Speed limit on motorways.

[marzjennings]

I cannot find a link to the record, could you provide me with one as I am looking foward to reading about it.

http://newatlas.com/new-world-record-in-one-hour-cycling/19497/

http://www.recumbents.com/wisil/fastest_list.asp

 

[KnackeredBike]

Apparently the idea is that active traffic management (!) will increase the capacity of the motoway system, but what happens when the 'smart' motorway system is full - maybe 10 years time? National gridlock?

There is still plenty of slack in the system, maximum traffic throughput is at 60-70km/h, so constant 40mph will become the norm in peak times if traffic continues to increase. Long term obviously we will have networked self driving cars that can travel a few centimetres apart on controlled roads like motorways, something us cyclists have been able to do for a while

 

[FishFright]

Most of our trip up the M6 to Warrington this morning was driven at Illegal speeds, there were roadworks between j16 and j19 with a 50 limit, a lot of the time we were the slowest vehcle on the motorway.

Fixed that for you

 

[marzjennings]

My V-Max will crack 80 in first, but its a meaningless ability in transport terms.

It is absolutely astonishing. Ir wasn't so long ago that the fastest a man could travel was flat out on a good horse. 50 might seem pedestrian, but takes one from the outskirts of North London to Milton keynes in an hour. That is astonishing in the scheme of things, and there's is no need to go any faster on a public road. Speeds much beyond that simply widen the differential in velocities between vehicles moving at different speeds, and serves only to slow things down and increase danger. 50 allows meaningful distances to be covered, while maximising traffic flow characteristics, minimising kinetic energy, and reducing the opportunity for events to exceed the capacity of drivers reactions.

With finite road capacity, weather, and people who drive HUA, we've gone beyond the event horizon where attempting to travel fast actually reduces journey times.

Again not astonishing, it's been over 100 years since cars have been able to sustain travel at over 50mph. I totally understand how the traditional road network across the UK limits how fast one should be driving and accept the need to respect all road users. But for motorways, roads built specifically for cars, no, I would expect by now a road system built for fast efficient travel. And when I say fast, I don't think taking one hour to drive from Bristol to London along the M4 is crazy.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Fixed that for you

I doubt we went over 70, I'm sure my spedo is fast as most cars seem to be, the elderly Hyundai I scrapped at the beginning of the year though seemed to have a very accurate spedo

 

[screenman]

http://newatlas.com/new-world-record-in-one-hour-cycling/19497/

http://www.recumbents.com/wisil/fastest_list.asp

Thanks, not quite what I was thinking about.

 

[Piemaster]

I do normally, but both my pilots are off sick. Jeeves offered but he doesn't have the right training.

Have ago at flying it yourself. How difficult can it be?

 

[Tim Hall]

I doubt we went over 70, I'm sure my spedo is fast as most cars seem to be, the elderly Hyundai I scrapped at the beginning of the year though seemed to have a very accurate spedo

I think the bit that said "75" suggested that you did indeed go over 70.

 

[Piemaster]

I'm convinced that some drivers believe the average speed cameras measure your speed at that point and then the readings taken at each of the cameras are averaged, so by slowing down to 50 or whatever when you get to each one you are doing all that's necessary to avoid triggering them.

Of course if that's how they really worked, it would be necessary to give them a description that conveyed how they operate. Maybe they could be called "average speed cameras".

I had a work colleague that reckoned you can fool the average speed cameras by changing lanes between them.
"So, the system records the times you passed the cameras, works out the average speed, recognises the numberplate and then sends out a NIP to the cars registered address when you've broken the limit, with barely any human input, but can't figure out you've changed lanes. Let me know how it goes..."

 

[Dayvo]

So what stops you from doing that?

He lives in Texas.

 

[winjim]

I doubt we went over 70, I'm sure my spedo is fast as most cars seem to be, the elderly Hyundai I scrapped at the beginning of the year though seemed to have a very accurate spedo

How sure? The speedo on my car has been "calibrated" against a police speed camera and is exactly correct at 40mph.

 

[Paulus]

I had a work colleague that reckoned you can fool the average speed cameras by changing lanes between them.
"So, the system records the times you passed the cameras, works out the average speed, recognises the numberplate and then sends out a NIP to the cars registered address when you've broken the limit, with barely any human input, but can't figure out you've changed lanes. Let me know how it goes..."

Doesn't work, the computers still recognise the registration plates no matter what lanes you are in. You will still get a speeding ticket.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I think the bit that said "75" suggested that you did indeed go over 70.

If the spedo is 10% fast, as is very likely, at 75 showing on the spedo we would still be under 70. But I have another question, why are people having a go at me and ignoring the other part of my post, the part where I stated we were often the slowest vehicle on the motorway, we were regularly being passed by people travelling at speeds between 80 and a 100mph, something that seems to be ignored by people on here.

 

[midlife]

How sure? The speedo on my car has been "calibrated" against a police speed camera and is exactly correct at 40mph.

I thought by law the speedometer had to read over?

Shaun

 

[Piemaster]

Doesn't work, the computers still recognise the registration plates no matter what lanes you are in. You will still get a speeding ticket.

Yeah, that was my point (the bit in quotes). He wasn't too bright.
Sorry if my post wasn't too clear.