75ZT Community

Apparently an increase, for PLG vehicles, on motorways to 80 mph is almost certain.

Would I be right in thinking that all this means is that the "unofficial" speed limit will just go up to 90mph?

if driving standards are up to it i see no reason why not . having now driven on the autobahn i can see how it could be . most i drove on are no different to our roads and most all drove well. alas some on our roads are not so good at it....... i would say we need more police in person watching things and acting with wisdom depending on the situation . i see much bad driving and laziness in what some do on the roads and that i think is the main reason for accidents .you can drive at the limit or under and be very dangerous so in the end it is driving within the limits of you, the car and the road even before you get to the national speed limit.....

Part of the problem though is not driving to your limits, but to the limits of other road users. If some numpty does something stupid, can you avoid it? If not, then does the extra speed you are carrying make the accident worse?

Personally I would be happy to see the higher limit on motorways, but with everyone then sticking to it rather than making excuses why they don't....

Duncan wrote:I would be happy to see the higher limit on motorways, but with everyone then sticking to it rather than making excuses why they don't....

Some of the excuses you hear are pretty outlandish as well

Most in the fast lane are exceeding the paltry 70MPH limit, including myself. Raising the legal limit to 80 will IMV bring many drivers back within the law. Of course there will still be those doing 90 to 100, I doubt any speed limit will make a difference to them
A and other designated roads the max should remain as it is.
I would also like to see heavy lorries confined to the slow lane on motorways, especially when there are only two lanes. There is nothing more frustrating or dangerous than two lorries backing up traffic for a mile while they play "elephant races" this is a term I am informed is used by heavy goods vehicle drivers.
Furthermore, middle lane hogs, should be shot, hung, drawn, and quartered, their remains displayed from motorway bridges as a deterrent to their kind. Of course this would require a decent amount of traffic police to enforce and in doing so would inevitably make motorways that much safer.

Mick wrote:Most in the fast lane are exceeding the paltry 70MPH limit, including myself. Raising the legal limit to 80 will IMV bring many drivers back within the law. Of course there will still be those doing 90 to 100, I doubt any speed limit will make a difference to them
A and other designated roads the max should remain as it is.
I would also like to see heavy lorries confined to the slow lane on motorways, especially when there are only two lanes. There is nothing more frustrating or dangerous than two lorries backing up traffic for a mile while they play "elephant races" this is a term I am informed is used by heavy goods vehicle drivers.
Furthermore, middle lane hogs, should be shot, hung, drawn, and quartered, their remains displayed from motorway bridges as a deterrent to their kind. Of course this would require a decent amount of traffic police to enforce and in doing so would inevitably make motorways that much safer.

sounds about right

Mick wrote:Most in the fast lane are exceeding the paltry 70MPH limit, including myself. Raising the legal limit to 80 will IMV bring many drivers back within the law. Of course there will still be those doing 90 to 100, I doubt any speed limit will make a difference to them
A and other designated roads the max should remain as it is.
I would also like to see heavy lorries confined to the slow lane on motorways, especially when there are only two lanes. There is nothing more frustrating or dangerous than two lorries backing up traffic for a mile while they play "elephant races" this is a term I am informed is used by heavy goods vehicle drivers.
Furthermore, middle lane hogs, should be shot, hung, drawn, and quartered, their remains displayed from motorway bridges as a deterrent to their kind. Of course this would require a decent amount of traffic police to enforce and in doing so would inevitably make motorways that much safer.

I can see why you are 'here' rather than 'elsewhere' Mick....FAR too much of a winky wan'ky softy liberal you are...

Zeb wrote:

I can see why you are 'here' rather than 'elsewhere' Mick....FAR too much of a winky wan'ky softy liberal you are...

Don't get me started

Mick,

Can I make a point here, specifically NOT having a go at you but... there is no such beast as the "fast lane" or the "slow lane".

The Police and Institute of Advanced Motorists, to name but two, use the terms "Lane 1", "Lane 2", "Lane 3", preferring to be objective rather than emotive. Another way would be nearside, outside and where available, middle.

I know this doesn't apply to you, or to anybody else in the forum, I'd venture to suggest, but it does, in my view, and in the view of some very eminent accident prevention organisations and academics, cause a certain type of driver to regard it as an excuse to perform all the ridiculously stupid and dangerous stunts which might well account for a high percentage of accidents on the motorway network.

The "fast / slow" lane mentality was even espoused, a few years ago, by a well known BBC TV presenter conducting a Panorama investigation into the reasons behind motorway accidents, until the terms were dubbed out following complaints from some very highly (and some not so highly ) placed sources.

The nearside lane on a motorway is the normal driving lane with lane 2 (and lane 3 where available) designated as overtaking lanes. This, I believe, is pointed out in the Highway Code.

Clearly, in the case of congested areas during rush-hour such as the M6, M5, M42, M54 area, such a clear-cut stratification of vehicles and lanes is both inappropriate and untenable, but the insidious perception of the "Fast / Slow" lane and the culture it creates in some drivers, makes itself obvious in the way some cars and vans, for example, drive straight from the slip-road, across three lanes of traffic to Lane 3 because they think it is their "territory", and thereafter only giving way to cars they perceive as "superior" to their own, possibly explaining the term "BMW lane" or "Mercedes Lane".

