Somethng Different

[crofter]

One of the things that made this forum "buzz" for me, was the chat items that used to prompt light hearted responces.

Thought I would throw in this ball and see how,or if, it bounces.

Seen on another site someone suggesting that all cars should be limited to 80mph.

Any thoughts,anybody??????

Del

[Guest]

Would be fine for me, but only if they set up a minimum speed as well - Friday cruise control set to 70 inside line/lane 1 came roaring up behind a car tootaling along at approx 40mph, amazing how quick you come up behind them when thay are doing that speed and you have to realise and take avoiding action in that time frame.

Gus

[Davrav]

Just ban Range Rovers :angry2:

[flyboyprowler]

Oh YES!!!!!

No problem with the 80 max, but ban the middle lane dawdlers, the "weavers" and people who leave their wipers on when its NOT raining, AND people who use their rear fog lights when its not really foggy!! Better NUKE tail gaters while were at it, and WOW I feel better for that!!

[cruella]

I would be happy with 80mph; but then I am happy with 70mph!

I'm afraid I am one of those inside lane pootlers at approximately 60mph,only going up to the speed limit when the lane ahead is clear and to overtake - suits me fine as it is. :) Don't get me wrong, I have gone a LOT faster, but age seems to be having an adverse effect on my bravery!

I thought there was a minimum suggested speed limit on motorways of 50mph - or am I mistaken? Quite possible as I haven't perused the Highway Code since I passed my test, yonks ago!

[DjRav]

I drive a speed limited van (70mph). It's amazing the effect it has on your driving- I have to plan an overtake, taking into account what I think everyone else around me is doing in order to be safe and not to cause obstruction.

Also on a long journey it's amazing when, foot to the floor- doing exactly 70, the number of cars that I overtake when theyre doing 60, only to be overtaken by them doing 80, five minutes later! (becomes a little boring after you've overtaken the exact same car three times though! I don't think they even know they're doing it!)

Seriously though, (with Satnav giving the eta), I drive vehicles with and without limiters and it hardly makes any difference to my journey times.

Dave

[Manxrav]

Open limit on island here but these bits of road are getting more and more restricted. I must admit I got stopped the other day, 30 mile limit, doing 39 mph. Trembling I pleaded guilty and was ever so sorry the lovely Traffic officer took pity on me and cautioned me and told me to slow down. I since have not driven above 30 mph in a 30 and lifted my left foot abit. There is a God!!!!!!!

Regards Slowly does it Clare

[Joylove]

I'd rather they introduced the American systems of passing on the left on the motorway and turning left on red lights when safe.

Speed doesn't cause accidents, inappropriate speed for the roads and conditions does.

[DjRav]

Open limit on island here but these bits of road are getting more and more restricted. I must admit I got stopped the other day, 30 mile limit, doing 39 mph. Trembling I pleaded guilty and was ever so sorry the lovely Traffic officer took pity on me and cautioned me and told me to slow down. I since have not driven above 30 mph in a 30 and lifted my left foot abit. There is a God!!!!!!!

Regards Slowly does it Clare

What's your clutch got to do with it. Lol!

Dave

[DjRav]

I'd rather they introduced the American systems of passing on the left on the motorway and turning left on red lights when safe.

Speed doesn't cause accidents, inappropriate speed for the roads and conditions does.

American system works a dream (re motorways). Seems a lot calmer. It balances the traffic across the lanes, unlike here all queing behind each other trying to get past some numpty doing 50 in the middle!

Dave

[firemac]

I disagree completely with such a proposal & not because I want to drive everywhere as if my ***** was on fire. There are enough control freaks & do-gooders in the world who believe that they have a God-given right to tell everyone else what to do, how to live, etc.

When I'm king, all these b**tards will be lined up and shot. And if that doesn't work then I'll have to take really tough measures!!

[Joylove]

American system works a dream (re motorways). Seems a lot calmer. It balances the traffic across the lanes, unlike here all queing behind each other trying to get past some numpty doing 50 in the middle!

Dave

Absolutely, I've found I can drive up to 4 hours without having to stop due to the lower stress.

Our roads are far narrower than theirs and with fewer lanes; and reducing our road capacity by over 50% because of middle lane morons means longer journey times, more frustration and more risk of accidents from weaving.

[Hoovie]

I drive a speed limited van (70mph). It's amazing the effect it has on your driving- I have to plan an overtake, taking into account what I think everyone else around me is doing in order to be safe and not to cause obstruction.

