No to lowering speed limit.

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And a month before the legislation becomes active, we'll have the speed merchants "pushing the enforcement envelope", and driving at 90mph as a matter of course.
 

Alun

Guru
Location
Liverpool
Seems they are about to increase the motorway limit to 80mph.Maybe the extra 15% of fuel needed will help push of fuel costs and keep the riff-raff off em.Nutty as a fruit cake as far as I'm concerned. Costs and costs!

Where do you get 15% from?
 

albion

Guru
Location
South Tyneside
Try http://www.mpgforspeed.com

56mph has been the accepted all round efficient speed though 60mph might be optimum these days.No doubt they used official documents for this. Use of air conditioning etc could skew a lower percentage in certain countries.I made the 15% up using personal experience of 70mpg at a constant 60mph and stats I've seen over the years.



If you look at the graph you will see that the smaller modern cars appear to lose a good 20%.


And this is striking. "The old national speed limit of 55 mph was created to address the energy crisis in the early 1970's - not safety purposes (although it did help safety)."




Yet there is now both an energy crisis and a major recession.
 

Alun

Guru
Location
Liverpool
Whilst I accept that cars use more fuel at higher speeds I think 20% is overstating the case, and can see why you "made the 15% up".

The national speed limit in Britain was reduced to 50 in the early 1970's, and not 55. Your link is to a US site!
 

albion

Guru
Location
South Tyneside
Maybe it is more like 15%. It looked more at a glance.

That calculator certainly works at 15% and as said, discounting air conditioning which is used more in the US it may just be more.
 

gavroche

Getting old but not past it
Location
North Wales
I think there should be no speed limit on the motorway. After all, it is the safest road to be on. Fuel consumption is totally irrelevant as it is the driver who pays the bill so the driver can decide how much fuel he wants to burn.
As for the environment, I have never believed in all that for cars. Cars are a lot cleaner now than years ago. Also, the air in our cities is also cleaner ( remember London in pre 60's years?), the rivers are cleaner and so on, so lets stop going on about "saving the planet". The planet will survive with or without humans.
80mph is a good start, in line with the rest of Europe for a change. As for safety, it will make no difference as no-one is forced to drive at 80, it is your own choice!
The figures for road fatalities in France have gone down this year compared to last year or any other years. ( heard on French radio).Why? because drivers are better educated , more police to enforce the law and the price of fuel has also helped in drivers voluntarely reducing their speed.
 

pshore

Well-Known Member
As for the environment, I have never believed in all that for cars. Cars are a lot cleaner now than years ago. Also, the air in our cities is also cleaner ( remember London in pre 60's years?), the rivers are cleaner and so on, so lets stop going on about "saving the planet". The planet will survive with or without humans.

What is your opinion on something like the BP Gulf of Mexico disaster ?
 

machew

Veteran
The only reason that the GOV is pushing this is that it is popular with the voters and doesn't cost anything, in fact it may raise money with the higher fuel usage. But that is just my cynical opinion.
 

gavroche

Getting old but not past it
Location
North Wales
What is your opinion on something like the BP Gulf of Mexico disaster ?
Crude oil is a natural product so it will clear itself with time. Anyway, accidents in nature also happen, volcanoes, typhoons....stop blaming humans for all the wrongs.
 

al78

Guru
Location
Horsham
Crude oil is a natural product so it will clear itself with time. Anyway, accidents in nature also happen, volcanoes, typhoons....stop blaming humans for all the wrongs.

That is like trivializing arson by saying forest fires happen naturally.

Or trivializing murder because people die of all sorts of things anyway.

:rolleyes:

BTW, volcanoes are essential for life on earth.
 

albion

Guru
Location
South Tyneside
[QUOTE 1543095"]
Of course it is. Add in the "we're the green government", pretending that they're waymakers when in fact they're behind the voters, and it's nauseating.
[/quote]I have to admit that this government is one of the cleverest I have seen. They are getting the better of the Lib Dems at every tricky turn too.





I have my doubts about the clever populism being of any use whatsoever for Britain.
 

Bad Company

Very Old Person
Location
East Anglia
[QUOTE 1543085"]
And don't forget that average speed cameras are also fixed. And, as Tony the Tiger says, they're ggggreat.[/quote]

Especially for motorcyclists who can ignore as the cameras are forward facing and motorbikes do not have front number plates.
 
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