UK - New 80MPH speed limit

[The Beard]

How is that bull****? I never said speed is cool. Just motorway driving is full and its far better driving in the 80s than the 70s. Only problem with people speeding on motorways is the dickheads that don't know how to drive and stay in the middle lane or outside lane. They're overtaking lanes and that's it. Not a slow lane, slightly faster lane and slightly faster again lane. That's the only danger on motorways. Speed doesn't kill, bad driving does.

A couple of years ago a family of three in a Punto were on their way to Manchester Airport on the M62 Westbound and were in lane 1 as they prepared to join the M60. A much faster moving Audi Q7 tried to do the same by moving from an outer lane into lane 1 and hit the back of the Punto with the result that the rear and front seat passengers were both killed.

Up to a point what you say has some merit and the late Leonard (L.J.K.) Setright, one of my journalistic heroes, always maintained that there should only be one driving offence and that should be Dangerous Driving. On that basis driving an Aston DB9 at 130 on a deserted M62 at 4am on a Sunday morning may not be an offence whereas driving at 30 past a school when the street is full of 9 year old pedestrians and cyclists could be.

The only problem is that you will never know whether nicking someone for speeding will prevent a collision or whether not stopping a speeding driver will result in one happening. Because of that the powers that be really have no option other than to do drivers for speeding, dodgy tyres, drink driving etc.

Maybe it's a good thing that many on here will criticise others who speed. Peer pressure works one way or the other.

 

[ChrisUK]

Maybe it's a good thing that many on here will criticise others who speed. Peer pressure works one way or the other.

It's worked with drink driving . Obviously you still get d**k heads that do it But I'm guess the stats look a lot better than 10-15years ago.

 

[The Beard]

Yeah richy, I used the phrase "third axle" incorrectly because it could be the 2nd or 3rd depending as to whether it's a steer or drag. I used it that way because many units have 2 axles and therefore, regardless as to where it's positioned, the extra axle would be the third.

If that sounds like gibberish, sorry. I must stop coming on here at 1 or 2 in the morning.

 

[dave]

in the old days there used to be loads of gibberish posts in ll on a saturday night, its more boring with out them

 

[Focus Owner]

in the old days there used to be loads of gibberish posts in ll on a saturday night, its more boring with out them

agree

 

[Gaz37]

how the **** do you know that? you don't even know how much I drank over the days before so stop talking ****

At no point did I say how much you had to drink, I merely pointed out what your alcohol level would have been 8 hours before.

It's almost impossible to say what quantity of alcohol would have caused that level.

Might I suggest you try reading what people say properly before accusing them of talking ****

 

[pooroldcodger]

A couple of years ago a family of three in a Punto were on their way to Manchester Airport on the M62 Westbound and were in lane 1 as they prepared to join the M60. A much faster moving Audi Q7 tried to do the same by moving from an outer lane into lane 1 and hit the back of the Punto with the result that the rear and front seat passengers were both killed.

Up to a point what you say has some merit and the late Leonard (L.J.K.) Setright, one of my journalistic heroes, always maintained that there should only be one driving offence and that should be Dangerous Driving. On that basis driving an Aston DB9 at 130 on a deserted M62 at 4am on a Sunday morning may not be an offence whereas driving at 30 past a school when the street is full of 9 year old pedestrians and cyclists could be.

The only problem is that you will never know whether nicking someone for speeding will prevent a collision or whether not stopping a speeding driver will result in one happening. Because of that the powers that be really have no option other than to do drivers for speeding, dodgy tyres, drink driving etc.

Maybe it's a good thing that many on here will criticise others who speed. Peer pressure works one way or the other.

As usual I agree with you Beard.
In respect to the Q&/Punto collision, weren't there aggravating circumstances with te Q7 driver, like he had been drinking and he was found in the car with his trousers mysteriously undone, suggesting he was shall we say "distracted" at the time of the collision?
Or was that another Q7 driver on the M62?

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Well with the current horror on the M5, it'll be interesting to see if this is something that will still be considered.

 

[Magic Johnson]

?

Why should it be? This was because of morons not driving to the conditions.

I've been chatting with someone who actually travelled on the road and must have just missed this accident, he said the fog just came out of nowhere, yet nobody acknowledged it. There were loads of people with no fog lights on, people going way too fast in the outside lane, people driving too close. Basically normal motorway driving in England but couple that with dangerous driving conditions and it = disaster. This is an attitude problem, an ignorance problem, not a speed limit problem.

