To think motorway speeds have slowed down a lot in recent years

[Wertie]

Has anyone else noticed this? Obviously in some areas you get pockets of speed, but mostly I find motorways have slowed.
I remember the ‘fast’ lane was something I avoided. It was an 85+ space. I was a slow lane driver. More and more though I find myself going right even in 3/4 lanes just to cruise at 70. Many people hover nearer 60.
Im far from a reckless driver, I have an old car. But I’ll do the speed limit in good road conditions without seeing any reason not to.
The M25 is a 50/ 60 zone and even the M11 is getting sensible.

To the extreme, tesla's doing 55 in the centre lane is common (no issue with 55, but pull into the slow lane!!!) I'm fed up with having to pull around slower moving cars when there's an empty slow lane.

@OrwellianTimes

Except in Newport - 50mph limit permanently. So annoying

In my ideal world people would use the lanes as overtaking lanes just as they are meant to, sensibly of course (if there's slow moving lorries fair enough to stay centre lane) I drive on motorway 2-3 days a week and it winds me up. I do however use my cruise control set at 70mph

Many cars show fuel consumption rate, it certainly makes me drive at a speed that uses less fuel per mile. Anything over 80 in my car hugely increases the fuel use for the journey.

A lot of newer cars bleep at you if your over the speed limit + the ridiculous amount of speed cameras don't make it as fun anymore. I used to sit in the outside lane above the speed limit but the number of speed vans mean its not fun anymore. Waze app + limiter set at speed limit + 10% + 2 is generally my normal now. It's such as shame we don't have autobahns in this country, the Germans also have minimum speeds which would be amazing.

I've noticed it too. Cameras, increased fuel prices and ECV drivers trying to maximise range are responsible I think.

I'm not saying this to excuse people, but I think the lower speed limits for lorries contribute to this. I personally don't do much motorway driving, and when I do I'm constantly in and out of the slow/middle lanes in order to overtake lorries (I don't go over 70, but I don't want to travel at 56 with the lorries either!). I can understand why people just stick in the middle lane, even though they shouldn't.

Agreed. In the 90s/00s was much faster - 85mph used to be middle lane territory; with fast lane usually 95ish. Although cars are better now, roads are busier and there are more cameras.

Yes I've noticed it too, think it's a combination of factors as others have pointed out

In the 90s/early00s, my average motorway speed (if conditions allowed) was probably about 85mph but now I tend to stick to the speed limit and even if light traffic and no cameras I rarely go above 75mph

Do electric vehicles have an optimum speed, maybe they use a lot of electric at high speeds and chargers aren't that frequent.

Lots of speed cameras, can rack up points.

cost of fuel

I travel up and down the M1 up to thrice weekly right down to Buckinghamshire from the Leeds Bradford area. It is a pleasant journey once past West Yorkshire. I would say the average speed has dropped significantly. I drive between 75-85, I'm rarely overtaken.
Middlelaners, but not as annoying as the people in the outside lane going 55-65. Absolute muppets.
The M60 in the Manchester region is a snarled-up jungle, and the A1 north is quite a bit faster, however, the speed vans sit on the bridges. So beware.
All my vehicle expenses are tax deductible so I'm not arsed about the cost of fuel, wear and tear etc.

A customer was involved in the implementation of the smart motorway system, he says the idea is to have driving automated by the cars on the Mways in the future. I think it's a great idea, some people struggle with the adaptive concentration needed to drive safely on our roads.

I remember back in the 90s when the fast lane was 85, you got to places faster that’s for sure. I had family living in Dorset who could do the 7 hour journey to visit us in the north in 5 and a half hours 😬💨🏁

madness when you think about it

On the rare occasions I drive on a motorway, I agree with the OP. Perhaps the lack of real action against middle lane hoggers contributes.

I was just thinking I see a lot less of the people approaching the motorway and then cutting across all the lanes to the inside one - you can always spot someone who is about to do it though - something about how they come up the slip road and enter the first lane.

