionals who are extremely experienced. The police will be able to go over these vehicles with a fine tooth comb and will know categorically what speed they were doing......not so easy to check with the cars involved...... The TNT truck involved runs out of Bodmin.....all these drivers were at the start of their shift with, certainly in the case of the Ginsters lorries, no need to speed at all, they are given more than enough hours to complete their journeys. I'm writing this as the mother of a very experienced HGV driver who personally knew one of the Ginster drivers who was tragically killed. Lets leave it to the police to ascertain the cause of this terrible tragedy. Lynda
November 9, 201114 yr It's obviously too early to tell, but it would appear that a sudden change in the driving conditions such as thick fog or smoke when travelling on a busy motorway could be a major factor and having experienced similar over the years, there is not much you can do other than to slow down and hope that there is nothing in front of you or behind you that is going to suddenly catch you out. No matter how good or bad a driver you are, how good your forward observation and anticipation, there will be those times when split seconds can change everything and it's probably going to be out of your own control what happens next. Edited November 9, 201114 yr by eTim
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