Speed limit cut to 50 from 60

well all its going to happen speeds are going down

timesonline.co.uk/tol/drivin … 864847.ece

From The Sunday TimesMarch 8, 2009

Road speed limit cut to 50mph

Steven Swinford

THE government is to cut the national speed limit from 60mph to 50mph on most of Britain’s roads, enforced by a new generation of average speed cameras.

The reduction, to be imposed as early as next year, will affect two thirds of the country’s road network. Drivers will still be able to reach 70mph on motorways and dual carriageways and 60mph on the safest A roads.

Jim Fitzpatrick, the roads minister, defended the plan, which will be the most dramatic cut since 1978, when the national speed limit was reduced from 70mph to 60mph.

The question is will we notice? Most of the time on A roads in my car I can’t do 60 anyway due to various vehicles limited to slower speeds either by law (eg HGVs) or by the ineptitute of their drivers (eg ethel and arthur in their micra). I just tend to plod along at whatever speed the traffic is going, I’ve got plenty of time to get where I’m going so why worry? If I’m in the truck then it’s usually 40, I’m salaried but we operate banked hours so why rush?

what a load of crap

THE government is to cut the national speed limit from 60mph to 50mph on most of Britain’s roads, enforced by a new generation of average speed cameras.
The reduction, to be imposed as early as next year, will affect two thirds of the country’s road network. Drivers will still be able to reach 70mph on motorways and dual carriageways and 60mph on the safest A roads.

how can the national speed limit be 50 but drivers are allowed to do 60 on some A roads, its either 50 or not :unamused:

I think the nsl is to remain at 60 on single carriageway roads but they are to impose lower limits on the other ones, they have already cut many urban and rural speed limits here in Warwickshire.

they have with a lot of the “biker” roads in and around bolton
thats the times though reporting on government plans, if they can’t report things correctly what chance have the red tops got

Not new news though.
Loads of roads have had the limit cut.
So what.If people want to speed then they will.

I heard one of the campaigners for this cut on a news channel and, get this, he said “too many drivers are speeding and ignoring the 60 limit on rural roads” - hmmm… so lowering it to 50 will make a difference then :exclamation: :exclamation: - yeh, right…

There are plenty of places where the speed limit is cut to 50 and even some dual-carriageways down to 40.

Its the other articles that are more of a worry. Average speed cameras set over periods of upto SIX MILES. Handily, this government has ignored the rule that said cameras must be in true accident blackspots (i.e. 3 or 4 serious smashes a year). Now, if there is one minor bump they can put up a camera. These all-seeing cameras don’t take into account the conditions, drunk drivers or dangerously aggressive or slow driving. Just the speed. 45mph average in the snow? Suicidal but legal. 55mph average in the dry at 3a.m.? Points on the licence.

There is also a plan afoot to fit all cars with GPS-linked speedlimiters, which should be fun on the motorway when the GPS suddenly thinks your passing a Primary School and cuts you to 30mph! :open_mouth: :unamused:

hammer:
These all-seeing cameras don’t take into account the conditions, drunk drivers or dangerously aggressive or slow driving. Just the speed. 45mph average in the snow? Suicidal but legal. 55mph average in the dry at 3a.m.? Points on the licence.

How would you go about allowing drivers to drive different limits, according to the conditions without compromising safety :question:

hammer:
There is also a plan afoot to fit all cars with GPS-linked speedlimiters, which should be fun on the motorway when the GPS suddenly thinks your passing a Primary School and cuts you to 30mph! :open_mouth: :unamused:

Almost a good idea but a better way would be to activate an in-vehicle warning which got louder and more annoying the more over the limit the driver went.

As for speed cameras - most need replacing with simple light-up reminder signs as, IMO, these have the desired effect without alienating the general driving population.

hammer:
There are plenty of places where the speed limit is cut to 50 and even some dual-carriageways down to 40.

Its the other articles that are more of a worry. Average speed cameras set over periods of upto SIX MILES. Handily, this government has ignored the rule that said cameras must be in true accident blackspots (i.e. 3 or 4 serious smashes a year). Now, if there is one minor bump they can put up a camera. These all-seeing cameras don’t take into account the conditions, drunk drivers or dangerously aggressive or slow driving. Just the speed. 45mph average in the snow? Suicidal but legal. 55mph average in the dry at 3a.m.? Points on the licence.

