To think cars should legally have speed limited to 70mph?

[clairemcnam]

The upper speed limit in the UK is 70mph. So why does the Government not just pass a law saying that all cars should have a speed limited so that is the fastest it can go? Sure I know some people would disable it, but in general it would stop most people going faster than 70mph.

Wrong. A dual carriageway just means a carriageway going in each direction. In this case one lane in each direction with no physical central barrier. Hence NSL = 60mph

No central barrier makes it a SINGLE carriageway, not a dual.

I'm shocked that people suggest driving at 40 on a national limit road is dangerous. It may anoying you but it's not dangerous and may be perfectly appropriate for the conditions or vehicle.
Also why are people shocked at vehicles travelling at 50 on the inside Lane of a motorway? Some ladies are limited to around this speed anyway. I'm usually doing 60-70 on a motorway when the conditions allow, I use the lanes as required and feel no need to drive at the speed limit.
I do dislike dash cams as I think there is just too much surveillance in society. They seem to suit sanctimonious idiots who drive appallingly then upload the 30 seconds of footage showing somebody making a hash of driving.
Driving in its most basic form is A to B without hitting C, just stay calm, have a little understanding that people do screw up from time to time and everyone will get where they are going.

OK lorries not ladies... the internet may explode!

I'm shocked that people suggest driving at 40 on a national limit road is dangerous. It may anoying you but it's not dangerous and may be perfectly appropriate for the conditions or vehicle.

If it’s appropriate for the conditions, no problem. If it’s a tractor doing 30, no problem. 99% of the time it isn’t (and Facebook confirms that most local oeople don’t know that NSL on that particular road means 60). Driving at 2/3 of the limit (or less) when driving conditions are perfect is dangerous and bloody selfish.

Also why are people shocked at vehicles travelling at 50 on the inside Lane of a motorway? Some lorries are limited to around this speed anyway.

Lorries are limited to 57/59. If you’re driving at 50 on a motorway it will push lorries into the middle lane because they will want to overtake you. That reduces the speed of the middle lane to 59 max, causing those travelling at 70 behind to brake - dangerous. It then pushes more traffic into the outside lane, meaning it’s no longer being used for overtaking, it’s the only lane going anywhere near the expected speed for the road.

So your choice to pootle stops the motorway you are on to not function properly. The impact probably ripples several miles back.

I think you are assuming that everyone is as green eyed crazy as you!

Yeah. Sure. I’m unreasonable for wanting people to use the roads as they’re intended to be used.

You can be prosecuted for driving too slowly on a motorway.

Wrong. A dual carriageway just means a carriageway going in each direction. In this case one lane in each direction with no physical central barrier. Hence NSL = 60mph.

Good god, what nonsense.

Dual carriageways have got nothing to do with the number of lanes. A dual carriageway is a road with permanent physical separation between lanes. Not cones, or painted lines, but a barrier, or a grass verge, hedges or trees. Maybe a raised concrete strip. You can have one lane going each way, but so long as there's something physical between them, that's a dual carriageway. If it has an NSL sign (white circle with diagonal black line)it's 70mph. Or you can have 3 lanes going each way, with just a painted line separating them, and that's 60 if it has an NSL sign.

Don't take my word for it though, look in the highway code. It's all in there.

You can be prosecuted for creating a hazard on a motorway, you can be prosecuted for exceeding the speed limit!

Doing conditions are not always external, driving below the limit because you don't know the road, have a car sick child or elderly passenger you don't want to bounce around are also part of those conditions.
There are single carriageway national limit sections of road that I simply would not drive at 60 as they are narrow and twisty. It all about keeping alert and reasonably relaxed.

Fair enough Lifecraft.

Just for completeness, from the Highway Code:

A dual carriageway is a road which has a central reservation to separate the carriageways.

If one is going to be a smug know it all, it’s preferable to be a correct smug know it all..

Sorry, Lifecraft! I posted slow.

Fair enough Lifecraft.

Oh, don't ruin it. This is the internet, you have to keep arguing with me, even though you are wrong, those are the rules.

Nah. The sun is shining and I have a 50 mile trip down a lovely stretch of motorway to do shortly. I much prefer burning rubber to arguing!

ArmchairTraveller - you are so right.

More than a bill in the post, there should be much tougher sentences for speeding.

What is it with having to get from A to B in the fastest time possible? I don't get it. People are so wedded to this idea that they are willing to risk their and others' lives for it. Madness.

I think in Japan they actually implement this - based on gps tech. So the limit of the car is the limit of the toad and it’s de-limited on tracks or if you leave the country.

So the tech is there.

@Lifecraft 🤣

Mishappening has it bang on. Not only does boobiloo insist on the need for speed but also insists that anyone not driving at or over the speed limit is dangerous to everyone else. Bit like on a previous thread where someone kept claiming they failed their driving test for going below 30mph outside a school. Ridiculous attitude.

Not only does boobiloo insist on the need for speed but also insists that anyone not driving at or over the speed limit is dangerous to everyone else

You forgot to add the bit where they made themselves look like a tit over dual/single carriageways. I liked that bit the most

Boobi by name......

I think in Japan they actually implement this - based on gps tech.

Let's hope it's more reliable than the attempt to use GPS to determine speed limits in the UK, which managed to confuse motorways with roads that go over (or under) at 30 mph.

One of my jobs a while back was to sift though a fucktonne of telematics data from the black boxes in cars (4TB worth - ended up driving down to the office to pick up the disk ....) to see why some drivers had been incorrectly penalised for speeding.

So the tech is there.

not really .... if you are going to use GPS to determine what road you are travelling on (as opposed to a snapshot) then you're going to need a bigger box ....

Modern cars that do obey the speed limit, like the Ford S-Max I had to run around in last year, do so by reading the speed limit using an inscreen camera. Which can also read other road signs, and flash a warning up on the dash.

(You can disable the auto speed limiter, but I didn't need to in a weeks driving - including motorways. I've already booked remedial driving lessons and another test, as I'm clearly doing something wrong.)

And it’s high time the speed limits were reassessed. 70 is ridiculously low.

I agree. Those speed limits were set when cars had handling and brakes that were vastly inferior to those on modern cars and safety measures like crumple zones and air bags hadn't been invented. Seat belts weren't even fitted as standard back then, let alone mandatory to wear. People regularly walk away from accidents that would have been fatal 50 years ago.

With "smart" motorways, there's scope for speed limits to reflect road, weather and traffic conditions, so a max speed of 70 at all times is just daft. I also like the French system of different limits in wet and dry conditions.

I also like the French system of different limits in wet and dry conditions.

I'd suggest when the Great British Driving Public have demonstrated they can manage the varying speed limits on managed motorways (they can't) we can move to that system.

Country lanes are the most dangerous (fatal), not motorways
www.highwaysindustry.com/country-lanes-are-the-most-dangerous-in-the-uk/

There are now news stories saying that mandatory speed limiters(ISA) are to be fitted to all cars in the EU by 2022. UK is apparently going to follow, whether we’re in the EU or not.
Did you know anything about this, OP?

Those speed limits were set when cars had handling and brakes that were vastly inferior to those on modern cars and safety measures like crumple zones and air bags hadn't been invented. Seat belts weren't even fitted as standard back then, let alone mandatory to wear.

On balance though, the volume of traffic isn't the same. Yes cars are safer, but the risk of accident is higher, due to more vehicles.