Motorway Speed Limit Set To Rise To 80mph, about time in my opinion… need to catch up to modern motoring. What do you think?

YESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!! I was quite pleased to hear that... I cant remember if he said 2013 or 2030 lol, but its good that they are finally catching up with the modern motorist...

the excuse not too by road safety group - "it would be unethical"...

Unethical? Unethical to increase the speed limit, so that the 49% of drivers who drive at up to 80 and risk penalty and fine, are now brought into line with Europe and can now do so within the legal limits. Also those who say "but its not safe to" - no one says that you must drive at 80 - people can still go at 70

Anyway, rant over

i think they should remove the limit where it isn't needed. obviously some motorways are congested and need a limit but there are many long empty stretches of motorway where any limit seems pointless.

80 mph is nice limit. You can easily control the vehicle at that speed if someone is not troubling you.

The average driving speed for cars (exc jams, roadworks and roadside strippers) is 79mph anyway. The Police have been turning a blind eye to people driving up to 80mph for years now, so it does seem sensible to bring us into line with the rest of Europe. As long as the speed limit is reduced in poor conditions.

It also makes sense to reduce speeds to 20mph in some built up or residential areas where most of us are careful not to mow down any children not paying attention. This would reduce the number of knob heads piling round the back roads.

I was pleased to read about this, it seems a good idea to me. As above me people normally drive at 80ish now anyway, and the police aren't usually interested. It's only when you start pushing 90mph they will stop you and give you a ticket.

I believe the ACPO guidelines state 10% +2mph, so that's 79 on a motorway for example before someone should be prosecuted. But they are just guidelines, similarly you shouldn't get a ticket in a 30 zone until you exceed 35mph.

So with the speed limit on motorways set at 80mph, someone shouldn't be prosecuted until they exceed 90mph .. Which is probably where someone would be prosecuted now with the limit at 70mph (because the police know most people do 80 and they'd have to stop everyone lol).

[quote name='btmaldon' timestamp='1317996600' post='147430']
The average driving speed for cars (exc jams, roadworks and roadside strippers) is 79mph anyway. The Police have been turning a blind eye to people driving up to 80mph for years now, so it does seem sensible to bring us into line with the rest of Europe. As long as the speed limit is reduced in poor conditions.

It also makes sense to reduce speeds to 20mph in some built up or residential areas where most of us are careful not to mow down any children not paying attention. This would reduce the number of knob heads piling round the back roads.
[/quote]

Well said mate.

I was told by a plod, that they are only looking for the knobheads, the uninsured, no MOT and no licence merchants, phone users, no seatbelts, oh and the obvious bangers on the roads. So i guess my first statement of knobheads applies to all in those groups anyway.

They have no axe to grind with people who are driving at speed (within reason) as long as they conduct themselves in a safe manner. The people amongst the afore mentioned groups cause a lot more devastation than mr experienced driver travelling at 100mph in a modern well equipped vehicle at the dead of night on an empty motorway.

The same plod also told me that the biggest killer of teenage girls are teenage boys who drive! Scary but true.

cheers.........Howard.

And that sounds so true and accurate its worrying!

I suppose during daylight hours their choice of vehicle will differ, but I think during the night, they probably would look out for the speeders, primarily because your reflexes are naturally worse during night, due to the 'nigh effect' on our poor brains... driving at 80mph at night, is apparently 20% more dangerous than driving at 80mph in daylight