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

So if you take such a black and white definition of the speed limit, would you be OK with someone doing 70 on a motorway in the pouring rain in heavy traffic.

After all it is a "limit" and they are not breaking the law.

The speed guns and cameras used by the cops should be accurate. If your speedo is genuinely overestimating, then if you drive at 70, your speedo will read 75 but the speed cameras / guns will read 70 and you'll be fine.

If the OP is finding that literally everyone else on the motorway is overtaking them then it seems plausible that their speedo is more conservative than average - they should check.

@viques of course. But lack of a passenger means they definitely were the instructor getting from a to b.

Forgive me for being blunt but this is a seriously daft statement.

I think 70 is too slow. I think 80 should be allowed. It should be adjusted. Cars have changed.

70mph. Anything over that and you're in danger of getting a fine. If other drives want to go faster than the limit, that's up to them.

There is no such thing as the 10% rule. The limit is 70mph.

Absolutely this. Ask Andy Burnham our mayor. Fined just under £2k for doing 78, when it was restricted to 40, which is a very regular occurrence.

It is 70.
Most car speedometers under read - my phone GPS is much more accurate, and so my car on an indicated 73 is actually doing 70. So that is what I set my cruise at.

But yes you are right, a lot of people are faster than that. I get overtaken a lot.

I also notice the further south you are the more this is an issue - and further north there are fewer speeding.

Their choice to speed and not one I feel the need to join in with.

It's not the fast lane. It's the outside lane. All lanes have the same speed limit of 70mph.

The real speed limit is 70mph.
The limit at which they give a fine is 10% over so 76mph hence you see many people over 70mph.
And them a lot of people go way over that anyway 😂😂

Cars have changed.

But drivers haven't. Attention to road conditions, reaction times etc.

The variable speed limit and gantry signs have added a whole new stressful dimension to the decision-making about what speed. They don’t seem to keep up well enough with developments in traffic flow. It’s really common on my commute to have signs showing 40mph where there are no works and no congestion. Actual speedometer speed if going with the flow of traffic is around 60mph.

If I get points, I wouldn’t have a leg to stand on, but am I going to be the single driver across three lanes doing 40? Realistically, no.

@outdooryone ALL speedometers in cars under read.
Can you imagine the mess if your Speedo was over reading and it said you were doing 70mph when you are actually doing 80yo??

By how much they under read is variable but seriously doe 2 or 3 mph make such a difference to how quickly you’ll arrive back home?

It’s technically correct that there is no 10% rule, however, police guidance is that speed cameras should be set to trigger at 10% + 2mph of the posted speed limit. Given that speedometers generally overestimate your speed by around 5% then it is not unreasonable to set your cruise control to 80mph safe in the knowledge that fixed speed cameras won’t flash you.

However, that isn’t a defence against a persnickety copper with a dash mounted speed gun - they might be minded to go for you anything much north of 75…

Speedometers are built to overread because that way the car manufacturers don't get sued by motorists who get speeding tickets when the speedo said they were on or under the limit.

Your satnav relies on GPS, which is designed for use by the US military and is hence more accurate than your speedo.

Someone can be driving unsafely whilst under or on the limit. The speed limit is the limit set by law and it's not negotiatiable.

My odometer consistently reads 2mph ( according to say nav and the roadside radar things in villages) I drive to the display and use it as a buffer.

You’re right, they make absolutely no sense at all.

I tend to do just under 80 unless in a speed restricted area. Never been caught or had a speeding fine yet.

It’s also a sweet spot for the mpg equivalent in my EV. Similar when I do just under 70 or just under 60.

I sit between 60 and 70 mostly in the slow lane unless overtaking or keeping out if the way of a junction that slower vehicles are joining the motorway from.

If you are involved in an accident you have less time to think and manoeuvre if you are going fast. You also have to live with it if anything bad happens. So I try to be sensible.

I too feel like the entire world is overtaking me. Especially if the overhead gantry says 40 and I'm doing that it sometimes just over that (if the roadworks the limit is intended to protect aren't there, say) and everyone else is ignoring it and doing 70+.

They even peep at me.

I'm the one following the rules yet I'm the bad one in their eyes. Bloody annoying.

It’s alot slower than it used to be before all the speed cameras

Sadly, drivers haven’t.

Why are people just stating the government speed limit? That’s not what the OP is asking.

They’re asking the “real” limit, ie the speed people go at in real life.

For the record, I think the “real” limit is about 80. That’s what speed the traffic flow tends to go at in my experience.

Especially if the overhead gantry says 40 and I'm doing that it sometimes just over that (if the roadworks the limit is intended to protect aren't there, say) and everyone else is ignoring it and doing 70+.

Yes you are following the rules.
But on the other side, someone going at 40mph on a motorway with everyone else going at 70mph is dangerous!!

Id say that here the issue isn’t the ither drivers as such but the fact whoever is doing the roadworks feels it’s ok to leave signs up when nothing is happening.
Drivers know. Esp when it has been going on for days or weeks.
That, imo, shouldn’t be allowed.