This is a call to the government – I ask for a simple and humble request that the national speed limit which applies to all signposted roads, motorways and dual carriageways for cars rises to 80 miles per hour.
This is the limit in France on their motorways. Germany has de-restricted roads that can see incredible speeds deployed in the action of getting where drivers need to go as expeditiously as possible. We are stuck with a limit that has been imposed in 1965, when cars were far less safe and far less capable than they are now.
Congestion blights our roads. Some people accept the limit, but hog the middle lane like it was their god given right. But why is that? Simply because large trucks that are slower than the 70 miles per hour limit stick to the inside and there are many of them on our roads.
So, why the increase? Well, let’s try to ease congestion by allowing a greater travelling speed. Let’s open up the motor ways to allow those who are comfortable, able to do so why simply better drivers travel that much quicker.
This could be implemented very simply – by greater education and perhaps a compulsory extra motorway lesson for us all. Cars are safer, but we’re probably not better drivers. Education is the only way, but let’s have a benefit from it!
So, to the government in power… I’m not asking to switch over to kilometres per hour. I’m not asking for a free Ferrari or to be put in charge of the ministerial department for transport. I am asking for a slight change in legislation that will benefit us all and bring us in line with Europe.
The average stopping distance for cars in 1965 must be very different to today’s average, which you would think plays a big part in setting the limit.
I guess their argument may be that motorways were a lot less busy back then and that congestion means everyone should drive slower, which is why I think there should be a variable limit.
IF posted limits are set to maximize safety (often NOT the case), most posted limits will be set at the 85th percentile speed of free flowing traffic under good conditions. Per DfT data, the 85th percentile speed on the motorways is 79 mph, thus they should be posted at 80 mph IF safety (and not speed camera revenue) is the real goal. Before the predatory speed camera era which started about 20 years ago, Britain used 85th percentile speed methods to set most limits. But, then the country got addicted to the revenue available when posted limits are set far below the 85th percentile level and enforced with speed cameras, thus trading ill-gotten revenue for decreased safety. Correcting the motorway limit to 80 would help put safety back at the top of the list of reasons to post a particular speed limit. Regards, James C. Walker, National Motorists Association (similar to the Association of British Drivers), http://www.motorists.org, Ann Arbor, Michigan USA (and a frequent visitor to Britain to see my wife’s family in West Yorkshire)
Hi James,
Thank you very much for your input – it was certainly very refreshing reading! Best of luck with your organisation’s goals.
Thanks Mr. Butterscotch. If more people in Britain joined the ABD and got active with their elected representatives, more traffic laws and enforcement rules would be aimed at safety, not revenue. The same is true in the US for the NMA. We ARE winning the fights, but it is VERY slow progress and more help from the public would be valuable. We MUST get governments weaned off excessive ticket revenue collected from safe drivers and get the emphasis back on correct engineering.