Is the pandemic cycling craze here to stay?

[Lovacott]

Some are 70mph, but I don't know of any rural roads with a limit below 60mph.

I wish they'd put some limits on some of the rural roads around here.

Boy racers in their tarted up Fiestas love going out for a hooning session up the narrow lanes in the summer.

I saw a couple on one lane a few months back who were using walkie talkies to let each other know when the road was clear so that they could drive a stretch with blind bends without having to slow down.

Normal drivers would probably do the same lane with three blind bends at about 25mph max. These guys were doing the full sixty.

I did have one guy hurtling towards me last week on a straight stretch. When he saw my three lights, he must have assumed I was a car because he slammed on his anchors. Took him an age to come to a halt on the wet gravel.

If it had been summer, he probably wouldn't have bothered trying to stop and would have forced me into the hedgerow.

 

[Lovacott]

A lower speed limit normally means more cars fit because the stopping distances decrease (which is how variable speed limit zones work), so how can it have increased congestion?
They need catching and removing from the roads before they hurt or kill someone. If lower limits means they out themselves, great!

The trouble with speed limits in the UK, is that they are rarely enforced.

Speed cameras are mainly fixed and everybody knows where they are.

There was one local to me which was placed at the bottom of a hill behind a tree in a 30mph zone.

Everybody local knew it was there but the tourists who flock here in the summer had no idea and always got caught.

Highways ended up getting so many complaints from holiday makers that they ended up moving it away from the tree so it could be clearly seen.

So now, people brake for the camera, go past at 30mph and then speed up to 50 again along the remaining half mile of 30mph road.

Over in places like Australia, they have traffic enforcement officers hiding in bushes or old looking cars parked on the side of the road with a Gatso fitted inside. Penalty points are doubled for long weekends and from Christmas Eve to January 2nd.

As a consequence, in the cities themselves, people tend to obey the limits (It's a different story in the sticks though).

 

[matticus]

I've ALWAYS said that speed limits are a very blunt instrument (e.g. 69mph being legal on many roads despite monsoon conditions in the dark).
There are probably roads where they help more than others, and as recent posts show, there are enforcement/compliance issues aplenty.
Safety can probably be improved by different measures in a lot of places.

But in general, 40 is better than 60 on a twisty road with no pavements.

 

[Gunk]

The trouble with speed limits in the UK, is that they are rarely enforced.

Speed cameras are mainly fixed and everybody knows where they are.

There was one local to me which was placed at the bottom of a hill behind a tree in a 30mph zone.

Everybody local knew it was there but the tourists who flock here in the summer had no idea and always got caught.

Highways ended up getting so many complaints from holiday makers that they ended up moving it away from the tree so it could be clearly seen.

So now, people brake for the camera, go past at 30mph and then speed up to 50 again along the remaining half mile of 30mph road.

Over in places like Australia, they have traffic enforcement officers hiding in bushes or old looking cars parked on the side of the road with a Gatso fitted inside. Penalty points are doubled for long weekends and from Christmas Eve to January 2nd.

As a consequence, in the cities themselves, people tend to obey the limits (It's a different story in the sticks though).

We live on a road which leads into the City, it should be 30 and there was yet another fatality late last year, very few drivers take any notice of the speed limit and since lock down speeds have definitely increased

 

[Lovacott]

We live on a road which leads into the City, it should be 30 and there was yet another fatality late last year, very few drivers take any notice of the speed limit and since lock down speeds have definitely increased

Traffic is a great moderator of speed. I don't think I've ever once gone over 30mph on the clockwise stretch of the M25 between the M3 and the M4.

That's one of the things I liked about city commuting. In traffic, most of the time I was going faster than the cars.

 

[Lovacott]

I've ALWAYS said that speed limits are a very blunt instrument (e.g. 69mph being legal on many roads despite monsoon conditions in the dark).
There are probably roads where they help more than others, and as recent posts show, there are enforcement/compliance issues aplenty.
Safety can probably be improved by different measures in a lot of places.

But in general, 40 is better than 60 on a twisty road with no pavements.

On the A303 Devon to London road, traffic slows right down for a mile or so either side of Stonehenge. You only need one car to slow down whilst the missus takes a piccy and the whole road grinds to a halt.

So instead of speed cameras and signs, why don't we put ancient monuments in speeding hot spots?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Plus giant mirrors that only flip up if you’re driving slower than speed limit. So looks like you are about to have a head on.

 

[Lovacott]

Brilliant idea.

Another possibility would be wrecked cars. Everyone loves to slow down and get a good look at a crash.

A bunch of flowers, big flat spliff and five empty Stella cans under a lamp post. Plus a bit of red paint on the road for added drama.

That'd do it.

 

[mjr]

Highways ended up getting so many complaints from holiday makers that they ended up moving it away from the tree so it could be clearly seen.

So now, people brake for the camera, go past at 30mph and then speed up to 50 again along the remaining half mile of 30mph road.

Council error. Replace council and try again.

More seriously, that is not a great argument against speed limits.

 

[Lovacott]

Council error. Replace council and try again.

More seriously, that is not a great argument against speed limits.

I love fixed speed cameras with signs 200 yards in advance.

They force you to slow down on the stretch of road that you need to be driving on slowly. However, the fact that they are so well publicised, lets you get away with murder on the stretches where there are no cameras.

Where I work, all of our lorries are fitted with intelligent sat nav governed speed limiters.

Obvious, but they should be mandatory in all vehicles.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

And that’s the rub. The tech exists now to force cars to stick to limits. So why not make it mandatory in new cars from next year?

 

[mjr]

And that’s the rub. The tech exists now to force cars to stick to limits. So why not make it mandatory in new cars from next year?

No reason except cost, but we will still need enforcement to detect and punish those who disable the tech.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

No reason except cost, but we will still need enforcement to detect and punish those who disable the tech.

Enforcement easily done via tech recording mileage as well as odometer. At MOT if they differ then instant 24 month ban.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

There seems to be a lot of people here all in favour of enforcement against motorists. I'd like to see a lot more enforcement action against idiot cyclists, which means a significant proportion of cyclists. You know the ones who descend at breakneck speeds, buzz other cyclists and pedestrians, ride without lights, and generally act like they can behave however they want, but think everybody else should have a load of rules to abide by.

 

[classic33]

There seems to be a lot of people here all in favour of enforcement against motorists. I'd like to see a lot more enforcement action against idiot cyclists, which means a significant proportion of cyclists. You know the ones who descend at breakneck speeds, buzz other cyclists and pedestrians, ride without lights, and generally act like they can behave however they want, but think everybody else should have a load of rules to abide by.

At present a speedometer isn't a legal requirement on a pedal cycle. How does the cyclist judge their speed if they don't have one fitted?

As far as pavement riders are concerned, can we concentrate on pavement parkers/drivers at the same time.