Rural road speed limits 'too high'

[UrbanRacer]

their is a poll on that page, vote no or die

https://motoring.aol.co.uk/article.adp?id=20060801164609990001

[ginguar]

I voted yes.

[2Smoke]

If you find country roads difficult then stayn the fuck off them. Tossers, I live down a 5 mile country road and its a pain in the arse being stuck behind some mouldy old tossbag that has to stick to 20mph because they are lost without the white line down the middle. get the fuck out of my way!
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[NSR Mick]

People seem to forget that the speed limit is a maximum not a minimum.
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[extreme3d]

Thanfully, if you read their forum post regarding the article most seem just as against it as us. Everyone with any sense has said that the speed limit is just that, a limit not a target.

[map]

Seen this the other day. In response to a poll by an insurance company, Direct Line.

IMO there's a case for imposing minimum speed limits on rural roads. Often behind cars doing 40mph ish up to a maximum of 50 to 55mph. If you go that slow on a 60mph NSL road during your driving test then you fail. So what's the excuse when you pass?

The problem with going too slow on rural roads is that it almost forces people into silly overtakes in order to make progress. This is more dangerous than a higher speed limit. The problem with going too fast on twisty rural roads is that you can come up unexpectedly on the above mentioned slow moving traffic.
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[TheShaggyDA]

The people who have difficuty with rural roads will still be driving at 35mph, just in a 40 zone instead of a 60. I'll still be doing 60-65, even if they drop the limit.
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[Wave2k]

after spending a fair few days wet and dry on the most rural roads ull ever see, i can say no, unless of course you pack fudge then indeed the answer would be yes.
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[dainesefreak]

I ride on country roads every day to and from my house and it absolutely does my head in when someone trundles along at 40-45 mph. I also agree that it makes people perform silly overtakes and overtakes at inappropriate points.

Another thing I've found on a road that runs up towards my house is that, where it changes from a NSL 60mph to a built up 30mph zone the majority of these people don't alter their speed down either. They just don't seem to have any road awareness or sense.

[Dark]

I live in the middle of rural road land and it would seriously f*ck me off if they reduced the speed limit because of sh*t car drivers
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[stevo as b4]

It would be absolute madness to reduce rural speed limit's on every B-road or country lane to 40mph. The majority of drivers and riders who can actually drive, and adjust quickly to changes of speed limit, because they are alert, concentrating, and quick to react to changing situations, should not be penalised by the ever increasing numbers of unsafe, unaware and un alert, and sometimes often older drivers/riders, who seem unable to cope with roads that are demanding, tricky and require concentration and actual driver input, to negociate safely and smoothly making good progress. These 40mph trundling fools, who speed in town, and dawdle on open roads, really are the worst drivers out there!

You hear all sorts of things said by these people, such as The B42*1 is dangerous road, and it's too bendy with too many junctions or bridges, hill's cattle grids etc. FFS! if they cannot drive these sort of routes confidently they get them off the road full stop. You hear people say that they don't like having to overtake things, or keep slowing down for tractors etc, because it's more difficult to do, than to sit on a busy main road or dual carriageway at 40-50mph, which is all they often seem capable of doing.

Im probably like most people here, in that when im on my bike id actually go out of my way to find quiet low traffic country routes, with NSL roads, so that i can ride my bike the way i want to. I don't speed in towns or city's or along busy A-roads, and i rarely go much over 70-80mph on motorways, high speed/straight roads just bore me to tears!

There's a reason why alot of bikers were heading out into remote north wales, mountain routes early every sunday morning, and thats so that they can ride in a quiet low traffic area, with challenging roads, that need respect, especially when your going for it! I know that the police forces have got sick and tired of all the single vehicle accidents both in North Wales and in the North east, and want to stop these type of now very common accidents happening so much, but is reducing every NSL minor and B-road speed limit the right way to go about it?

There's plenty of roads that if you tried to drive at a constant 40mph you would within a mile or less, end up off the road in a ditch/hedge/ over a cliff etc. Speed limits on these roads won't work, but driver training just might! We all know that when an open road has a very low 30-40mph speed limit imposed on it that driver concentration will reduce, as there is less driver input needed at these speeds compared to travelling at the NSL, and constantly having to adjust your position, speed, acceleration and braking sense, gear-selection and plan for the next approaching hazard, than when just trundling along at dozy driver speed!

If they reduce every NSL limit 40mph in the u.k. then they might just as well make it 30mph, and then drivers will have to concentrate less still, and when someone makes a mistake which they will due to the forementioned lack of concentration/observation, then the Fatalities and injurys will tumble, and there will be less cars to recover from upside down in ditches and less glass for the police to sweep up from the road surface, so everyone will be happy!

[Dark]

Great post Stevo! couldn't have said it better myself
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[ram_doom]

There should be an observation made of these roads, and anyone seen driving at 15% less than the speed limit where it would be safe to do so, should be made to attend an advanced country road driving course

There is no way in ferkin hell that I'm letting the inept ruin some of the most rewarding and challenging roads in the country
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[bazza]

You don't solve the problem by lowering the speed limit; you solve it by raising the driving standards.

i.e. Make the driving test:

a. Harder.

b. Progressive. Limit the class of vehicle to the driver's ability and experience, so a 4x4 driver will have to pass their basic test in a sub-1.2l car, then after 2 years pass a further test for a larger vehicle.

c. Compulsory refresher tests linked to insurance class. Someone who's been driving for 15 years would have taken 3 refresher tests and would be a class 3 driver, earning them a bigger insurance discount. Any accidents where the driver was at fault would earn a loss of classification which they can only regain by passing another refresher.

d. Introduce an offence of "unsafe driving" which covers such things as driving at slow speeds, pulling halfway out of junctions, bad road positioning and all the other stupid things that drivers to which aren't technically illegal, but which undoubtedly contribute to accidents.

So at the end of it, you get better drivers capable of driving the vehicles they own in a safer and more acceptable fashion. When you have that, there's no need to reduce speed limits.

Bugger. Who left that soap-box there?
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