Speed limits what should they be?

[waynne]

If you were re-writing the highway code what speed limits would you put and would they be weather, car or driver skill dependent? Are there any other traffic laws you would change or add? Do you think higher speed limits would reduce congestion? What about banning lorries at weekends?

[Pixel]

I'm not sure how you could enforce rules based on a drivers age or experience, perhaps new driver should not be allowed to go over certain speeds but again, it would be pretty hard to enforce this...

Parking Bays should be 10mph.
Built up areas such as streets and schools should be 20mph, maybe 30.
Main roads with houses should be 30.
Main roads without houses should be 40 but 60 in some cases.
Dual Carriage ways should be 60-70.
Motorways should be 80-90.

[Pixel]

Id also like one road reserved for me with no speed limit

[blacklineninja]

Getting lorries off the roads and back onto the railways and canals would help out no end. Fine on motorways, but when they start using B roads it just causes chaos for everybody.

Wide open roads with no houses where you can see for miles should all be 70mph, and only employ speed cameras in genuine accident blackspots with plenty of visible warnings about the exact nature of the hazard present. That way, people would be more likely to respect them and any necessarily enforced lower speed limit.

[Pixel]

Yeah but Speed Cameras are all about money and if I was them (i.e. money grabbing bastards) then I would lower the point penalty for caught speeding to 1 point (from 3) or maybe even 0 points (if less than 45mph on a 30mph camera). Most people wont care about the fine and they will be minted!

[HDi fun]

Coach drivers are the worst, in my opinion. I've been driving twenty years and, having covered getting on for a million miles the coach drivers are stil those that annoy most.

[pgarner]

Originally Posted by blacklineninja

Getting lorries off the roads and back onto the railways and canals would help out no end. Fine on motorways, but when they start using B roads it just causes chaos for everybody.

blackninja do you use high street shops or supermarket for shopping clothes etc. because if you take lorries off the road then were all buggered .railways and canels dont go near a lot of towns. along with everything else t hats hauled like petrol (or des) how would it get to its final destination. lorries themselves are not the problem its the fact they are limited

anybody who thinks lorries are the main problem look back years to when we had the fuel crisis when lorries drivers refused to work, travelled at slow speed. the country came to a standstill supermarkets had no basic foods milk bread etc

[xfirebladex]

I think in most cases, the speed limits in place are perfectly suitable for the road. The 70mph on motorways is fine and *most* will use common sense to determine what speed they should travel at, with 70 being a sort of *safe* speed with a bit of buffer.

However there are some rather straight roads near where I live that are and should be 30mph due to the houses, parks and pavements that they run alongside of. The wide, straight road is often an attraction for racers and accidents happen. One of the roads has employed cameras on both sides which has helped immensly.

I think there just needs to be better training on control and stopping and a realisation of just how long it takes to stop a car for the average person. I don't know if increasing speed limits will reduce congestion, though I remember a sketch by a comedian I don't remember who pondered the effect of placing the temporary speed restrictions on motorways during accidents/etc. to 70 instead of 40 so that instead of slowing down, everyone would just zip past. Perhaps they should just make lorries less tall and more stable so they wouldn't always overturn themselves.

Are there speed limits on water and in the air?

[Rudders666]

Originally Posted by Pixel

I'm not sure how you could enforce rules based on a drivers age or experience, perhaps new driver should not be allowed to go over certain speeds but again, it would be pretty hard to enforce this...

Parking Bays should be 10mph.
Built up areas such as streets and schools should be 20mph, maybe 30.
Main roads with houses should be 30.
Main roads without houses should be 40 but 60 in some cases.
Dual Carriage ways should be 60-70.
Motorways should be 80-90.

so exactly the same as it is now but with slightly more motorway speed? Hardly any point.

[blacklineninja]

blackninja do you use high street shops or supermarket for shopping clothes etc. because if you take lorries off the road then were all buggered .railways and canels dont go near a lot of towns. along with everything else t hats hauled like petrol (or des) how would it get to its final destination. lorries themselves are not the problem its the fact they are limited

I didn't say take all lorries off of the road, but while it is true that there are a lot of towns off the railway or canal lines there are also a lot of towns with rail and canal lines running smack bang through the middle, not being used. This could be a really good method for reducing congestion and pollution and for getting money back into the railways to pay for better services for the normal person who just wants to get to work, on time, for once.

And with regard to High Street shops, is a full bore 18 wheeler really needed for everything? In a lot of cases, a LWB Transit with a localised route could do the job quicker and easier and more economically.