Are speed limits actually too low? Police article
Discussion
Very interesting
https://priceonomics.com/is-every-speed-limit-too-...
Suggests bulk of drivers are actually capable of driving safely, and if you filter out the few idiots people tend to drive at safe speeds.
https://priceonomics.com/is-every-speed-limit-too-...
Suggests bulk of drivers are actually capable of driving safely, and if you filter out the few idiots people tend to drive at safe speeds.
Jazzy Jag said:
"OMG, won't somebody, please think of the children / Polar bears / planet.?"
"It's the law !"
/sarcasm
As much as that is sarcasm, speed makes most of the public very emotive, especially in their home area. You can ask a pedestrian how fast a car travelling at 30mph in a 30mph zone is going and most of them will overestimate. Ask them the same question on their own road and the speed will be wildly overestimated."It's the law !"
/sarcasm
Jazzy Jag said:
"OMG, won't somebody, please think of the children / Polar bears / planet.?"
This does seem to be the justification a lot of the time. Despite guidance on setting speed limits stating that it should be 'evidence led' - when I enquired about a drop in speed limit near me that was supposedly on 'safety grounds' - no evidence was offered to justify why it was required, nor any evidence that it had been effective.
The drop seems to have been implemented due to pressure from the parish council (one of whom has a house which fronts this road) who went against advice from the county council who had deemed the old speed limit appropriate.
Edited by Moonhawk on Sunday 30th April 09:29
t: The greatest scams on Earth revealed". Oh well.TooMany2cvs said:
Engineer792 said:
TooMany2cvs said:
Michigan might be a bit different to the UK.
I trust that's not meant to be a glib dismissal of the article
I seem to recall a comment from somewhere - that may well be completely apocryphal, of course - that when they introduced the motorway speed limit, it cut down on how many people were going properly fast, but the average speed of traffic increased, as people felt that's the speed they were "supposed" to drive at.
It's something that has been increasingly bugging me, with speed limits being set far too low. It also affects particularly new build or 'improved' roads. Take the new South Bristol link road, 40 mph limit! for a brand new road. Drove around Cannington near Bridgewater where they have built a new bypass to service Hinkley Point, a completely empty well built bypass with seperate cycle/pedestrian paths again set at 40 mph. I would argue for both to be atleast 50 mph and the latter NSL.
The M32 has had a 40 mph stretch now for three years while 'barrier repairs' were being planned. Now they are repairing them but the 40 mph is to stay, on a motorway, crazy. The 85th percenile speed was 50ish. At night it is just an empty motorway. Compliance is appaling and they put up SPECS before works began, 6000 people were caught speeding in 2 weeks. If that doesn't tell you that the limit is too low I don't know what will. It completely desentisises people to hazards.
Councils have to consult on changes so I'd encourage eveyrone to keep an eye out on their council's website to see what is being proposed and you can then respond accordingly. Unfortunately BRAKE etc.. are very vocal.
The M32 has had a 40 mph stretch now for three years while 'barrier repairs' were being planned. Now they are repairing them but the 40 mph is to stay, on a motorway, crazy. The 85th percenile speed was 50ish. At night it is just an empty motorway. Compliance is appaling and they put up SPECS before works began, 6000 people were caught speeding in 2 weeks. If that doesn't tell you that the limit is too low I don't know what will. It completely desentisises people to hazards.
Councils have to consult on changes so I'd encourage eveyrone to keep an eye out on their council's website to see what is being proposed and you can then respond accordingly. Unfortunately BRAKE etc.. are very vocal.
CubanPete said:
Very interesting
https://priceonomics.com/is-every-speed-limit-too-...
Suggests bulk of drivers are actually capable of driving safely, and if you filter out the few idiots people tend to drive at safe speeds.
The article is three years old and advocates using the 85% rule to set speed limits.https://priceonomics.com/is-every-speed-limit-too-...
Suggests bulk of drivers are actually capable of driving safely, and if you filter out the few idiots people tend to drive at safe speeds.
Good to see US coppers using such a practical approach to road safety.
Such an evidence-based approach hasn't been used in the UK for many years.
Personally I like the Comment by the U.S Dept of Transportation. “Arbitrary, unrealistic and non uniform speed limits have created a socially acceptable disregard for speed limits.”
And for groups like BRAKE that is a problem. They want to make speeding as Socially unacceptable like Drink Driving. However Unlike the drunk a "Speeder" does not necessarily crash. In fact they tend to be safer than some drivers. The road outside my village now has had more accidents since limits were dropped. Because some drivers assume that it's safer because it's slower and take more risks.
And for groups like BRAKE that is a problem. They want to make speeding as Socially unacceptable like Drink Driving. However Unlike the drunk a "Speeder" does not necessarily crash. In fact they tend to be safer than some drivers. The road outside my village now has had more accidents since limits were dropped. Because some drivers assume that it's safer because it's slower and take more risks.
telecat said:
Personally I like the Comment by the U.S Dept of Transportation. “Arbitrary, unrealistic and non uniform speed limits have created a socially acceptable disregard for speed limits.”
And for groups like BRAKE that is a problem. They want to make speeding as Socially unacceptable like Drink Driving. However Unlike the drunk a "Speeder" does not necessarily crash. In fact they tend to be safer than some drivers. The road outside my village now has had more accidents since limits were dropped. Because some drivers assume that it's safer because it's slower and take more risks.
So shall we start something called ACCERELATE and shout louder than BRAKE? It might work. And for groups like BRAKE that is a problem. They want to make speeding as Socially unacceptable like Drink Driving. However Unlike the drunk a "Speeder" does not necessarily crash. In fact they tend to be safer than some drivers. The road outside my village now has had more accidents since limits were dropped. Because some drivers assume that it's safer because it's slower and take more risks.
telecat said:
And for groups like BRAKE that is a problem. They want to make speeding as Socially unacceptable like Drink Driving. However Unlike the drunk a "Speeder" does not necessarily crash. In fact they tend to be safer than some drivers. The road outside my village now has had more accidents since limits were dropped. Because some drivers assume that it's safer because it's slower and take more risks.
It's all very well to complain about pressure groups dedicated to lower speed limit but that's a bit like complaining about losing at football when the other team simply played better. The problem the anti-speed-limits side of the argument have is that their arguments are weak.telecat said:
Personally I like the Comment by the U.S Dept of Transportation. “Arbitrary, unrealistic and non uniform speed limits have created a socially acceptable disregard for speed limits.”
And for groups like BRAKE that is a problem. They want to make speeding as Socially unacceptable like Drink Driving. However Unlike the drunk a "Speeder" does not necessarily crash. In fact they tend to be safer than some drivers. The road outside my village now has had more accidents since limits were dropped. Because some drivers assume that it's safer because it's slower and take more risks.
Drunks don't necessarily crash.And for groups like BRAKE that is a problem. They want to make speeding as Socially unacceptable like Drink Driving. However Unlike the drunk a "Speeder" does not necessarily crash. In fact they tend to be safer than some drivers. The road outside my village now has had more accidents since limits were dropped. Because some drivers assume that it's safer because it's slower and take more risks.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff