Safe Speed Forums

the problem is if you set 85mph limits people will do 95-100 (and in bad weather)... usually the people least qualified to do such speeds.

How do you know? Has this been tried?

it happens today when the limit is 70. the vast majority of people exceed the limit as it is, so what benefits would be given by an 80 limit?

how about: it would be legal to do 80 so you wouldn't have to worry about your licence if this is the speed you drive at in good conditions?

The limit in France is 130km/h but most people seem to drive at 110km/h so your theory about everyone suddenly speeding up just because the limit is raised may need a bit more work.

Well, more respect for the law to start with!

I honestly don't believe that the vast majority of people WOULD drive faster if the limit was raised. I probably wouldn't most of the time but it would be nice to know I had a bit more "headroom" if circumstances demanded / allowed. The vast majority of the cost of running my car is fuel so I wouldn't deliberately go out to waste money!

As for the people who would drive at 100, well ,frankly, they do anyway and cameras haven't been that successful at stamping the practice out!

False. It's been studied again and again and that is NOT what happens.

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Paul Smith
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It's true that there are sometimes small anomalies with fuel consumption at higher speeds. Most modern cars have a particular "map" in their engine managment computers that decides how much fuel the engine should have for a given set of circumstances. As these are "digital" devices, you sometimes get "steps" in map where fuelling and ignition timing go from one setting to the next and sometimes, just sometimes, you can get a "sweet spot" where it goes better and more efficiently at (say) 78 rather than 75. This is quite rare on standard cars however, and as the resistive forces go up with the SQUARE of the speed, you don't have to go very much faster to wipe out the benefits altogether. On the whole, it is perfectly true to say that the faster you go the more it costs. What was that poster in the shop in Mad Max? "Speed costs money - how fast can you afford to go?" or something like that! mind you, given tha tthe motorway limit is 80 in most other places on the continent, would it not seem reasonable to assume that most European cars are "mapped" to to their best at about 80?

The only thing is Jec, if you'd done your trip at 40 instead of 60, you might find it costs even less and uses even less fuel. (and you also might have found yourself getting flashed and tailgeted a lot)! What's the point you're making? We're all agreed that (broadly) the slower you go, the less fuel you use. In fact, if you walked, you wouldn't use any at all!

My car's definitely more economical if I drive at a steady 80-90 than if I try to do 70 and consequently have to slow down/ speed up because of other traffic.

As far as safety's concerned, can anybody tell me why you're only allowed to do 10mph more on a straight, three-lane motorway than on a twisty, single-track country lane?

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Only when ideology, prejudice and dogma are set aside does the truth emerge - Kepler

like hell they do - the same applies to italy. (i was there just last week!)

mine seems to be.

you have that already - the enforcement threshold doesn't start till 79 and in some cases will be higher

well I've done several thousand miles of driving there and driving at roughly 85mph I was pretty much always the fastest car on the road (good, sunny conditions). Only a handful of cars have come past me, only one that I can remember doing over 100mph.

so if the vast majority of drivers can stick to the limit, why didn't you?

Well pardon me for not feeling grateful!!!!!

Sorry, but that's just not good enough for the abilities of today's cars.

I for one would not drive any faster than I do now ( about 80 mph ). I cannot say for other people. The people I know would not drive faster. I keep a mental note when I am driven its very rare for people to exceed NSL on single carriageways. Think of your supermarket car park most have no limits no cameas I cannot think of the last time I saw someone driving too fast. I was thinking of safety - Driving at 50 mph on a motorway is more dangerous than 80 mph In my opinion. Don't forget spending longer on a motorway journey means more time for an accident and probably more tiredness. Economics and safety should not mix. Economically I earn more per hour than fuel I would save driving slower. I am more concerned about safety.

Richard

not good enough why exactly? because you want to drive faster? isn't that pretty selfish? you have stated that you would like the limit raised, but effectively it is already 80 (give or take a few mph) before you will be enforced.. does that mean you would drive at 90 if the limit was raised to 80? i think so.

When the conditions permit, no it isn't selfish. It isn't selfish at all!

Please get away from this presumption that increased speed automatically equals greater danger or risk to others, regardless of all the other circumstances.

When you start accepting that then you will be in the real world rather than the one created in your mind by the propaganda spouters.....

What planet are you on? The limit on the autoroutes is 130 or roughly 82mph so I WAS sticking to the limit.

you just said you were doing 85!

I suppose the only way to find out is to try it. This has been recorded in some places I think the 85% speed for motorways is usually 85 mph. Again safety should be the driver for setting speed limits. As we know the 70 limit was not a safety based decision.

Richard