What's the "real" speed limit on the motorway?

[whoknows212]

I don't drive much on the motorways, but when I do, I set my cruise control to the 70mph limit and it seems that nearly every other driver overtakes me

So what's the "real" speed limit on the motorway? Because it sure as hell isn't the posted 70mph one

It is 70.

Just like any other road, you'll get those who think it doesn't apply to them.

As someone who also uses a limiter on motorways I cannot honestly say I've noticed lots of overtaking. Some but certainly not most or even many drivers.

Possibly this is to do with living near the A1 which has a huge % of lorries on it.

Possibly also because I am often in the left lane and so don't always think about what's happening two lanes over.

Just because other drivers can't read it doesn't mean you need to break the law. Let them get their points and have higher insurance premiums.

It's 70, but when my speedometer says 70 I am actually doing about 67, so my CC is usually set to 72/73. So I probably do overtake quite a few people whose CC is set at 70, but I'm still doing the speed limit.

You only see the drivers that go past you, plenty of others also stick to the speed limit which is 70.

76 ie up to 10%

I drive the M27 and M3 most frequently and I’d say that in non-busy/ no roadworks conditions (i.e. hardly ever on the M27) the outside lane is normally doing around 80/85 but v few doing a lot more than that. I think there’s actually a lot less major speeding than there used to be.

I use those most and I agree.
The middle lanes tend to go at 65-75.

I live near the new smart M27 and cannot remember ever using it above 50. Roadworks seem to now be a permanent fixture

Speedo definitely overestimates speed. Depending on your map app, it tells you the speed you are doing and it’s always slower than my Speedo. So I also up my cruise to the limit, if it’s safe to do so.

M25 and when it's free flowing people travel anywhere between around 60-80 depending on which lane they are in.
There is always some idiot travelling at 50 or 90 but it's not the majority

Why do you think your map app is the accurate one?
And what map app tells you your speed?

Mr car speedo and Waze can have a 2-3mph discrepancy at around 70mph

But it's a limit not a target and you should drive to the prevailing conditions anyway 🤷‍♀️

Depends on the motorway in my experience.

M5 south of Birmingham - 70mph at quiet times unless you're a flashy BMW type driver; about 30mph if you're lucky before Glastonbury/the Great DFL Annual Escape to the Country.

M6 - about 90mph minimum whatever time of day it is and regardless of who's around you. There were fewer serious accidents on the M3 and M27 when I lived in that part of the country than there seem to be on the M6....

I have a colleague who admits to (what he doesn't see as but definitely are) dangerous manoeuvres to get past drivers because he thinks the legal limit is too low and he feels entitled to set a new one. I have zero points on my licence, he has a number > zero. I know which camp I'd rather be in.

Speed limit is 70 but it isn’t typically observed or monitored apart from areas where it is lower. I drive at whatever speed I feel safe driving at, on an empty motorway I’d think nothing over going at 90 as it’s perfectly safe to do so (barring middle lane or right hand lane hoggers of course). Keep an eye on the mirror for people following me and try not to be the fastest on the road - never been caught speeding or had an accident or even a near miss while travelling at high speed.

GPS is generally more accurate than speedometer (assuming a relatively long straight piece of road, like motorways - variable speed, bendy roads less so). The maps apps (Google Maps is one that does this) use GPS to monitor speed.

Speedometers can't under-report but they are permitted to over-report by up to 10% + another few miles (can't remember the exact figure).

I set my cruise control to 73. That seems to be exactly 70 according to Google maps. I live near the m1 where there are cameras every few yards but after that section I set it to 75.

As long as you're not middle lane hogging and holding people up do what feels right and is safe and legal.

If I'm not in a rush, I often sit behind a lorry and set my cruise control to match. Everyone's so angry out there and you avoid it in lane one.

www.sciencefocus.com/future-technology/why-doesnt-the-speed-shown-on-my-cars-speedometer-and-sat-nav-always-match

Mostly 40 mph on the M62 😀

Absolutely- my motorway is 50 for what feels like most of my 3 hour journey. I’m happy to do the actual 50 on those stretches.

I tend to do 55-70 on the rest, depending on conditions- no desire to belt along, I’d rather save my fuel. However doing 45 on the massive stretches of 50 zones would make a 3 hour journey feel very long indeed!

Nobody on MN has ever crept over the speed limit, nor briefly moved their hands from the 10 and 2 positions.

However, in the real world and from what I see on my looooong motorway commute, I'd say it's more like 77 ish.

"Nobody on MN has ever crept over the speed limit,"

Judging by this thread people happily admit to breaking the speed limit, that too by quite a high amount

A lot of the villages near me have those speed monitoring flashing signs. From them I learned that 30mph per my Speedo was about 27-28 mph.

I aim to drive at 77 mph as that is the limit at which you can escape speed traps. I occasionally go faster to overtake or accommodate other drivers. I sometimes drive slower than that if road conditions dictate.

You'll get a lot of hoity toity answers on here from drivers who apparently do not go over 70mph ever but back in the real world, most people do go over 70.

It's up to you if you don't as long as you stay in the left lane and don't create congestion in the overtaking lanes just to prove a point.