What I see far more of now though is undertaking and weaving through fast ish moving traffic - I guess in response to traffic going slower overall so the numbskulls can’t just bomb up the inside lane as easily.

I think people are far more aware of how much more it costs in fuel/electric to go faster than they ever used to be.

the ridiculous amount of speed cameras don't make it as fun anymore.

So breaking the law & putting others at danger is fun?

It makes sense that the people that I observe and think “wow you don’t care about your petrol consumption!” are in all likelihood not actually paying for their own consumption.

I think this is part of it for sure. Doing 80-85 mph as opposed to 70 and you "beat" the sat nav ETA by 4 minutes... It shows you it's not really making the difference you think it is. Add that to much higher fuel prices and you have to think to yourself, is it worth the extra fiver in fuel to get there four minutes sooner?

It definitely has slowed down though. I own an old vw camper, it doesn't really go over 65. Fifteen years ago I pretty much never got out of the inside lane. Now I will have to overtake several times on a motorway journey, there's people doing 55 in the inside lane. Never used to happen!

The M6 is full of 50 and 40 limits.

I use the M25 most regularly which limits its own speed (sometimes 40mph is thrilling).

I'm also never quite sure whether the speed cameras are only legal to use on variable speed limits, or whether you can get a ticket if you're going over 70 on normal speed.

The middle lane hoggers drive me nuts. I understand doing it on motorways where there's lorries in the far left and you're doing the same speed as everyone else. But I'm talking about the ones driving 20mph slower. Occasionally I undertake to make a point which I know is really bad driving (only when the hard shoulder is clear).

The concept overall of the smart motorways has worked unfortunately there has been a few deaths.
Now the other problem is the towns' and cities' infrastructure.
The part of Yorkshire I'm in is regularly bordering on gridlock. I've noticed a significant difference in let us say Buckinghamshire and parts of Yorkshire. Even in my own village, it can take up to 10 mins to travel less than half a mile.
There's another village just past mine, up to 25mins to travel the 3/4 mile length of the village. Our council has flooded the roads with traffic lights, snarling everything up.

Yes, I've noticed this too. Ten years ago I could get from Kilburn to Oxford in an hour (record was 57 minutes) early in the morning on a good day. I was doing 85-90 wherever possible on the M40. Totally unthinkable now.

There seem to be at least as many crashes, if not more, so I think this has less to do with perceptions of safety or even speed cameras (not many on that motorway) and more to do with fuel consumption and modern cars.

Which, arguably, are not a lot of fun to drive.

There are more lorries/delivery vans etc now, so the lower speeds make sense. In the late 1990's there was a spate of roadworkers getting killed, when carrying out overnight work. Likewise ambulance crew members attending accidents. I'm only aware of this because my neighbours son was killed (gas pipe worker) and she was part of a safety campaign. There was also a lot of debate about if you should stay in your car because there was a lot of women getting raped when out of the car, but getting killed when in. There does seem to be less pile ups than in the 80's.

My nearest motorway is over an hour away so I'm not on it often, but I haven't noticed any difference in speed when I do.

I mainly use big A roads and most drivers do 70-80+ on those. There aren't many speed cameras though.

Your eta calc is way out.
My regular journey of 165 miles takes:
@60 mph 2hrs-45 mins
@70 mph 2hrs-21 mins
@85 mph 1hr-56 mins

Real-life figures are 2hrs 20 mins on the way down-2hrs on the way back.
I nearly always have to come off the M1 in Yorkshire due to a vehicle fire or other bizarre incident.

As for the comments on fuel, it's my business so all vehicle expenses are paid for by the business. I cannot begin to understand the thought process behind other drivers looking at someone overtaking and proclaiming to either themselves or other passengers, 'I bet it's costing them a lot in fuel'.😂
I have a friend who is a truck driver, so travels the length breadth of the motorway, his biggest issue is slow drivers mingling with the HGVs.
Now that is madness.