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PostPosted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 11:27 
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ABD Peter Horton wrote:
Speed is more than a matter of going fast
From: Peter Horton, The Association of British Drivers, Sandy Lane, Ripon.
Published on Friday 7 October 2011 00:00

JAYNE Dowle’s column against the raising of the motorway speed limit may be strong on personal experiences but she really does not make a valid case against the new proposals (Yorkshire Post, October 3).
All the hazards she describes, such as tailgaters and struggling old bangers, are just as much there now as they might be under a raised speed limit.

The current 70mph limit was introduced on December 22, 1965, in response to a spate of accidents and deaths in dense fog on the motorways – flawed logic of course when a safe speed in the prevailing conditions was probably less than 20mph. Most cars then were more basic and low-powered.

In contrast, most modern cars are capable of speeds in excess of 100mph with commensurate safety features, and yet we still have this outdated speed limit and the result is that a substantial number of drivers regularly travel above the speed limit in a completely safe manner.
The proposed limit of 80mph merely seeks to legalise current common practice, bearing in mind that a law which is commonly flouted is a bad law.

Evidence from Australia, back in 2009, showed that, when speed limits were introduced on previously derestricted roads in the Northern Territory, deaths went up by 70 per cent although traffic levels had dropped.
This is hardly surprising when you consider that the primary cause of accidents has been shown to be inattention, a state which can soon develop at a steady and boring 70mph in a modern car.

To turn to the issue of fuel consumption and pollution, many modern highly-geared diesel vehicles are more efficient at higher speeds, and no-one is forcing the driver of an older and slower vehicle to achieve 80mph, and that driver can still maintain a slower satisfactory speed, quite safely, with correct lane discipline. The raising of the motorway speed limit to a realistic level is long overdue.

From: Coun Dave Merrett, Cabinet Member for City Strategy, City of York Council.
I’M pleased to see that the Government is responding on the 20mph agenda, which is a policy City of York Council is committed to developing city-wide.
Introducing 20mph speed limits in residential areas will improve our living environments.

We would urge the Government to reduce regulations to help this approach, reduce costs and minimise street clutter.

From: Dennis Whitaker, Baildon, Shipley.
So it is proposed to increase the motorway speed limit to 80mph? How very sensible! Thousands of British motorists have shown over past years, that cars driven with care and consideration by drivers observing the road ahead can safely be driven at 80mph.

I am aware of Jayne Dowle’s opinion (Yorkshire Post, October 4) but not once does she refer to care, consideration or common sense. True, speed kills but so does 30mph in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Going too fast for conditions is always wrong/ bad motoring, and may lead to an accident/incident. The problem is not one of pure 'speed' but one of failure on the motorists part to recognise the hazards and the requirement to take appropriate action.

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PostPosted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 14:55 
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From: Coun Dave Merrett, Cabinet Member for City Strategy, City of York Council.
I’M pleased to see that the Government is responding on the 20mph agenda, which is a policy City of York Council is committed to developing city-wide.
Introducing 20mph speed limits in residential areas will improve our living environments.

We would urge the Government to reduce regulations to help this approach, reduce costs and minimise street clutter.


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 15:36 
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I would guess that York is similar to my local cathedral city of Salisbury which has a 20mph zone in the city centre area. This works well in that it is pretty self-enforcing due to the narrow streets and medieval buildings. I use "self-enforcing" deliberately, as I don't believe that the police actually do anything in this zone thus making it an advisory limit which expresses the wishes of the residents. Very few people go very fast.

This is much to be preferred to unthinking iron fist enforcement by camera.

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 16:05 
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I agree. I do not oppose advisory limits but are they really necessary? As you say, the narrow streets make it common sense. It is the plethora of ridiculous or arbitrary 20 zones that have sprung up all over that are a prob and it seems their prolifiration is not set to abate any time soon.


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