F1 Fanatic

@ajokay
Which brings up the alternative, why is there a 70mph speed limit on Motorways at Night? Despite my previous arguments, I think that an increase of the limit on motorways at night would be a good move. By that I mean 80/90mph between hourse of say 12:55-16:55 (or something). Its way different to driving in the day, traffic wise, and isnt it more economical for the car?

As a person who drivers on the motorway every day while living in probably the worst country in the world in terms of road safety, I don’t think slowing down is the way to go.

While speeding is a major concern, people using the hard-shoulder to overtake, driving slowly on the left lane (right lane for you brits!), switching lanes as if they were racing in karts or using the brakes and throttle repeteadely in the middle of the motorway does a lot more harm to safety, IMO.

@keithcollantine

@Magnificent-Geoffrey

when is the UK going to join the 21st Century and switch to the metric system fully?

Don’t get me started! It’s long, long overdue…

Why fix something that isn’t broken?

I don’t think Damon is ideally placed to suggest a lower maximum speed limit after he had his driving license revoked for speeding (back when he was driving for Williams, I believe).

Also, I think 55mph is too slow. Although my driving experience is mostly restricted to weekends and holidays, I believe that each road has a natural speed limit – this is how it feels to me, and I don’t really see people around me (in the Netherlands, sometimes Belgium and Germany) exceeding the speed limit in case it is ‘reasonable’. Even on stretches of the German autobahn where there is no speed limit, the default driving behaviour is not to drive as quickly as possible.

That’s painfully slow. 80 should be the limit, but more stringently enforced than 70 currently is.

Speed as such is not a problem – it depends how one uses it. It’s common sense, really – if it’s night and empty, I find it terribly annoying for someone to tell me how quickly I shall drive. Drive at speeds you’re comfortable at. Sometimes that’s solidly above the limit, sometimes it’s reserved. And if one wants to kill oneself, one has the bloody right to, as long as no one else is endangered. Also, having to concentrate on the exact speed one is going in order not to get a ticket or looking out for cameras/police cars is hardly safe. Fundamentally it’s not the speeding that’s the problem, but drivers being reckless and unpredictable (not using indicators, driving on the wrong lane depending on your velocity, overtaking the wrong way round etc. annoys the hell out of me). A lack of respect for the laws of physics and the fact that one is trapped in a death-box on wheels is the issue, not that someone strays over the limit.

Also, motorways are meant to be primarily fast, not safe; if anything, I’d lift the limit. If you don’t want to go 250kmh, don’t go to the inner lane. If you don’t have the car or confidence to do speeds like that, don’t. Seems to work for Germany…

I can’t really comment on the UK but here in the UAE, where people’s road manners are MUCH WORSE than in the UK (driving at breakneck speeds, tailgating, not using indicators, cutting across 3 or 4 lanes with no warning, not wearing seatbelts etc are all common practices) but reducing the speed limits does work.

On the main road between Dubai and Abu Dhabi the official speed limit is 120 kph but the speed cameras (of which there are many, one every 4kms for the 150 odd kms or road) only used to get you at 160kph. Result? Everyone drove the whole way at 159kph and the drive was quite literally terrifying. When I did that drive, and I am fond of speed and drive a moderately sporty car, I would sit in the inside lane “tottering along” at 120 and just observe the carnage. Accident rates where high and not a day passed without you seeing a medical team attending to someone next to an upturned car at the side of the road. A few months ago they lowered the “enforcement limit” to 140 kph and that has already made a massive difference to the way people behave on that stretch of road. It’s still mental by sensible standards, but it is nowhere near as bad as it used to be.

But Damon Hill is right, the root cause of road accidents is the fact that most people on the roads think they are great drivers when they actually aren’t and they also have no apprecation of the handling capabilities of their cars.