Is the pandemic cycling craze here to stay?

[Lovacott]

Agree that Holland is a tin pot country but the topography is rather different to the UK.

A lot of my workmates dusted off their bikes during lockdown number one and most of them loved it apart from the "bloody hills".

 

[snorri]

Not all rural roads are NSL

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

 

[SGG on a bike]

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

Quite a few in North Suffolk/ Norfolk now with 40/50 limits. It's very tedious sometimes trying to get around for work, especially if it's holiday season with overcrowded roads. Bearing in mind I'm two hours drive away from the nearest motorway in any direction, I don't have too much of an issue with 60 nsl of rural roads. You'd be doing well to get anywhere close to that.

 

[mjr]

The problem with PHEVs is it's very easy to not charge the battery from the mains supply overnight: "Meh, it's too cold out there, I'll charge it another day". Unless one is disciplined to charge the vehicle.

Don't you just plug it in when you get home and remote control the charging?

 

[mjr]

Quite a few in North Suffolk/ Norfolk now with 40/50 limits. It's very tedious sometimes trying to get around for work, especially if it's holiday season with overcrowded roads. Bearing in mind I'm two hours drive away from the nearest motorway in any direction, I don't have too much of an issue with 60 nsl of rural roads. You'd be doing well to get anywhere close to that.

Bizarrely, the A/B roads are getting 40 and 50 limits while the C and unclassified roads are being left at 60, which is insane and having predictable results with satnavs directing more and more drivers onto wider C roads to avoid parallel 40/50mph A roads!

This should be fixed nationally by updating the National Speed Limit to 40mph for unlined unclassified roads, not expensively by making highways departments slowly issue hundreds or thousands of traffic regulation orders.

 

[snorri]

Quite a few in North Suffolk/ Norfolk now with 40/50 limits...................................................., I don't have too much of an issue with 60 nsl of rural roads. You'd be doing well to get anywhere close to that.

Interesting!
It's the drivers trying to maintain 60 on roads where 40 would be more appropriate that trouble me.

 

[matticus]

Interesting!
It's the drivers trying to maintain 60 on roads where 40 would be more appropriate that trouble me.

I'd like to think that is the reason for some councils installing 40 limits :-)

 

[Johnno260]

Interesting!
It's the drivers trying to maintain 60 on roads where 40 would be more appropriate that trouble me.

I live rurally and people try to do 60 on roads that aren’t suitable for the limit, funny thing is people see the limits as the target.

I live on a 90 degree bend, my neighbour got so pissed with people coming through his fence he got permission and put bollards and and embankment in front of them, least now if they do it they just turn themselves into a grease stain, then again it didn’t stop the idiot in a Range Rover coming round the corner at speed while I was entering my drive way, he argued the toss that he wasn’t speeding, but swerving crossing a grass verge, pathway, and smashing a telegraph pole and coming to a stop about 15 meters up the road says otherwise.

Then getting agressive with me when I went to see if he was ok, so I told him to take hike, called the old bill and let him pick up the pieces of his car.

I have complained about the road and corner loads but parish council said unless someone is killed they won’t do anything about it.

 

[mjr]

I have complained about the road and corner loads but parish council said unless someone is killed they won’t do anything about it.

If England, then the roads are for the county council to fix and the law stops other councils messing with it. All a parish council can do there is repair the verge and stop dogs shooting on it, pretty much.

 

[SGG on a bike]

Interesting!
It's the drivers trying to maintain 60 on roads where 40 would be more appropriate that trouble me.

Totally agree. I fear a similar phenomenon to our experience with a 20 limit in our village would occur where speeds have actually increased (according to the parish council/community speedwatch guys). It’s reported that it’s largely due to drivers assuming the vehicles coming towards them are going more slowly and accelerating to bets them to the gap to save waiting. The other issue is policing it, of course.

A rural “A” road not far from here used to be a 60 Nsl and has always been known for regular accidents. A few years ago it went down to 50. No reduction in accidents. Last year, reduced again to 40. Still no reduction in accidents (as reported by local authorities). The only thing that’s happened is an increase in congestion on that stretch of road, frustrated drivers and some attempting stupid overtakes that they would never have done with the higher limit and vehicles travelling at potentially higher speeds. I’m absolutely not advocating speeding or inappropriate speed, but lower limits aren’t necessarily the answer, especially if it’s a lack of attention thats causing the accidents. Investment in better driver training and awareness would be money better spent.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Absolutely, unrealistically low speed limits just result in more tailgating and aggressive overtaking. Roads have a natural speed governed by the straightness, length, width, visibility sight lines and flatness - and in the absence of any limit drivers will tend to gravitate to around that speed. Some will overdo it and crash, but most will find what the limit for maintaining control is through experience. If you artificially set a limit substantially below what the traffic would naturally pace itself at, then you get all the erratic driving behaviour and blind overtakes as drivers who want to get a move on get frustrated by the goody two shoes types who are piously dawdling along at 3 mph below the already way too low limit.

 

[Johnno260]

If England, then the roads are for the county council to fix and the law stops other councils messing with it. All a parish council can do there is repair the verge and stop dogs shooting on it, pretty much.

It’s England and true Parish council can’t do anything really, the county don’t care either as they have been spoken to before, and there is a primary school on the same road.

I just don’t like the reactionary nature of it, a preventative measure could save a life.

 

[slowmotion]

Then dont do it

I just can't help it Doctor.

 

[mjr]

an increase in congestion on that stretch of road,

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?

frustrated drivers and some attempting stupid overtakes that they would never have done with the higher limit and vehicles travelling at potentially higher speeds.

They need catching and removing from the roads before they hurt or kill someone. If lower limits means they out themselves, great!

 

[matticus]

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?

Yup. Not very intuitive, but very true!