 

[306maxi]

?

Why should it be? This was because of morons not driving to the conditions.

I've been chatting with someone who actually travelled on the road and must have just missed this accident, he said the fog just came out of nowhere, yet nobody acknowledged it. There were loads of people with no fog lights on, people going way too fast in the outside lane, people driving too close. Basically normal motorway driving in England but couple that with dangerous driving conditions and it = disaster. This is an attitude problem, an ignorance problem, not a speed limit problem.

I agree BUT there will always be a proportion of people who think that the speed limit is a target.

I think we need to start looking at tailgating as an offence and start giving people points for it.

 

[Magic Johnson]

I agree BUT there will always be a proportion of people who think that the speed limit is a target.

I think we need to start looking at tailgating as an offence and start giving people points for it.

It is an offence buddy.

Not driving to the conditions should be an offence, 3 points and £60 fine.

We need more traffic cops, maybe stationary cameras to capture all driving at danger blackspots, and someone to monitor it or review it and then fine and give points to every idiot that does something stupid at that point.

Of course that costs money so will never happen.

 

[dave]

Not driving to the conditions should be an offence, 3 points and £60 fine.

it is driving with out due care

 

[306maxi]

It is an offence buddy.

Not driving to the conditions should be an offence, 3 points and £60 fine.

We need more traffic cops, maybe stationary cameras to capture all driving at danger blackspots, and someone to monitor it or review it and then fine and give points to every idiot that does something stupid at that point.

Of course that costs money so will never happen.

How the hell do you enforce when it's foggy though?

Get people to realise that tailgating on a sunny dry day is a bad thing and they'll stop doing it in the fog.

 

[Magic Johnson]

You can't enforce it, you're right.

It's common sense really, or a complete lack of it.

A lot harder to solve.

 

[306maxi]

You can't enforce it, you're right.

It's common sense really, or a complete lack of it.

A lot harder to solve.

yep But prosecute more people on dry sunny days and it'll happen less often in the wind, fog and snow.....

 

[Magic Johnson]

Could do.

Just can't get the complete lack of common sense. It's wild rain, foggy, dark, why are you speeding? Not just one or two, but the bloody majority.

What is wrong with people?!

 

[306maxi]

Could do.

Just can't get the complete lack of common sense. It's wild rain, foggy, dark, why are you speeding? Not just one or two, but the bloody majority.

What is wrong with people?!

People are frigging idiots.

Firstly there are class issues. Moron in his 30k Audi sees someone from here in his 500 quid Punto and wants him out of the way, he doesn't pay all that money in tax and for fuel and for insurance just for some peasant to get in his way.

Then there are just the people who plain don't understand how far a car goes in the time between when someone in front slows down and the person behind puts the brakes on.

We need to stop being soft on people driving like idiots and start handing out sentences for murder and attempted murder for people putting others at risk or whose negligence kills others. We know so much about road safety that accidents (mostly) aren't accidents anymore.

In France you have a speed limit on the motorway for dry conditions and then one for wet conditions, here people just do the speed limit regardless.

 

[Magic Johnson]

That's a decent idea, change limits for conditions, although you can't help but feel people would still ignore it. People would fight it as well in court, there'd be too many grey areas.

It's not just execs/sales reps/MDs etc that speed though, people in superminis are just as bad, and normal cars. In fact, you can't really generalise, as the majority do it, regardless of the car they drive.

I 100% agree on harsher punishments for idiotic driving. Maybe then people would understand that they are controlling a 1 tonne+ bit of metal.

 

[306maxi]

That's a decent idea, change limits for conditions, although you can't help but feel people would still ignore it. People would fight it as well in court, there'd be too many grey areas.

It's not just execs/sales reps/MDs etc that speed though, people in superminis are just as bad, and normal cars. In fact, you can't really generalise, as the majority do it, regardless of the car they drive.

I 100% agree on harsher punishments for idiotic driving. Maybe then people would understand that they are controlling a 1 tonne+ bit of metal.

Exactly. But you have to say there is a quite common feeling among people owning large German cars that other people in cheaper cars should just get out of the way.

Personally I'd be 110% for motorways having 100% GPS tracking so no one could speed. Lets be honest, there are enough people who can't be trusted who make more dangerous than it need be.

 

[Magic Johnson]

Haven't Japan implemented something really cool like that?

I think it would fall through if you had to get away from Godzilla or summat though.

30MPH?!?! CMONNNNNN! lol.