Motorway roadwork speed limit

[Saleen836]

Interesting read especially with the 'how to cut congestion' thread in GG..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41704392

[mickmcpaddy]

Its the workers they need to speed up not the traffic. You can easily set the cruise to 57 or so and sail past everything anyway.

[Engineer792]

Imo, it will improve safety because, amongst other things, not only is it likely that lane discipline will improve and bunching decrease, but the potential for conflict between cars and hgv's will probably doecrease dramatically.

Edited by Engineer792 on Saturday 21st October 23:28

[Johnnytheboy]

This will happen "next year" like the NSL on motorways raising to 80 that CMD kept promising.

[MitchT]

Don't really mind the 50 limit when work is happening but why the hell isn't it suspended when no one is there doing anything?

[Jazzy Jag]

MitchT said:

Don't really mind the 50 limit when work is happening but why the hell isn't it suspended when no one is there doing anything?

Exactly!

I drove down the M6 from Liverpool a few weeks ago at 10 pm.
About 20 + miles of 50 limit and not a single worker in sight.

[Ted2]

Engineer792 said:

Imo, it will improve safety because, amongst other things, not only is it likely that lane discipline will improve and bunching decrease, but the potential for conflict between cars and hgv's will probably doecrease dramatically.

Edited by Engineer792 on Saturday 21st October 23:28

I don't think it will make any difference whatsoever. Car drivers slow down to 40mph as soon as they see traffic cones irrespective of there being a highly speed limit in force and they'll still continue to do it in lane 2 so that truckers can't get past.

[jmorgan]

Ted2 said:

Engineer792 said:

Imo, it will improve safety because, amongst other things, not only is it likely that lane discipline will improve and bunching decrease, but the potential for conflict between cars and hgv's will probably doecrease dramatically.

Edited by Engineer792 on Saturday 21st October 23:28

I don't think it will make any difference whatsoever. Car drivers slow down to 40mph as soon as they see traffic cones irrespective of there being a highly speed limit in force and they'll still continue to do it in lane 2 so that truckers can't get past.

What I expect to happen as well.

You will now have another limit to worry about with cameras, was it 50 this time or 60. Nah, stick to 50, safe from a ticket there.

Have to see what really happens. The trial said they tested 36 drivers?

[Guybrush]

I'm just amazed that it took so many years for them to work out that higher speeds results in safer more relaxed driving and less bunching. I wonder how many years it will take for them to work out that this also applies to all other parts of the road system.

[King Herald]

mickmcpaddy said:

Its the workers they need to speed up not the traffic. You can easily set the cruise to 57 or so and sail past everything anyway.

Something my daughter has asked, when we drive through endless miles of M6 roadworks and contraflow during the week: “why is there never anybody working dad?”

[King Herald]

Guybrush said:

I'm just amazed that it took so many years for them to work out that higher speeds results in safer more relaxed driving and less bunching. I wonder how many years it will take for them to work out that this also applies to all other parts of the road system.

I don’t think lower speed limit areas are in place for the road relaxation and comfort of drivers.

I must admit, since I was busted for speeding a few months back I drive a lot slower everywhere. There really isn’t a good reason to go much above the speed limit, other than it being a lot more fun......

(which is something the speed awareness course instructor refused to acknowledge, along with several PHers)

[eccles]

Jazzy Jag said:

MitchT said:

Don't really mind the 50 limit when work is happening but why the hell isn't it suspended when no one is there doing anything?

Exactly!

I drove down the M6 from Liverpool a few weeks ago at 10 pm.
About 20 + miles of 50 limit and not a single worker in sight.

I think quite often it's because the safety features of that bit of road may be compromised.

[robinessex]

So when does 10mph get added to the motorway speed limit then? I get bored at the present one, so it makes sense, as just acknowledged by Highways England

[Alucidnation]

Did you read the article?

[King Herald]

robinessex said:

So when does 10mph get added to the motorway speed limit then? I get bored at the present one, so it makes sense, as just acknowledged by Highways England

Nobody other than trucks drive below 70 at the moment. I can sit at a GPS indicated 70mph and EVERYTHING but big lorries and caravans comes past me.

[IanH755]

eccles said:

I think quite often it's because the safety features of that bit of road may be compromised.

Which is odd because you can drive at 60mph past oncoming traffic on most A Roads with no safety features between you without issue yet as soon as it's a motorway with everyone around you going in the same direction and a barrier between you and the oncoming traffic, the speed has to drop to only 50mph.

The logic of that has always confused me.

[Engineer792]

Ted2 said:

Engineer792 said:

Imo, it will improve safety because, amongst other things, not only is it likely that lane discipline will improve and bunching decrease, but the potential for conflict between cars and hgv's will probably doecrease dramatically.

Edited by Engineer792 on Saturday 21st October 23:28

I don't think it will make any difference whatsoever. Car drivers slow down to 40mph as soon as they see traffic cones irrespective of there being a highly speed limit in force and they'll still continue to do it in lane 2 so that truckers can't get past.

I don't know which motorways you spend your time on, but that's certainly not my experience.

Not trying to get at you, btw

[Ted2]

Engineer792 said:

I don't know which motorways you spend your time on, but that's certainly not my experience.

Not trying to get at you, btw

Predominantly the M60 round Manchester and the M6 in Cheshire. I also drive artics as well as my car so I witness the fkwittery that goes on from both perspectives and regardless of the overiding speed limit, the vast majority of car drivers slow down to 40mph when driving between cones (even less if the width has been reduced to one lane or a contraflow).

[SantaBarbara]

The government are destroying the Motorway network by all the changes and creation of Smart motorways

[twister]

Engineer792 said:

Ted2 said:

Engineer792 said:

Imo, it will improve safety because, amongst other things, not only is it likely that lane discipline will improve and bunching decrease, but the potential for conflict between cars and hgv's will probably doecrease dramatically.

Edited by Engineer792 on Saturday 21st October 23:28

I don't think it will make any difference whatsoever. Car drivers slow down to 40mph as soon as they see traffic cones irrespective of there being a highly speed limit in force and they'll still continue to do it in lane 2 so that truckers can't get past.

I don't know which motorways you spend your time on, but that's certainly not my experience.

Not trying to get at you, btw

Not my experience either driving around SE England - whilst you'll always find some drivers content to cruise along comfortably below the limit, most vehicles are doing around the 50 mark.

Of course, not everyone has satnav, or one which displays current speed, so 50 for one driver may well only be 45-46 for another, but that doesn't mean those slower drivers are deliberately driving slowly, even if that's how it may appear to someone sitting on a GPS-indicated 50ish.

But yes, raising the limit to allow vehicles without speed limiters to maintain a safe distance from HGVs, instead of the present situation where drivers will regularly find themselves with a HGV sat so close to their rear bumper that all you can see in your rear view mirror is radiator grille. Being able to do 55-60 without risk of prosecution would reduce the likelihood of this happening, so less stress for drivers who don't like the idea of having 40 tons of HGV sat a few inches off their back end for mile after mile, and less stress for the HGV drivers who'd then be able to maintain their speed instead of being forced to drop down 5-10MPH from their limited speed in order to match the 45-50MPH being done by the vehicle ahead of them...