What 80mph limit means for you

What difference will it make?

Most people do at least 80 and everybody knows the police don't actually care and won't stop you for it.

70 is too slow. Any fuel increase makes no difference - people are doing 80 today and would do 80 tomorrow, if it became legal.

All the arguments above are based on the notion that people do 70. Most don't and haven't for years.

By AlexisV on 12 October, 2011, 1:04pm

Typical shopping distances?

By Sean_87 on 12 October, 2011, 1:16pm

I take the point of view that drivers are now considering the cost of motoring and I would expect that be to be reflected in more modest speeds on motorways. Yes, it will be great to have a higher legal limit but I can imagine a lot of drivers not exploring the limit too often - it is too expensive.

Having a high legal limit does not mean that every driver should or will drive at that speed. I have racked up many thousands of kilometres on German autobahns and I have, on more than one or two occasions, put the foot down. But this is the exception more than the rule and anyone who has driven a lot in Germany will acknowledge that most traffic sits at around 120km/h (75mph) or only slightly faster. Yes, you will see the occasional flying machine roaring down the outside lane but not too often. When I have driven near to my vehicle's limits I have noticed the marked difference in fuel consumption and stepped off the accelerator.

The key to getting from A to B more quickly in so many cases is better education of drivers in motorway use. God forbid, maybe it's time for the reintroduction of the old style public information film! On so many occasions in recent year I have been amazed by the number of drivers who simply sit in the middle lane and make no effort to move over even when there is nothing in the inside lane for as far as the eye can see. What's worse is that so very often they are not even doing close to 70mph. Last spring I was heading south on the M6 somewhere north of Lancaster when the weather closed in rapidly, it was almost dark in the middle of the day and the rain came down like a monsoon. Everyone turned on their lights - everyone except the guy in the rusty Triumph Acclaim doing 40mph in the middle lane! Sheer lunacy.

German drivers get out and in double quick with no hanging about in an inappropriate lane. Driving lights are not compulsory in daytime but are widely used.

If we would be constantly aware of what we signed up for when we passed our driving test then we could avoid so many bad driving habits. It's all there in the Highway Code after all.

As far as motoring Armageddon is concerned the 80mph limit is a total red herring. Improve driving technique and we will all get to our destinations more rapidly and in a calmer state of mind. Anybody wishing to improve their technique need initially look no further than "Roadcraft - the Police Driver's Handbook" (£15.99, The Stationery Office) which is a straightforward and logical read. Well it needs to be doesn't it? Cops are not that bright after all are they? :))

By plawrence1 on 12 October, 2011, 1:55pm

I take the point of view that drivers are now considering the cost of motoring and I would expect that be to be reflected in more modest speeds on motorways. Yes, it will be great to have a higher legal limit but I can imagine a lot of drivers not exploring the limit too often - it is too expensive.

Having a high legal limit does not mean that every driver should or will drive at that speed. I have racked up many thousands of kilometres on German autobahns and I have, on more than one or two occasions, put the foot down. But this is the exception more than the rule and anyone who has driven a lot in Germany will acknowledge that most traffic sits at around 120km/h (75mph) or only slightly faster. Yes, you will see the occasional flying machine roaring down the outside lane but not too often. When I have driven near to my vehicle's limits I have noticed the marked difference in fuel consumption and stepped off the accelerator.

The key to getting from A to B more quickly in so many cases is better education of drivers in motorway use. God forbid, maybe it's time for the reintroduction of the old style public information film! On so many occasions in recent year I have been amazed by the number of drivers who simply sit in the middle lane and make no effort to move over even when there is nothing in the inside lane for as far as the eye can see. What's worse is that so very often they are not even doing close to 70mph. Last spring I was heading south on the M6 somewhere north of Lancaster when the weather closed in rapidly, it was almost dark in the middle of the day and the rain came down like a monsoon. Everyone turned on their lights - everyone except the guy in the rusty Triumph Acclaim doing 40mph in the middle lane! Sheer lunacy.

German drivers get out and in double quick with no hanging about in an inappropriate lane. Driving lights are not compulsory in daytime but are widely used.

If we would be constantly aware of what we signed up for when we passed our driving test then we could avoid so many bad driving habits. It's all there in the Highway Code after all.

As far as motoring Armageddon is concerned the 80mph limit is a total red herring. Improve driving technique and we will all get to our destinations more rapidly and in a calmer state of mind. Anybody wishing to improve their technique need initially look no further than "Roadcraft - the Police Driver's Handbook" (£15.99, The Stationery Office) which is a straightforward and logical read. Well it needs to be doesn't it? Cops are not that bright after all are they? :))

By plawrence1 on 12 October, 2011, 2:16pm

@Sean_87

Typo alert! Thanks for the spot - we've now fixed it.

