Motorway lower speed limit trial

[Timeandleisure]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-england-54130862
Thoughts?

 

[V6Matty]

Those spots are lucky to see about 40 most of the peak times so in all likelihood it’s probably not going to make much difference

 

[A.J.]

It was not that long ago it was being considered to raise the speed limit to 80mph !

 

[RhodieBill]

Just more "Compliance Rules" by the Gestapo Regime in Westminster.............

 

[Timeandleisure]

It was not that long ago it was being considered to raise the speed limit to 80mph !

That’s what I thought too...

 

[rf065]

Those spots are lucky to see about 40 most of the peak times so in all likelihood it’s probably not going to make much difference

A few years ago, I travelled from deepest Cornwall to Scotland. Due to all the roadworks on route & 40mph speed limits (SMART M/Way construction, M5 & M6), it took over 12 hours to get from Cornwall to the Lake District.
I remember a few football matches had their kick off times delayed as travelling fans could not get there in time. The 40mph limits had backed the m/ways up for 20 or 30 miles either side of them at each location, and traffic was standing still with people stepping out of their cars for fresh air rather than sitting inside their cars.
A month or so after this happened, it was decided that the 40mph limit in roadworks should be increased to 50mph to stop this happening again.
Yet we still have ill informed people in authority who think lowering the speed limit is the answer to efficient m/ways?

 

[Blobcat]

A few years ago, I travelled from deepest Cornwall to Scotland. Due to all the roadworks on route & 40mph speed limits (SMART M/Way construction, M5 & M6), it took over 12 hours to get from Cornwall to the Lake District.
I remember a few football matches had their kick off times delayed as travelling fans could not get there in time. The 40mph limits had backed the m/ways up for 20 or 30 miles either side of them at each location, and traffic was standing still with people stepping out of their cars for fresh air rather than sitting inside their cars.
A month or so after this happened, it was decided that the 40mph limit in roadworks should be increased to 50mph to stop this happening again.
Yet we still have ill informed people in authority who think lowering the speed limit is the answer to efficient m/ways?

If your car isn’t moving it’s much more difficult to have an accident...

That’s the theory they’re working to...

 

[LostKiwi]

Time to buy up the world supply of red flags. I'll make a fortune!

 

[Timeandleisure]

A few years ago, I travelled from deepest Cornwall to Scotland. Due to all the roadworks on route & 40mph speed limits (SMART M/Way construction, M5 & M6), it took over 12 hours to get from Cornwall to the Lake District.
I remember a few football matches had their kick off times delayed as travelling fans could not get there in time. The 40mph limits had backed the m/ways up for 20 or 30 miles either side of them at each location, and traffic was standing still with people stepping out of their cars for fresh air rather than sitting inside their cars.
A month or so after this happened, it was decided that the 40mph limit in roadworks should be increased to 50mph to stop this happening again.
Yet we still have ill informed people in authority who think lowering the speed limit is the answer to efficient m/ways?

I remember the same especially when Chelsea played at home... I found it intensely stressful as it’s quite unnatural to maintain a slow speed on a vast road (should you ever be so lucky), what ever happened to keeping up with the speed of the road...

 

[sl500amgsport]

This is purely a revenue raising excercise, it has been announced that throughout lockdown (much less traffic on the roads) NO2 pollution remained the same so this will do absolutely zero to reduce the problem. Once we all move to electric vehicles and this issue remains there is going to be much scientific head scratching and speed reduction will continue unabated but this time in the name of road safety.

If and I do say "if" these areas have high NO2 due to traffic pollution then surely it would be better to pass traffic away from these areas as quickly as possible (road widening and speed limit increases come to mind).....

Mercedes SL500 R231

 

[rifiki]

Does not matter what the alleged problem is they only have one spanner in the tool box 'lower the speed limit'

 

[Timeandleisure]

This is purely a revenue raising excercise, it has been announced that throughout lockdown (much less traffic on the roads) NO2 pollution remained the same so this will do absolutely zero to reduce the problem. Once we all move to electric vehicles and this issue remains there is going to be much scientific head scratching and speed reduction will continue unabated but this time in the name of road safety.

If and I do say "if" these areas have high NO2 due to traffic pollution then surely it would be better to pass traffic away from these areas as quickly as possible (road widening and speed limit increases come to mind).....