Also on a long journey it's amazing when, foot to the floor- doing exactly 70, the number of cars that I overtake when theyre doing 60, only to be overtaken by them doing 80, five minutes later! (becomes a little boring after you've overtaken the exact same car three times though! I don't think they even know they're doing it!

I know what you mean, Dave.

Last trip back home from "Down Sarf", I was going up the M6 and had the cruise control on, so was set at a steady speed (about indicated 75 I think) for oh, maybe 70 miles around the Cumbria bit of the M-way.

Had one guy in a Passat who insisted on overtaking me, then pulled in in front of me and then slowed a bit so then going slower . So I then moved over to middle lane to overtake him - still at my constant speed and not touching any controls - so of course, as I passed him, he HAD to pass me again! carried on like this for maybe 50 miles

Don't think he had a clue how fast he was ever going, just obviously had a thing about being overtaken by a superior vehicle

[Manxrav]

Sorry Dj it was my right foot not left. Doooh

Regards Clare

[anchorman]

The US system is good. What is bad is trucks bowling up behind you at 70+ mph. The Euro limit of 56 is far safer and knowing how energy squares up with speed that is a good law. Do I think an 80 law is necessary? Well higher than 80 is safe in the right conditions but I see idiots trying to do it when the motorway is full of cars doing 70 and then it becomes dangerous and selfish. The other consideration is fuel. The Germans chase round at 100 mph routinely but a car doing 100 is not using twice as much fuel as one doing 50 it is using about 4 or 5 times as much and those hypocrites are always trying to convince us what green principles they have.

I think road fund license should be banned and applied to fuel at quite a high rate. £3 a litre (including the fuel) is not out of the way and if you have a small car with low fuel consumption you will pay less. If you have a big car or tear@rse about you will pay more. It would also stop road fund license dodgers - no fuel no move. What is left over should pay for a proper integrated transport system and not bolster the incompetent loonies that run this country.

That should put the cat amonst the pigeons. Where's my kevlar vest..........................

[Manxrav]

Absolutely spot on Don, a lot fairer system putting Excise duty into the price of Fuel.

Regards Clare

[crofter]

Would there not have to be a special lanes to allow you to turn left on Red and have we room for them ?

I always understood that some of the roads over there had lower max limits than we have.

When I used to do long trips collecting/delivering cars with cc, I got bored and switched it off after a while as I felt it made my concentration waver.

There is a sort of minimum speed tho' not stated as such by banning certain types of vehicles off our M-ways.

As for there being a law against going slow on M-ways I would sooner come up behind a large slow moving load on there than anywhere else !

Was'nt the passing/repassing thing, reported in the papers in the past, practiced by some idiots as some sort of game just to see if they could rile the other driver.

Another trick that used to be played was pulling alongside, trucks mainly, and making out there was something wrong with it !

Road tax on fuel would certainly have its benefits,I just wish the monies collected was spent where it was supposed to be. Hang on a minute,would that mean I would have to take the mower down to fill it up ?

Del

PS Naughty girl Clare,firstly for being caught and secondly using your feminine wiles on him (for this read jealous)

[firemac]

I think road fund license should be banned and applied to fuel at quite a high rate. £3 a litre (including the fuel) is not out of the way and if you have a small car with low fuel consumption you will pay less. If you have a big car or tear@rse about you will pay more. It would also stop road fund license dodgers - no fuel no move. What is left over should pay for a proper integrated transport system and not bolster the incompetent loonies that run this country.

That should put the cat amonst the pigeons. Where's my kevlar vest..........................

All very logical, Don, and that is the way that many countries do it, including the US, as far as I recall. It works there & is kept at a sensible level (£3 per litre?! What are you on, man?) due to the underlying acceptance amongst the population & the politicians that cars & private transport are good things. Whereas, over here, our politicians are mostly complete idiots who have little if any experience of real life, are mostly urban luvvies who don't or won't drive, are exponents of the flawed global warming b*llsh*t and who think they have the God-given right to tell the rest of us what to do. Give these b*st*rds the sort of prerogative that you are suggesting and it won't be long before £3 per litre will seem cheap by comparison. No offence, but do you still believe in Santa Claus as well?

Anyway, why should petrol/diesel be taxed at all? Certainly not at the stupidly punitive rates applied in Europe? No surprise that the pilgrim fathers bailed out all those years ago; the politics of envy still thrive in the old countries just as they did back then.