Please forgive this rant, I say again, directed at NOBODY on this forum, but I really do think that if the "Fast / Slow" lane culture was eradicated, there would be a lot less accidents on the motorways.

I think you might have upset David, suggesting he has his own lane on the Motorway.....

Only kidding!

And not a word about shooting, hanging, drawing and quartering. Not to mention display of severed body parts in public.

Mick wrote:And not a word about shooting, hanging, drawing and quartering. Not to mention display of severed body parts in public.

Don't have a problem with any of that

there is much in what you say alas... it bothers me no end how some folk will hog lane 2 or 3 etc when not doing any over taking . changing the speed limit won't I'm sure make any difference to those..... but i think were it is wise to i see no reason not to make the limit 80 mph which would be most of the motorway system and fair to say some drivers need a retest as some standards are not good and i have seen much in my many years and miles of driving.....

raistlin wrote:Mick,

Can I make a point here, specifically NOT having a go at you but... there is no such beast as the "fast lane" or the "slow lane".

The Police and Institute of Advanced Motorists, to name but two, use the terms "Lane 1", "Lane 2", "Lane 3", preferring to be objective rather than emotive. Another way would be nearside, outside and where available, middle.

I know this doesn't apply to you, or to anybody else in the forum, I'd venture to suggest, but it does, in my view, and in the view of some very eminent accident prevention organisations and academics, cause a certain type of driver to regard it as an excuse to perform all the ridiculously stupid and dangerous stunts which might well account for a high percentage of accidents on the motorway network.

The "fast / slow" lane mentality was even espoused, a few years ago, by a well known BBC TV presenter conducting a Panorama investigation into the reasons behind motorway accidents, until the terms were dubbed out following complaints from some very highly (and some not so highly ) placed sources.

The nearside lane on a motorway is the normal driving lane with lane 2 (and lane 3 where available) designated as overtaking lanes. This, I believe, is pointed out in the Highway Code.

Clearly, in the case of congested areas during rush-hour such as the M6, M5, M42, M54 area, such a clear-cut stratification of vehicles and lanes is both inappropriate and untenable, but the insidious perception of the "Fast / Slow" lane and the culture it creates in some drivers, makes itself obvious in the way some cars and vans, for example, drive straight from the slip-road, across three lanes of traffic to Lane 3 because they think it is their "territory", and thereafter only giving way to cars they perceive as "superior" to their own, possibly explaining the term "BMW lane" or "Mercedes Lane".

Please forgive this rant, I say again, directed at NOBODY on this forum, but I really do think that if the "Fast / Slow" lane culture was eradicated, there would be a lot less accidents on the motorways.

Drove round part of the M25 last Friday where it is 4 lane.

In lane 3 a convoy of vans working for Transport for London doing 60mph! And no, the M25 was not busy and the inner lanes were clear.

Saturday drove down from near Manchester to Birmingham. The M6 South was running very nicely BUT the Northe side was absolutely full. There were miles of stationary cars. Seemed they would crawl a mile or so and then stop again.

PaulT wrote:Drove round part of the M25 last Friday where it is 4 lane.

In lane 3 a convoy of vans working for Transport for London doing 60mph! And no, the M25 was not busy and the inner lanes were clear.

It seems to me that's how a lot of people drive on the M25. No matter haow many lanes there are, only the rightmost two are used.

I've even seen it on the M6 when the football had been on at Old Trafford and I was trying to get home. Lane 1 empty. lane two London cars doing 50. Lane three, London Cars doing 55 and other cars trying to do 90 by dodging between them.

Note, I say London cars purely based on the registration letters, and my biased beleifs about the driving I experience whenever I go near the M25. This is a generalisation, which of course does not apply to everyone.

Duncan wrote:No matter haow many lanes there are, only the rightmost two are used.

Alas you're right, Duncan. Over here it's the same, just swap left and right.

It's even worse than that on the M54 which has two lanes but which some drivers convert into three lanes

Jürgen wrote:

Duncan wrote:No matter haow many lanes there are, only the rightmost two are used.

Alas you're right, Duncan. Over here it's the same, just swap left and right.

It wasn't like that when I was driving in Germany, Jürgen. However that was a few years ago.
Have driving standards dropped over there lately?

If you stay in lane 1, you'll always be able to keep your safety distance easily. Alas you're not allowed to pass cars in other lanes there.

On three-lane roads most of the idiot drivers will stay in lane 2, just in case a lorry could be some miles in front of them. So these [insert expletive of your choice here] reduce the capacity of the road by 33% effectively.

Jürgen wrote:If you stay in lane 1, you'll always be able to keep your safety distance easily. Alas you're not allowed to pass cars in other lanes there.

On three-lane roads most of the idiot drivers will stay in lane 2, just in case a lorry could be some miles in front of them. So these [insert expletive of your choice here] reduce the capacity of the road by 33% effectively.

In the UK they have added a fourth lane to three lande motorways because of congestion. The result - just the outer three lanes are used by the vast majority. Thus back to an effecitve three lane motorway!

Still, I suppose it is a bit cissy driving in the lane 1