There is also a plan afoot to fit all cars with GPS-linked speedlimiters, which should be fun on the motorway when the GPS suddenly thinks your passing a Primary School and cuts you to 30mph! :open_mouth: :unamused:

Don’t beleive the hype mate.
There has been talk of this for a long time.
Are these articles coming from media that backs the tory party :wink:

Vehicle based gps limiters would be very expensive and could only be implemented onto new build cars for more than one reason.
The average scameras are expensive and local councils would be reluctant to pay for the installation of them when they aren’t really needed.

i agree with you there Rog about the light up signs being better,BUT they dont make any revenue for this cashstrapped government so i can guess what ones they will go with

gallowaybull:
i agree with you there Rog about the light up signs being better,BUT they dont make any revenue for this cashstrapped government so i can guess what ones they will go with

That’s what I meant about alienating the general driving population.
For whatever reasons, a lot of drivers (ignoring those that deliberately go over) seem unable to keep within the posted limits, especially the 30s - I see this a lot when I am teaching the advanced - I am often mentioning ‘speed’ during a drive with an associate. Most of the associates stay within the limits once they have ‘self disciplined’ themselves to do so. Perhaps that is the answer - self discipline… I don’t know…

I can only imagine that they’re replacing the national speed limit on certain roads with a 50 limit, which makes sense if the road needs it. The trouble is, it takes discretion to work out what roads need it or not, which is something that no longer exists. It concerns me further as the authoroties in charge of speed limits seem to be utterly thick, at least in North Herts where I live. They’re bound to make a hash of their taskwith the result of irritating the motorist and saving no lives. Of course, our (trusty, democratic and fair) government will twist the figures and statistics about a little in order to show that it has made a difference.

There are two roads on my way to work each day that have been modified in response to fatal RTA’s. One such road has been reduced to a 40mph from national speed limit because some prat, who now has a plaque of “Ashley, Fat Boy” on a tree, drove his Xr3 at 90mph and lost control. Do they honestly thing that reducing the speed to 40mph is going to prevent that happening again? He wouldn’t be dead if he gave a toss about the national speed limit that was there.

Another road has had double white lines put the length of it for about two miles of dead straight, wide carriageway with good visibility. The reason being, there was a fatal accident where somebody hit the railway bridge halfway along and spun into another car and killed the other driver. They neglected to acknowledge that the car which drove into the bridge was driven by a man who was drunk out of his skull who was attempting to commit suicide by driving into the bridge, with tragic consequences for the other driver. I don’t think double whites are going to stop this either…

Between these two roads, there’s a 40mph single carriageway section which runs through an urban area, and 100 yards off of this road is a school. Along this 40mph road walk hundreds of kids each day on the way to the school. Absolutely crazy.

One more reason why i am not buying a new car

manowar i totally agree with your views.

Around my way over the past few years we’ve had an urban dual carriageway that had been 40 since Adam was a lad, reduced to 30 with about 5 cameras on its less than 2 mile length. (that was a good earner for the 1st 6 months after the change!)
and a rural dual lane road reduced from 60 to 50 along with being reduced to a bike lane + 1 traffic lane in each direction… along with about a thousand gallons of white cross hatching paint!

How would you go about allowing drivers to drive different limits, according to the conditions without compromising safety

As in France? One speed limit applies in the dry, a lower one when it rains. Very sensible me thinks.

http://english.controleradar.org/france-speed-limits.php

truck drivers on single carriageways need to have a good look at themselves first and formost IMO.
i know that 40moh is a pain blah blah blah !

BUT THE LAW IS THE LAW !!!

as a regular user of the A69 , i find the behaviour of some so called proffessional drivers on this route deplorable.
m not talking Joe Cowboy Haulage drivers , im talking about big well known brands and names .

i came up the A77 from Stranraer tonight and the speeds of McBurneys and Norfolk Line on the 40mph sections are a disgrace .
and this road has average speed cameras over a 4o odd mile section as well .

drivers who sit at 56 on a 40 i ask this question …

DO YOU SIT AT 46 IN A BUILT UP 30 ZONE ■■?
its the same thing .

Rant Over :angry:

Sheesh not that old chesnut again…
:laughing:
Where is the overtaking thread, that must be due soon.

Marty B7:
drivers who sit at 56 on a 40 i ask this question …

DO YOU SIT AT 46 IN A BUILT UP 30 ZONE ■■?
its the same thing .

Rant Over :angry:

No it’s not ! A built up 30 zone will have a lot more junctions, car drivers and pedestrians etc. !! that’s why it was made a 30 zone :wink:

Agree with Dennis - doing over 30 in a 30 limit is far more dangerous than doing say 50 on a major single carriageway trunk road with a NSL in the greater majority of cases - both are illegal but the first can have a very serious safety issue.

Another sly way of getting more money of the motorists.
How many drivers will go out in their cars not knowing the speed limit has been dropped and get caught? Alot.

What causes accidents is crap driving, not speed. If most drivers can drive on a 60mph limit road without crashing it shows that it is not the speed limit that is too blame, its the driver’s poor driving skill.

exceeding speed limit does not necessarily = dangerous driving
staying within speed limit does not necessarily = safe driving