And the speed-limit shoud be?

[Tony F]

On a motorway (excluding M25, obviously that's a car park in reality) is the 70 mph speed limit now unreasonable?

[justme]

i think 80 mph nowadays is the best limit

[Helen F H]

Maybe we should sort this lot out first, then think about speeding it all up?


3,431 people were killed in road accidents in 2002
35,976 were seriously injured
263,198 were slightly injured

Children

179 children were killed in road accidents in 2002
4,417 were seriously injured
Almost twice as many boys as girls are killed or seriously injured in pedestrian and cycle accidents

Drink driving

560(p) people were killed in drink-drive related incidents in 2002
2,800(p) were seriously injured
There were over 20,000(p) drink-drive casualties in total in 2002, the highest figure since 1990
7% of all road casualties and 15% of deaths in 2002 occurred when someone was driving when over the legal limit for alcohol
Male drivers under 25 had the highest incidence of failing a breath test after being involved in a road accident in which someone was injured
p = provisional

Drink drive statistics (November 2003)

Motorcyclists

609 motorcyclists were killed in road accidents in 2002
6,891 were seriously injured
Motorcyclists represent 1% of traffic but suffer 19% of deaths and serious injuries
Motorcyclists are 30 times more likely to be killed in a road accident than car users, and four times more likely to be killed than pushbike riders

Cyclists

130 pedal cyclists were killed in road accidents in 2002
2,320 were seriously injured

Pedestrians

775 pedestrians were killed in 2002
7,856 were seriously injured
Pedestrians represent 13% of all road casualties and 23% of all road deaths

Driving for work

Over one third of all road traffic accidents, about 1,000 deaths a year, involve someone who is at work at the time.

Seat belts

One in 10 drivers and front seat passengers, and four in 10 rear seat adults do not wear seatbelts
One in 10 child rear seat passengers do not use seatbelts or child restraints
About 10 front seat users are killed every year by unbelted rear seat passengers
Great Britain car & van seat belt wearing - percentage rates (April 2004)

Speeding

Speeding is not just inconsiderate driving - it contributes to the 36,000 serious injuries and 3,000 deaths that occur on Britain's roads each year
Around two thirds of all accidents in which people are killed or seriously injured happen on roads where the speed limit is 40mph or less
At 35mph you are twice as likely to kill someone as you are at 30mph

Driving tired

Falling asleep at the wheel is the cause of around 20% of accidents on long journeys on trunk roads and motorways
Men aged 30 and under are more likely to have a sleep related vehicle accident
The greatest risk of falling asleep at the wheel is between midnight and 6am



Raising the motorway speed limit to 80 mph

The Government’s Road Safety Strategy Tomorrow’s Roads - Safer for Everyone, stated a policy of keeping speed limits at 70 miles/h for cars on motorways, and improving compliance. This decision was based on the fact that more vehicle occupants would be killed and seriously injured if the limit were raised to 80 miles/h. The decision to retain the 70 miles/h limit was supported by the Police, by the AA and by the Transport Research Laboratory, during the Transport Select Committee’s inquiry into Road Traffic Speed, published last year.

Casualties on the motorways would be expected to increase between 5-10% if the speed limit were to be raised to 80 miles/h. In the United States increases in the national speed limit have been shown clearly to be associated with increases in fatalities (Garber & Graham, 1990).

It is not clear that raising the speed limit on the motorway would reduce journey times. Research into Intelligent Speed Adaptation at Leeds University found that obeying the current speed limit led to little change in average journey times. The Select Committee report concluded that on England’s motorways an 80 miles/h speed limit might well increase journey times because it would create an uneven flow.


Higher speed limits at night on dual carriageways

Impairing factors such as fatigue, drink and drugs are likely to be more of a problem during the night, and the hours of darkness. In 2001, 53% of the 203 deaths on motorways occurred during the hours of darkness.

Our level of alertness is lowest in the early hours of the morning when one is normally asleep, and in the afternoon as a consequence of the circadian rhythm. The peaks for fatigue related crashes are 2-6 a.m. and 2-4 p.m. Death or serious injury is more likely to result from fatigue-related crashes, which have a higher impact speed, because there tends to be no braking prior to accidents.

