Cable Forum - View Single Post - 80mph speed limit 'would increase deaths by 20%'

G UK · 01-01-2012, 05:36

Lets get one thing straight, the roads are dangerous places made more dangerous by idiots driving outside of one or more of, their skill/their vehicles capabilities/the conditions. On the back of that there are several points:

- Speed is a factor in 100% accidents in that, as has been pointed out, the slower you go the lesser the affects to the point that if nobody was moving there would not have been an accident. This is why any quote of speed is a factor in X% of accidents is a joke and just a fallback of lazy accident investigators/reporters. Excessive speed for the conditions is another matter but is not a fixed value and is very difficult to prove (driver/vehicle/road surface/environment etc) despite being noted down as the easy option in many cases where it was not the root cause.

- If the motorway speed limit was 60 we would be having the exact same argument with the same people about why we shouldn't raise it to 70. Taking the lowest common denominator for the standard of driving as many people state, we should have a maximum speed limit of 30 across the board but this would be seen as silly and going overboard due to the impact on peoples day to day lives and the economy.

- Having a blow out or other failure at 50, 60, 70 or 80+ isn't going to make a whole lot of difference to your average driver in most vehicles on the road today as people don't know what to do in such a situation anyway which will lead to loss of control of the vehicle. On a separated carriageway like a motorway all traffic should be flowing within 30mph or so of each other making any impact significantly less than 80mph into a brick wall. If people don't see a stationary object in front of them then they are either not looking ahead or are driving too quick for the conditions at which we come back to my second point and may as well lower all speed limits to 30 to make sure this worst case is survivable.

- Pedestrians should be a none issue in this discussion as they are banned on motorways and people on the hard shoulder are advised to get back behind the guard rail.

As background I have been in an accident caused by a blowout that nearly took my life (classic car, 70mph dual carriageway, no guard rails & trees) and therefore know the risks, I have been on track and taken my vehicles to their and my limits in various conditions. I know my limits, my vehicles limits, how to handle the car under adverse conditions such as certain failures and when control is not possible & I drive under the speed limit when required by conditions like ice and fog.

Several of you however would still paint me as some form of reckless idiot that wants to kill people because I believe some speed limits like those on the motorway could be safely raised.

Speed limits are a blunt force weapon that loses effectiveness as vehicles become more safe, and at speed where the difference between 70 and 80 is significantly less than that between 30 and 40. In my opinion the real answer for further increasing road safety is through Education. Education in vehicle handling in adverse conditions (learning to recognise where the limits are and what to do when you are past them e.g. Finland), reading the road ahead and general courtesy towards other road users.

01-01-2012, 05:36	#93
G UK Inactive Join Date: May 2007 Location: NG15 Age: 42 Services: TIVO, XL TV, XL BB, M Phone Posts: 333	Re: 80mph speed limit 'would increase deaths by 20%' Lets get one thing straight, the roads are dangerous places made more dangerous by idiots driving outside of one or more of, their skill/their vehicles capabilities/the conditions. On the back of that there are several points: - Speed is a factor in 100% accidents in that, as has been pointed out, the slower you go the lesser the affects to the point that if nobody was moving there would not have been an accident. This is why any quote of speed is a factor in X% of accidents is a joke and just a fallback of lazy accident investigators/reporters. Excessive speed for the conditions is another matter but is not a fixed value and is very difficult to prove (driver/vehicle/road surface/environment etc) despite being noted down as the easy option in many cases where it was not the root cause. - If the motorway speed limit was 60 we would be having the exact same argument with the same people about why we shouldn't raise it to 70. Taking the lowest common denominator for the standard of driving as many people state, we should have a maximum speed limit of 30 across the board but this would be seen as silly and going overboard due to the impact on peoples day to day lives and the economy. - Having a blow out or other failure at 50, 60, 70 or 80+ isn't going to make a whole lot of difference to your average driver in most vehicles on the road today as people don't know what to do in such a situation anyway which will lead to loss of control of the vehicle. On a separated carriageway like a motorway all traffic should be flowing within 30mph or so of each other making any impact significantly less than 80mph into a brick wall. If people don't see a stationary object in front of them then they are either not looking ahead or are driving too quick for the conditions at which we come back to my second point and may as well lower all speed limits to 30 to make sure this worst case is survivable. - Pedestrians should be a none issue in this discussion as they are banned on motorways and people on the hard shoulder are advised to get back behind the guard rail. As background I have been in an accident caused by a blowout that nearly took my life (classic car, 70mph dual carriageway, no guard rails & trees) and therefore know the risks, I have been on track and taken my vehicles to their and my limits in various conditions. I know my limits, my vehicles limits, how to handle the car under adverse conditions such as certain failures and when control is not possible & I drive under the speed limit when required by conditions like ice and fog. Several of you however would still paint me as some form of reckless idiot that wants to kill people because I believe some speed limits like those on the motorway could be safely raised. Speed limits are a blunt force weapon that loses effectiveness as vehicles become more safe, and at speed where the difference between 70 and 80 is significantly less than that between 30 and 40. In my opinion the real answer for further increasing road safety is through Education. Education in vehicle handling in adverse conditions (learning to recognise where the limits are and what to do when you are past them e.g. Finland), reading the road ahead and general courtesy towards other road users.