Mercedes SL500 R231

Those are along the line of my my thoughts too, why would you want to hang about unless of course with all the work going on they have seen more continuous traffic flow due to the Heavy policing of traffic (cameras) through the lower limits and decided until we go electric and driverless we will get drivers to behave that way...the spanner in the works is usually the inconsiderate middle lane driver not keeping up with the speed of the road and making it difficult for anyone wishing to get in from the outside lane if pursued by someone in a hurry...

 

[Doors]

Pollution is a factor of how much fuel is being used opposed to how long the vehicle spends on a road.

Travelling at 80mph and achieving 35mpg you will leave 70% more pollution per mile than if you had been travelling 50mph and achieving 60mpg. How long you spend on that road makes no difference

We really are making an utter mess of our planet and one of the many factors is our use of fossil fuels and we do need to start using them a little more sparingly. Of course I do see the futility in trying to be a little more economical in the face of the ridiculous over population of the planet....

 

[Timeandleisure]

Pollution is a factor of how much fuel is being used opposed to how long the vehicle spends on a road.

Travelling at 80mph and achieving 35mpg you will leave 70% more pollution per mile than if you had been travelling 50mph and achieving 60mpg. How long you spend on that road makes no difference

We really are making an utter mess of our planet and one of the many factors is our use of fossil fuels and we do need to start using them a little more sparingly. Of course I do see the futility in trying to be a little more economical in the face of the ridiculous over population of the planet....

That’s really interesting and makes me think differently now... would you have links to any articles explaining these particular concepts please? Also what is interesting to me is a holistic picture of percentage contribution by each industry in our fair isle.

 

[Craiglxviii]

Pollution is a factor of how much fuel is being used opposed to how long the vehicle spends on a road.

Travelling at 80mph and achieving 35mpg you will leave 70% more pollution per mile than if you had been travelling 50mph and achieving 60mpg. How long you spend on that road makes no difference

We really are making an utter mess of our planet and one of the many factors is our use of fossil fuels and we do need to start using them a little more sparingly. Of course I do see the futility in trying to be a little more economical in the face of the ridiculous over population of the planet....

Define “pollution” please. CO2? NOx? Particulates? Which particulates?

I don’t mean this to derive into an anthropogenic climate change argument, however there is plenty of evidence to show that the planet is entering a warming phase as part of its long term climate cycle.

Right now we have more fossil fuel available to us than we have ever had before, and our ability to discover and recover them economically is improving each year.

The planet isn’t overpopulated. All projections point to the planetary population peaking at ~9bn in the late 2100s and reducing markedly in the two centuries beyond that. The infrastructure already in place or planned can likely support that level of population.

The official IPCC report- not the media reports of it- is eye opening. It’s worth reading. It promotes more rearing of meat herds, increased nuclear and clean gas power generation, removal of wood & pellet burning stoves and coal burning forms of transport & power generation. It also assigns a nominal- only factor to the global automotive fleet in terms of contribution.

 

[Craiglxviii]

That’s really interesting and makes me think differently now... would you have links to any articles explaining these particular concepts please? Also what is interesting to me is a holistic picture of percentage contribution by each industry in our fair isle.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...uestions/ipcc-report-key-points-and-questions

 

[Timeandleisure]

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...uestions/ipcc-report-key-points-and-questions

Thanks...

 

[NJS5]

I too fear that this is to a great extent a revenue raising exercise.

If these areas have high NO2 due to traffic pollution then surely electric vehicles should be exempt to the reduction in speed limit.

NJSS

 

[davemercedes]

So once again, the lunatics are taking over management of the asylum! Near me, we now have a long stretch of 4-lane "smart" motorway (M5) which during the daytime on "normal" days is 3/4 empty in both directions. But because there are cameras on all the overhead gantries and wherever there's one of the "announcement" signs, I set the cruise to about 70-72. What a complete waste of a good fast road - it certainly should be raised to 80!

Mind you, as I cruise along at about 72 I am frequently overtaken - it's interesting how some of the time it's Mr White Van Man and I'll see him braking before he gets to the camera but there are lots of people who just fly by. I do wonder how many of them are being ticketted...

 

[Craiglxviii]

I too fear that this is to a great extent a revenue raising exercise.

If these areas have high NO2 due to traffic pollution then surely electric vehicles should be exempt to the reduction in speed limit.

NJSS

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