Oxfordshire County Council estimate that up to 30% of accidents on high speed roads are probably caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel. The visual input at night is far less stimulating and there is usually less traffic. Drivers are more vulnerable to fatigue related crashes if they drive faster, have an over-confident image of driving and are reluctant to take breaks when tired (Horne and Reyner 2000).

Alcohol is twice as potent at the likely fatigue times. The legal blood alcohol concentration is therefore unsafe in these periods. In addition, around half of the drivers killed between 10 pm and 4 am were found to be over the legally permitted 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

Such inflated risks of impairment at night call into question the logic and safety of raising the 70 miles/h speed limit for cars on dual carriageways, at night.


And to risk being slammed for making this personal, those of you who were there know that i lost a friend in a motorway RTA the week before my Farnes gig. He was doing a U turn on the A1. He was hit broadside and died on the way to hospital after being trapped for 2 hours. If the driver had been going any faster, his beautiful wife Kerry and passenger in the back would not have walked away.

[ScubaK@]

I voted for 80mph, but would like to qualify that. I think that driving instruction is painfully inadequate, and the only way to improve safety is to teach people to drive properly. That said, since people can't drive properly (and I am not excluding myself) variable speed limits dependant on weather conditions etc are the most sensible answer. Why do I need to drive past a school at 30mph on a dry road at 3am? Is 30mph really slow enough past a school at 8.30am?

[Adrian Kelland]

How many of those children, pedestrians, cyclists and even motor cyclists were killed due to speed on a motorway? Not many I suspect, because they don't go there.

Yes you are more likely to kill someone if you hit them at 35 rather than 30, but how many of those killed would not have been due to their own stupidity. How many people do you see crossing a road a few AND I MEAN A FEW yards from a crossing.

Its far too simplistic to blame all on speed. I would love to see an 80 mph limit on motorways. However there are too many car drivers who wander along at 60 oblivious to the traffic around them. They are as likely to be the cause of an accident due to their lack of awareness. They would be less able to cope with those driving at 80, plus the drivers who will go over that limit. So I think it best that the increase does not happen.

I find it interesting that many statistics use the phrases 'speed contributes' and 'involve speeding'. This implies to me that the researchers know damn well that it is not a primary cause, but that they want it to seem so.

[Phoenix]

Why do we have to have upper limits on motorways? I would rather see minimum speeds to keep slower vehicles off the motorways.


Ian

I got caught speeding by a Camera, I was doing 57mph on a 50mph road. I received the usual fine, but also alas 3 points.... Now obviously I do drive within the speed limit most of the time, BUT now that I am, I have had so many near misses...usually because everyone else on the road is speeding, and because I am within the speed limit I am holding them up so they get right up your arse, and cut you up.
Can't win can you

There was a piece about speed limits on Top Gear last week, it was suggested that the speed limit should be lifted between the hours of 11pm and 5am....Sounds like it could work

[Dinger]

I think the arguement is that as the speed limit is most people tend to do about 80 anyway - I know I do and if the speed limit were to be raised to 80mph we would end up with people doing 90mph, so IMHO it is just about right - if it aint broken don't fix it!

You have to remember that in most of the states in the US the speed limit is 55 or 65 so we do fly along by US standards.

Dinger

[Andy the Coastie]

Originally Posted by Mrs Mares

I got caught speeding by a Camera, I was doing 57mph on a 50mph road. I received the usual fine, but also alas 3 points.... Now obviously I do drive within the speed limit most of the time, BUT now that I am, I have had so many near misses...usually because everyone else on the road is speeding, and because I am within the speed limit I am holding them up so they get right up your arse, and cut you up.
Can't win can you

There was a piece about speed limits on Top Gear last week, it was suggested that the speed limit should be lifted between the hours of 11pm and 5am....Sounds like it could work

You were lucky, i got caught doing 99 on the back wheel in a 60....

[Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Dinger

You have to remember that in most of the states in the US the speed limit is 55 or 65 so we do fly along by US standards.

Dinger

I think you'll find that they cover distance a lot quicker though due to their superior road network and the lack of roundabouts etc to slow them up.

Ian