Safe Speed Forums

This is absolutely unbelievable

From 9th October, the Highways Agency are going to reduce the speed limit on the entire section of the A56 between the M66 and M65 in Lancashire from NSL (70) to 50!!

See:

http://www.therossendalefreepress.co.uk ... t_cut.html

While there are one or two tight slip roads this is a near motorway standard road with just one roundabout, otherwise grade separated junctions.

And too late for any objection (not that it ever does any good)

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

It’s definitely war on the motorist, it’s just when the British people will stand up and say they’ve had enough.

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Useless laws weaken necessary laws.

Agreed. I've had a look at the road on Google Maps. It is 8.9 miles of good quality DC, interrupted only by a roundabout and very excessive overuse of paint 1/5 of the way up here.

So the whole 8.9 mile stretch had to be reduced? How does that benefit $a£ety?

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

OFFS First the A515 in Derbyshire, now this. Trying to get out of Greater Manchester is getting slower and slower.

All that white paint on the A56 was once two lanes, as was the A683 where it runs into the A56 less than a mile further on.

I've no idea if there were specific incidents than brought about the narrowing but as all three roads curve, the jcts are close and the speeds high someone thought we couldn't cope and got out the Dulux.

All it does is push the problem further back up the A56 or the A582 as Wayne Schumacher in his Vectra TDi aims to get past as many HGVs as he can before it goes single lane - I've seen some seriously dumb chancers, going over the cross hatching in the wet, on the bend at over 80mph!

The next jct north on the A56 is the Grane Road, which has been 50mph for several years, and still has a high number of accidents - only one of which would seem to be possibly attributable to going too quick.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/6948153.stm

HGVs are now banned from the road and at the M65 end you've a job to find it off the M-way as the signage at Jct 5 is deliberately obtuse so you stay on until the A56 jct. The Grane is SC and is a little twisty and has a number of climbs and drops. So if the A56 is only suitable for 50mph are we conclude the Grane will go 20mph - looks like that's what the 'residents association' want (The Grane runs through open moorland, so who knows how many member they have!!), I'm guessing they probably just want the accidents to stop so their lives aren't inconvenienced by having a long drive round when the Grane is shut.

As for the A56, have we found any justification for the change? It is as Peter says well built DC with proper junctions. As discussed elsewhere the NSL is being slowly eroded for who knows what reason, for sure it isn't increased safety or saving the planet.

The irony is while this kind of frustrating stupidity is going on I suspect we all know of roads where a lowering of the limit would make far more sense. There's one near both Peter E and I which is 4 miles of narrow twisty A road, practically no overtaking opportunities, its busy and has a couple of tricky junctions and high hedges along its whole length. Making 60mph is not impossible if it's empty but in practice a 40 or 50 limit wouldn't be inappropriate given it's level of use. But hey there's me talking logic.

Barkstar

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The difference between intelligence and stupidity is that intelligence has limits.

That's it then isn't it? It's official. No stretch of 2-lane dual carriageway in the country, however high-quality, is now safe from the threat of a reduction to 50mph.

Once they've got us used to that, they'll start on the "secret" motorways, then the lesser actual motorways, then the rest.

It's like road safety in this country is being consumed by some horrible anti-car disease which gradually takes over and disfigures everything. It's not pretty to watch.

Also it's disappointing that the Highways Agency now seem to be "at it" as much as local authorities. Aren't the HA speed limit setters still supposed to be experts? If so we can surely conclude that they're being "lent upon".

Maybe the idea is to cause congestion outside cities as well as in them, to persuade us that road pricing is a better idea than congestion charging. Well, they're both a load of tosh.

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Paul Smith: a legend.

"The freedom provided by the motor vehicle is not universally applauded, however: there are those who resent the loss of state control over individual choice that the car represents. Such people rarely admit their prejudices openly; instead, they make false or exaggerated claims about the adverse effects of road transport in order to justify calls for higher taxation or restrictions on mobility." (Conservative Way Forward: Stop The War Against Drivers)

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Useless laws weaken necessary laws.

Even by today's standards of wholesale speed limit reductions I am stunned by this. I've been commuting along this full section for over two years, and it's one of the best quality dual carriageways I know. 80mph+ is perfectly safe under good conditions - the road itself is pretty much the same standard as the M65 and M66 it connects, (bar the one aforementioned roundabout). It's never particularly busy and is normally the most enjoyable part of my commute. There is a fairly tight bend southbound as it joins the M66, which can still be taken easily at ~65mph. It does however reach quite a high altitude so can be subject to fairly dramatic weather conditions, particularly heavy rain and dense fog - I suspect this is when the majority of accidents occur on it.

I've seen many a stupid 50mph limit in my time but along here it will be a complete and utter joke - I feel sick at the thought of having to face this daily now

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Why can't we just use Common Sense?

Is there no way of looking up the reasoning leading to the reduction? Minutes of meetings, perhaps?

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

There's some reference to the reduction on page 12 of the 11 September 2007 minutes from Rossendale Local Committee, I can't find anything on the HA website though.

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Chris

I am trying to obtain an appropriate contact in the Highways Agency and will certainly be asking them for an explanation.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Does anybody know what is happening with this? Last I heard was that they'd partially backed down on the plans and only stretches around the junctions would be reduced - however that was at least 2 months ago. There have been greyed out 50mph signs at the start of the northbound section since around the day this thread was posted. Nothing else though and nothing at all on the southbound section. Someone please tell me the plans are being ditched completely....

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Why can't we just use Common Sense?

Someone on another forum received the following reply from the Highways Agency, which confirms what you have heard:


So two steps back and one step forward

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

I know that road. Have used it when I've visited the Manchester based crowd and then driven over to Willi and then Krissi on occasions. Cannot see why on earth they want to reduce the limit on there.


I think it a decent piece of road and cannot fathom how accidents can occur there as it is fairly straightforward road engineering.

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The A56/A682 junction is a bit strange, see:

http://www.cbrd.co.uk/badjunctions/56-682.shtml

However I don't believe that merits a limit reduction - it's OK once you've worked it out.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Well - perhaps as completely COAST trained etc.. you just take in the whole situation and deal accordingly.

Perhaps I just read the situation properly as a result of having IG as a passenger. He does notice everything.


A benign "nightmare" though


But reducing the limit is a cheap cop out when a bit of engineering can reduce the initial trickiness here

_________________
If you want to get to heaven - you have to raise a little hell!

Smilies are contagious
They are just like the flu
We use our smilies on YOU today
Now Good Causes are smiling too!

KEEP SMILING
It makes folk wonder just what you REALLY got up to last night!

Smily to penny.. penny to pound
safespeed prospers-smiles all round! !
But the real message? SMILE.. GO ON ! DO IT! and the world will smile with you!
Enjoy life! You only have the one bite at it.