80mph Motorway Limit - Carnage?
Discussion
More 'Speed Kills' From the Guardian.
Regardless of your opinions there is some real bollox in here, especially the last paragraph (I mean what if you arrive sooner i.e. before the incident).
www.guardian.co.uk/life/thisweek/story/0,12977,1145813,00.html
What would happen if we raised the motorway speed limit to 80mph?
David Adam
Thursday February 12, 2004
The Guardian
Carnage, if we did it tomorrow anyway. Experts say that the Conservative proposals to raise the maximum limit on motorways by another 10mph will only work if they are accompanied by hi-tech speed control systems.
The average speed on our fastest roads may already be 80mph or above in good conditions, but the last thing we want is for everybody to simply drive 10mph faster.
"If the speed limit goes up it needs to have a much more rigid enforcement," says Mike McDonald, director of the transportation research group at Southampton University. "It's quite likely in terms of nature and the approach that people take they will exceed the speed limit by a certain amount."
And forget being able to blaze away down the outside lane, leaving less aggressive drivers in your wake. He says the future of motoring, even with a raised maximum limit, is getting everyone to drive at the same speed. "Rather than having an average of 77mph on the M3 with some people going up to 95-100mph, you could have an average of 90mph in clear, bright conditions that is reduced to 60mph in the dark and wet."
Variable limits, more speed cameras and advanced systems that make the accelerator harder to push over the speed limit could all make a 80mph limit a safer possibility. "There is no evidence that in the right conditions speeds of 80mph on the motorway cause significant accidents," McDonald says. "Speed differences and lane changing are really what cause quite a lot of problems."
There are other advantages to taking things easier. "Say you have a minor incident that takes half an hour to clear and causes a build up of traffic," says Paul Firmin, of the Institute for Transport Studies at Leeds University. "If you're slower to arrive at the scene then maybe you turn up after everything's been cleared away."
Regardless of your opinions there is some real bollox in here, especially the last paragraph (I mean what if you arrive sooner i.e. before the incident).
www.guardian.co.uk/life/thisweek/story/0,12977,1145813,00.html
What would happen if we raised the motorway speed limit to 80mph?
David Adam
Thursday February 12, 2004
The Guardian
Carnage, if we did it tomorrow anyway. Experts say that the Conservative proposals to raise the maximum limit on motorways by another 10mph will only work if they are accompanied by hi-tech speed control systems.
The average speed on our fastest roads may already be 80mph or above in good conditions, but the last thing we want is for everybody to simply drive 10mph faster.
"If the speed limit goes up it needs to have a much more rigid enforcement," says Mike McDonald, director of the transportation research group at Southampton University. "It's quite likely in terms of nature and the approach that people take they will exceed the speed limit by a certain amount."
And forget being able to blaze away down the outside lane, leaving less aggressive drivers in your wake. He says the future of motoring, even with a raised maximum limit, is getting everyone to drive at the same speed. "Rather than having an average of 77mph on the M3 with some people going up to 95-100mph, you could have an average of 90mph in clear, bright conditions that is reduced to 60mph in the dark and wet."
Variable limits, more speed cameras and advanced systems that make the accelerator harder to push over the speed limit could all make a 80mph limit a safer possibility. "There is no evidence that in the right conditions speeds of 80mph on the motorway cause significant accidents," McDonald says. "Speed differences and lane changing are really what cause quite a lot of problems."
There are other advantages to taking things easier. "Say you have a minor incident that takes half an hour to clear and causes a build up of traffic," says Paul Firmin, of the Institute for Transport Studies at Leeds University. "If you're slower to arrive at the scene then maybe you turn up after everything's been cleared away."
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff