Quiet rural roads face 40mph limits (1 Viewer)

scotjimland

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Good proposal .. ?

I think so, what say you.

New guidance unveiled yesterday by the Department for Transport will make it easier for local authorities to introduce the limit on the quietest roads.

The vast majority of rural roads are currently governed by a 60mph limit. But under this move motorists could face fines if they drive over 40mph.


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Pikey Pete

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I am from a very rural area and I think this proposed limit is a crap idea.
Getting around a county like Lincolnshire with no motorways and few dual carriageways is a pain at the best of times.
Slowing everyone down to 40 mph is likely to cause even more frustration and subsequent accidents than happen currently.

Pete:Cool:
 
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old-mo

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For the likes of Devon & Dorset...

Not before time...

Twisty Roads uncut hedges, Farms Tractors and the like....

Yes a good idea....

Journey may take a little longer but at least I`m more likely to reach my destination with my wing mirrors intact. :thumb:

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GJH

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Speed limits are just that, limits. Whatever the maximum nominally allowed the law requires that people drive safely.

On roads such as the one pictured in the article (narrow and twisting) it may well be unsafe to drive at more than 40 mph anyway. Indeed, if HGV drivers are driving legally then the limit will be a de facto 40 mph.

Problems arise from people whose concept of safe driving and, consequently, speed exceeds their actual capability. If lowering the limit encourages safety then why not?

We have just had a 20 mph restriction introduced on virtually all estate/residential roads within Middlesbrough. Most people on the estate we live on drive at a reasonable speed but there are the odd few (not just Asda delivery drivers) who drive too fast for the conditions. The fact that there is little or no enforcement other than signage means that the limit is easily open to abuse but hopefully the signs will encourage some to slow down.
 

Pikey Pete

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For the likes of Devon & Dorset...

Not before time...

Twisty Roads uncut hedges, Farms Tractors and the like....

Yes a good idea....

Journey may take a little longer but at least I`m more likely to reach my destination with my wing mirrors intact. :thumb:

Devon Dorset and Cornwall have some of the lowest death or serious injury, per 100,000 people in the whole country.

Dumfries and Galloway have one of the highest rates.

I still disagree that a 40mph speed limit will reduce these figures and it could even make it worse.

More revenue for the treasury for the additional speeding fines and the Police spending most of their time trying to catch speeders in rural areas rather than trying to catch villains, is the most likely result.

Pete:Cool:
 

Spacerunner

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But doesn't it always seem that its the locals who drive crazily in inappropriate areas.

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Jim

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We live among hundreds miles of single track roads and narrow 2 lane B roads. To the unwary it might seem an idyllic and safe place to jog or cycle, however its not. I think 40mph is too fast, 30mph would be better.
 

old-mo

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Devon Dorset and Cornwall have some of the lowest death or serious injury, per 100,000 people in the whole country.

Dumfries and Galloway have one of the highest rates.

I still disagree that a 40mph speed limit will reduce these figures and it could even make it worse.

More revenue for the treasury for the additional speeding fines and the Police spending most of their time trying to catch speeders in rural areas rather than trying to catch villains, is the most likely result.

Pete:Cool:

Other than Motorways/Duel Carriageways and some bigger "A" roads the roads down here were built for horse and carts..

And off those little or nothing has been done to bring them up to date..

And all are a recipe for disaster.. as we find out especially this time of year... extra traffic... holiday makers not knowing the roads, and think they can drive at the same speeds from whence they came... Wide roads, Duel Carriageways, a reasonably wide "A" roads and even "B" roads...

It`s a totally different ball game down here.... as previousley said..

And altogether different from Flat.. Little or no hedgerows, and being able to see what is coming from some times hundreds of yards, Lincolnshire....

And yes I have lived in Lincolnshire.. so I do know what I`m talking about.. :cry:

And as a by..... Lincolnshire have some of the worse roads for fatality`s in the country...

I forgot the actual statistics...... But the majority of fatality`s in Lincolnshire were from...

"Speeding"
:Angry:
 

old-mo

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But doesn't it always seem that its the locals who drive crazily in inappropriate areas.

"Yes".......... that is a lot of the problem...

The locals think they know where they are safe to drive like maniacs....:Doh:

And are to thick to think about drivers who are not familiar with the area... :Sad:

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scotjimland

scotjimland

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But doesn't it always seem that its the locals who drive crazily in inappropriate areas.

Agreed, around our way in rural Suffolk the locals are the worst, familiarity breeds contempt... even the tractors speed....:roflmto:

Visitors are also guilty, the forget it's a 'working' area with a lot of farm machinery on the road.. huge bits of kit that take up most of the road.. meet one of them on a bend head on and there is only one winner.... it takes no prisoners ..
 

Pikey Pete

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Other than Motorways/Duel Carriageways and some bigger "A" roads the roads down here were built for horse and carts..

And off those little or nothing has been done to bring them up to date..

And all are a recipe for disaster.. as we find out especially this time of year... extra traffic... holiday makers not knowing the roads, and think they can drive at the same speeds from whence they came... Wide roads, Duel Carriageways, a reasonably wide "A" roads and even "B" roads...

It`s a totally different ball game down here.... as previousley said..

And altogether different from Flat.. Little or no hedgerows, and being able to see what is coming from some times hundreds of yards, Lincolnshire....

And yes I have lived in Lincolnshire.. so I do know what I`m talking about.. :cry:

And as a by..... Lincolnshire have some of the worse roads for fatality`s in the country...

I forgot the actual statistics...... But the majority of fatality`s in Lincolnshire were from...

"Speeding"
:Angry:

If what you say is correct and it's easier to drive in Lincolnshire and more difficult in the west country then why are the accident figures much higher in Lincolnshire than down there? By the way much of Lincolnshire is far from flat.

Speeding isn't the killer it's the inability of the driver to drive within his or her capabilities and within the capabilities of the vehicle. Putting a 40mph speed limit in rural areas isn't going change that.

A lot of the statistics in Lincolnshire are created by motorcyclists, the majority of which don't live in the county, 33 dead this year already. Motorcyclists put the high fatality rate amongst them at the door of car drivers, but if you just look at how many of them ride their bikes, you know they are an accident, looking for somewhere to happen.

Pete:Cool:
 

Ivory55

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When living in rural areas the job centre expect you to travel further for work. They see nothing wrong in travelling hunstanton to thetford daily, so if doing a 12hr shift yes you do drive fast home to eat, shower and sleep plus try to be a good family man kids homework etc. The other problem people overtaking sit to close to car in front, do not drop down the gears or plan the overtake at all. They think just put their foot down and the car will do it all leaving them sat on the wrong side of the road to long. It is wrong just to blame speed alone. ivory55

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I always drive on winding roads with the thought that someone else IS coming round the next bend and find that often I am only doing 20mph.
When I was taught to drive, many years ago, my instructor insisted that I 'cover' the brake pedal at crossroads or blind bends, I still do it and have lost count of the number of times it has prevented an accident.
 
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I am so pleased to hear this proposal. I've long wanted to see a 40mph limit on our lanes [note lanes, not A or B roads, which are generally arterial]. These are the very routes that should be perfect for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. But the current regime means that motorists are legally entitled to go as fast along them as on the widest, straightest A road. And people don't 'self-regulate'. If we did, we wouldn't need traffic laws at all, other than an injunction to drive on the left. On twisty, narrow roads, people still feel the need to drive at 10/10ths [or more!] of their ability, leaving no margin for the unexpected - such as a group of walkers, or a cyclist, around the next blind corner. And they are pushed on by the folk behind, as no-one likes to feel they are 'holding someone up'. Which leads to an anxious queue of drivers battering along what should be a peaceful country lane.

As a motorist I observe my own speed limits within those applied by the law. I travel at 60mph on motorways, which are generally so crowded that lane 3 becomes a 70mph traffic jam. I drive at 40 mph or less along narrow country lanes. It would be a welcome change to feel that the law was on my side for once!

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old-mo

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If what you say is correct and it's easier to drive in Lincolnshire and more difficult in the west country then why are the accident figures much higher in Lincolnshire than down there? By the way much of Lincolnshire is far from flat.
.............................................................................................................................

The population of Lincolnshire on December 21st 2011 is approximately 702,468.
.............................................................................................................................

" " " Dorset 714,900 as of 2010.
............................................................................................................................

The population of Devon on July 14th 2012 is approximately 755,501.
.............................................................................................................................

Answer to your question..... Speed and the inability to drive safely.. :Sad:

Nothing more nothing less. :winky:
[/COLOR]
 
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2657

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I am from a very rural area and I think this proposed limit is a crap idea.
Getting around a county like Lincolnshire with no motorways and few dual carriageways is a pain at the best of times.
Slowing everyone down to 40 mph is likely to cause even more frustration and subsequent accidents than happen currently.

Pete:Cool:

Note the words "guidance" and "easier" in the original post sounds like discretion to me. Leave it to the people in the area that know what they are talking about.
I have driven HGV's for most of my working life and have to live with a blanket 40 limit on single carraigeways. I can think of several examples of rural roads where 40mph is too fast and others where 50, in a truck, would be OK.
A good example is the A66 from the M6 westbound, sections are modern wide single carriageway with 40 limit and regular radar traps at the bottom of a long hill. Farther along the road is dualled with the eastbound section the old twisty road, legal limit for trucks is 50mph but in my opinion 40 is quite often unsafe on this section.

As I said local discretion :Smile:
 

hilldweller

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Slowing everyone down to 40 mph is likely to cause even more frustration and subsequent accidents than happen currently.
Pete:Cool:

When did a speed limit ever slow "everyone" down ?
The brain dead ones don't adhere to speed limits.

Anyway 20 is very often more appropriate than 40 in a lot of the back single track lanes I visit regularly.

"If you can't stop in the distance you can see you will have an accident one day"

This gets twice as bad on single track roads because what you see is moving towards you.

The the slow of thinking say "yippee 40 mph I'm safe" but the reality is 40 + 40 mph is 80 mph head on in this rural road, this is safe ?

Got to fix the BRAIN, you'll never make safety with a number inside a red circle.
 

GJH

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But doesn't it always seem that its the locals who drive crazily in inappropriate areas.

(snip)
Dumfries and Galloway have one of the highest rates. (snip)

We used to holiday in D&G in the 1980s and I'll always remember being told that there were more accidents in summer than winter - because summer visitors tended to drive properly whilst the locals (on their own over the winter) were used to their own bad driving. Accidents happened because summer visitors took the correct action to avoid accidents rather than the action which locals expected.
 

Landy lover

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I have lived in Kent - Derbyshire - South Yorkshire and for the last 30 years in Somerset. Every where there are narrow and dangerous roads and everywhere there are idots who believe they and their motor are invincible - the area where we are normally located leads to single track with occasional passing place roads - people persisitantly drive these at high speeds relying on quick thinking and ABS to save their skins. They forget they are playing a lottery and every so often someone wins !!!!!!!!!

Is the speed limit a good idea - personally I don't think it will make one jot of difference except cost the country a lot of money with new signs

Why ........

The idiots who travel too fast will still continue to do so

The police don't have enough resources for 'normal' day to day requirements let alone stopping speeders on the narrow country lanes.

Enforcement will be the occasional foray after complaints have been lodged

As far as the idots are concerned it will be just another lottery :Eeek:

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Organplayer

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organplayer

Good and various points from all. My only dimwit contribution is; THE FASTER YOU GO THE HARDER YOU HIT.
 

aba

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if they hadn't made cars so safe it wouldn't be an issue.
like this auto braking that seems to come standard on some cars just means you dont have to give 100% attention to the nut in front because if you dont see him stop the car will and accident averted.

the more gizmo's like this they fit to cars the more dangerous they become.

they should fit all cars with a mobile phone disabler so your phone wont work whilst the key is in the ignition.

and if the technology is there why cant they fit a system like the formula 1 drs zone that automatically limits the cars speed between certain points. they could even use the broadband internet system or the mobile phone network to broadcast the limit signal.
 
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if they hadn't made cars so safe it wouldn't be an issue.
like this auto braking that seems to come standard on some cars just means you dont have to give 100% attention to the nut in front because if you dont see him stop the car will and accident averted.

the more gizmo's like this they fit to cars the more dangerous they become.

they should fit all cars with a mobile phone disabler so your phone wont work whilst the key is in the ignition.

and if the technology is there why cant they fit a system like the formula 1 drs zone that automatically limits the cars speed between certain points. they could even use the broadband internet system or the mobile phone network to broadcast the limit signal.

Fit a 12 inch spike to the steering wheel... That would make people think twice about their speed:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

I think the proposal is not a blanket 40mph on country roads but to allow councils more control over where they put 40mph limits on country roads.
The good councils will look at their roads and apply the new powers properly.
I don't doubt there are crap councils who will use this power excessively though.

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pappajohn

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looks like most folks would be happy going bacvk to this period in time......:Doh:


red_flag_act_1878.jpg



The 1865 act required all road locomotives, which included automobiles, to travel at a maximum of 4 mph (6 km/h) in the country and 2 mph (3 km/h) in towns and have a crew of three travel, one of whom should carry a red flag walking 60 yards (55 m) ahead of each vehicle. The 1896 Act removed the need for the crew of three and raised the speed to 14 mph (23 km/h).

Or even more strict......


In the United States, the state of Vermont passed a similar flurry of Red Flag Laws in 1894. The most infamous of the Red Flag Laws was enacted in Pennsylvania circa 1896, when Quaker legislators unanimously passed a bill through both houses of the state legislature, which would require all motorists piloting their "horseless carriages", upon chance encounters with cattle or livestock to (1) immediately stop the vehicle, (2) "immediately and as rapidly as possible... disassemble the automobile," and (3) "conceal the various components out of sight, behind nearby bushes" until equestrian or livestock is sufficiently pacified.
 
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motorhomer

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We were in Japan earlier this year and hired a car.

Motorway speed limit was 80km - ie 50mph. Everywhere else - including open country roads - was 50km, ie 30mph, except in some towns where is was 40 or even 30kph.

So in comparison 40mph is quite fast!

As I have grown older I have come to the view that travelling at lower speeds is safer, cheaper and often does not actually mean the journey takes longer, funnily enough. (This may not have been my view 20 years ago though!)
 

aba

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i must admit going at a constant slower speed seems to take more or less the same as speeding off catching up with traffic slowing down then speeding off again.
and yes it costs less as you use less fuel use less brakes and much less stress and road rage and less speeding fines.

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scotjimland

scotjimland

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Crap proposal.

You can't create safety by[HI] blanket [/HI]speed limits, you create safety by blanket education.

40 mph is quite inappropriate as a[HI] blanket large scale speed limit[/HI].

No where in the proposal did I read 'blanket' speed limits.. nor interpret it as such ...

the phase used in the link was

"The Government proposals, however, will allow them to designate quiet stretches of roads as 40mph zones. "
 
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When we go to the Farm the last 2-3miles are single track roads, nearly there is "Gwenupp Pit" one of the areas that John Wesley Preached the Gospel in years ago, so the tourists want to see it. It is also an area where Horsey type people exercise , you've guessed it, their horses.
High Hedges, windy Narrow Roads, Brambles scratching at your wing mirrors each side, we take the last stretch at 10mph, you come around a blind bend and there are two horses in the road! :Sad:

The number of times we have to jam everything on to avoid some clown doing Mach 3 around a blind bend is common place :Angry:
 

Ivory55

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On my way to work in the morning i am doing 70mph and regularly a masarati over takes me i am 10mph over the limit and he leaves me standing so will a 40mph speed limit make any difference? i admit this is about 6 in the morning. ps it took me a while to work out what it was because of the speed it goes past at. ivory55

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