[Gods_gift]

Doing about 20,000 miles a year the problems with UK roads are:

A: Trucks: all trucks are limited to 56 miles an hour so why do they need to overtake? Legally they should be banned from the middle lanes of motorway unless over taking abnormal loads they should also be banned from overtaking on hills and A roads.

B: Dual Lane A roads and Motorways: A roads like the A1, A34, A43, A69 should be turned into truck routes similiar to the US and motorways for cars only where possible. Make the left lane on A roads and motorways dedicated for trucks only.

C: Road building. More roads need to be upgraded to dual lane A roads or from A roads to motorways. Roads like A1, A14, A34, A43, A404, A69 need to be upgraded to either dual lane or motorway status. A prime example is A1 to scotland being single lane!? An the A34/A43 should be a motorway extending from the M1 road to the M4 crossing the M40.

D: minimum speed limit encorced as well as maximum: the minimum speed limit should be enforced on motorways and it should be set to 60 on the middle an outer lane also should be a 3 strike rule if your caught going slower than this you should be forced to have a medical and retake your driving test. I also think 90 in a modern car is acceptable in the fast lane of a motorway in dry conditions.

E: driving to the conditions: in france one of the few things they have right is different speed limits for different weather conditions so on a motorway 90 if dry and 75 if wet.

[Tony Barnsley]

Get Trucks off the road and onto rail. When building a new road or upgrading one that trucks are going to use (like the A14 - Ends at one of the biggest container ports in the world) put a flaming rail line down the middle

Actually just getting trucks off the roads between 07:00 and 10:00 and 16:00 and 19:00 would be a big plus

[Hoovie]

Get Trucks off the road and onto rail. When building a new road or upgrading one that trucks are going to use (like the A14 - Ends at one of the biggest container ports in the world) put a flaming rail line down the middle

Actually just getting trucks off the roads between 07:00 and 10:00 and 16:00 and 19:00 would be a big plus

Not sure if it is still the case, but in Germany Lorrys were banned from the road between 12 Noon on Saturday until Monday morning and it was always odd - and refreshing - to see clearer roads at the weekends there.

My uncle used to try and get as close to home as possible, but come Saturday near noon, he would have to find a lorry park and leave his truck there and my Aunty would have to drive over and pick him up as this rule was VERY strictly enforced.

I was reminded of this driving down south on the Jubilee Bank Holiday and was wondering why on earth there were so many trucks on the roads that day!

What is wrong with this country that there seems to be a need to have EVERYTHING running 24/7 ?!

[redlew]

I understand that speedos can be out by 10% so that when you think you are doing 70 you might be going at 63 and another person who thinks they are also doing 70 is doing 77. That said I believe that they are more likely to underread (ie 63 in example above).

German autobahn lane discipline is normally very good though it is scary when you are passing someone at 90 on a dual lane section and someone cmomes up behind at 120 with hands off wheel gesticulating you to get out of the way.

If the motorway speed limit does become 80, any reason why top speed shouldn't be regulated on a car to a true 80?

[Gods_gift]

Every car would need a gps regulator it would cost a fortune

[Hoovie]

I have never understood why Car speedos are NOT accurate to within 1MPH and here is the reason for saying that ...

I have in my RAV a dash speedo, a speed readout from the EOBD Reader (Scanguage II) and a GPS Readout ...

the EODB Readout matches the GPS Readout within 1MPH - and the same was true of my Nissan Qashqai before the RAV4 and the RAV4 I had before the Qashqai - so WHY is not the EOBD info used to drive the dash speedo info instead of some antiquated and obsolete device?

[flyboyprowler]

On a standard car, the indicated speed will always be less than the actual speed, usually 3 - 4 mph lower. Changes to wheel size and tyres can change this, but the only way you can easily find what speed your car is doing, is to compare it to a sat nav.

The continentals have space on their side. Our little island is over crowded, with people on roads, always seemingly desperate to get to their destination as fast as possible. In my area of Spain, although there is speeding, it is nothing like here, and the attitude seems a lot more relaxed. In towns it can almost be TOO slow, but hey, there generally is no hurry.

We are among the most expensive fuel buyers is Europe, and although as a low user in UK, I would be happy with the £ 3.00 litre, but would the penalties to industry and road transport, in the current economic climate, be acceptable?

Gods-gift-- Great idea's, but until there is a way to enforce the idea's, ie a decent traffic police force, then you can never catch the baddies!!