Safe Speed Forums

I haven’t posted for a while but there’s something I need to get off my chest.
The southern section of the M1 (J6a to J10) is currently undergoing road works to widen the motorway. Up until a short while ago the posted speed limit was set at 40mph, but this resulted in serious congestion, so the speed limit was raised to 50mph.
Now, the powers at the top of the stairs would have all of us believe that if you exceed the speed limit by as little as 1mph you are committing a dangerous act, in that you increase the risk of having an accident.
Well now I’m confused. Why was it dangerous to do 41mph originally, and safe to do 50mph now. An increase of 10mph overnight. That means that every one of the tens of thousands of drivers that use this section of the M1 every day is now 20% more likely to have an accident. That would make an impressive pile-up!
Surely this is proof enough that speeding is safe where conditions make it so, and not because a sign simply says you shouldn’t.

That’s it. I feel better now.

It was probably raised because the extended 40 limit was unnecessarily causing excessive driver fatigue during certain periods

Raising it to 50 reduces the time spent at a reduced arousal level, as well as raising the arousal level - a double whammy.

I have always contended that limit was too low, below the level of minimal risk; it's good to see the HA have (eventually) woken up to that fact.

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

One wonders about how the, doubtless, large number of drivers prosecuted for doing speeds in the 46 - 56mph range during the previous limit will feel about it...

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"Politicians are the same the world over... We build bridges where there aren't any rivers." - Nikita Kruschev

Exactly. The same goes for reductions too. One day, it can be safe and legal to do 39mph on a 40mph road, and the next you could get points and a fine.

Speed limits are arbitrary numbers, and whilst I can understand their purpose, they are becoming ever more draconian and unnecessary, and as this happens, people lose respect for them. Just go to Suffolk and you'll see what I mean!

Exactly. And it can be a lot more severe if a limit drops from 70 to 30 (which does sometimes happen). 95 before the reduction would get you a fixed penalty; 95 after would have the CPS considering pushing for a jail sentence through a dangerous driving charge.

A ludicrous enforcement regime. Utterly bonkers.

Spot on! My feelings entirely for the current British speed limit enforcement doctrine.

America went through all this from c1975 until 1981, when people decided enough was enough. The nationwide 55mph limit mandated by the federal government had been introduced to conserve fuel. But when law enforcement realised the potential financial returns on investment in radar equipment, they justified their enforcement action by saying that it was to do with "saving lives". Then, as now in Britain, the public was gulled into believing it, and bumper stickers proclaiming "55 saves lives" became commonplace. As I recall, truckers were having problems because they could not drive the vast distances they needed to drive within their allotted duty time. I can tell you now that speed limits were rigourously enforced. I got stopped 4 times in the space of 18 months, whereas here in Britain I've only been stopped twice in 30+ years, plus one scamera van incident last year.

Nevada became the first state to rebel against the feds, and raised the limit to 70mph. Other states followed suit, and the whole "55 saves lives" collapsed, and was given a quiet burial. I think the change of government (in 1981) might have had something to do with it. Nowadays, the limit is 75 in many states, and no limit at all in Montana!

Hey, you're talking to someone who has 6 points on his licence from the same camera van on Marlow hill - 40mph & 36mph in a 30.

The speed limit on Marlow hill is now 40mph

So half way to a ban for doing a speed that the local authorities finally admitted was safe (after they had pulled in millions of £ in fines, of course).

Angry doesn't even cover it.

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“For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.” - H. L. Mencken

I would write lots of FOI requests about that speed limit and then try to get the points removed. It happened in southampton many years ago when a bypass was wrongly issued with a 30 limit. All speeding tickets were removed retrospectively.

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

I feel for you. Did you see this story in the Bucks Free Press in Oct. 2006? Here's a link -

http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/display ... y_back.php

Not true I'm afraid.

There was no daytime limit (nightime 65 mph) on the interstate between 1995 and 1999. This changed because Congress mandated that certain federal funding should only happen where speed limits existed.

The daytime limit in Montana is 75 mph