Auto Express

By Rhian on 12 October, 2011, 2:45pm

I would like to see manufacturers issue average mpg for constant speeds – say 60, 70 and 80 mph. That way motorists would at least be able to see how economical a car would be for motorway driving. Most, I am sure, when they realise how much fuel they are using by driving at 80 (or even 70) would slow to a more economical speed.
My own method of achieving optimum fuel consumption is to restrict the engine speed to about 2000 rpm; in my current car that equates to just over 60 mph on motorways and achieves fuel consumption of about mid fifties. I have also driven the same routes at a constant 70 and the fuel consumption is only about forty. I figured that it was preferable to save the money wasted on extra fuel rather than save a little bit of time. It is also makes for a much more relaxing drive; no getting frustrated sitting behind ‘whale racing’ lorries.

By bootthewonderdog on 12 October, 2011, 4:25pm

It's probably a good thing but...

...this country needs to sort out its' lane discipline.

For those of you who don't know the M8 it is mainly a 2 lane heavily congested dual carriageway between Glasgow and Edinburgh. I have the unfortunate task of having to commute along much of it's length and at peak traffic times you can actually get along the road quicker in the left lane due to all the 'bampots' sitting on the right lane. Much of the time, heading up all the traffic in the right lane is someone doing exactly 70mph (or a truck taking 5 mins to overtake another truck!).

Accidents mostly occur in the right lane at these times due to everyone 'rubber-necking'. It's a living, current picture of the shocking lane discipline that the 'Code understanding' drivers have to put up with across the UK. I can honestly say that driving on the left and passing everyone on the right is safer than being bumper to bumper stuck in the right lane. The Code says stick to the left remember.

On less busy times (or on those rare Scottish motorway occasions when 2 lanes turns into 3) I have frequently been confronted with a motorist sitting in the outside lane doing 70-75mph! You want to pass them, but 'suddenly' they seem oblivious to your presence (even though you have already tracked their eyes looking into their rear view mirror) and don't move to the left. Sorry, but on these occasions I think they are the ones that could cause an accident (as I pass them on the left and signal my indicator and do example overtaking manoeuvres to inform them of their incompetent driving skills).

So to sum up, being able to do more than 70mph (legally) is possibly a good thing but it's tackling the lane discipline which needs to happen first.

By dan_gers on 12 October, 2011, 5:23pm

70MPH speed limit is an "antiquated one" and should have been changed 20 years ago. All these "Green Freaks" make me laugh, we are trying to ruin the car industry but building "Hybrid Cars" and "Electric Cars" that have been proven MORE expensive to run!!!
Wake up do not believe the hype, the Car is not responsible for any global climate changes, the SUN IS.
No one I see on motorways or duel carriageways complies with the 70 MPH limit, more like 85MPH me included.
It would be about time for these changes now.
School roads and back streets 25 MPH, but motorways should be higher "Legally".

By john550i on 13 October, 2011, 7:40am

Hysterical nonsense from the anti-car and carbon clpatrap lobby

80mph would simply legalise what most drivers are doing already - so no increaase in fuel consumption or accidents. The RACF have now withdrawn the silly Greenpeace claim of a 20% increase in fuel consumption. As usual the likes of the AA and RACF side with the anti-car lobby - shame on them. Anyway, fuel isn't free - we pay a high price for it with two-thirds going in tax/vat - it's our fuel and we burn it how we like in Euro standard engines!

By biggsy24 on 13 October, 2011, 7:57am

A poor and rather anti-car article!

And from a motoring website too!

Firstly, trying to tell us it won't let us go any faster because half the motorway network during the DAY can't do that speed. Oh purlease don't insult our intelligence!!!! Why not tell us that there will probably be a 20 limit at the other end so we may as well all drive at 20?! For pity's sake! The whole point of a speed LIMIT is that it should be a maximum in ideal circumstances. Motorists have always been encouraged to stay within it. What better way of getting that message across and encuraging public support for the concept than by having a realistic one? That's part of the whole problem with speed limit compliance in this country. The motorway limit is so widely ignored that it degrades respect for any other sort of limit on other roads!

And 30 metre stopping distance from 80? You're a motoring website, why don't go go and measure it in a few cars. I think you might be surprised! We've come a long way since the Highway Code was written - don't go on outdated hearsay - get some FACTS!

I see you're also quoting the worst rise in fuel consumption from your list. A bit of hysteria maybe? It varies from car to car. Why not repeat that test using the sorts of cars that one regularly see DOING 80 on motorways? A BMW 4 series maybe? A Jag? Besides, although you CLAIM that fuel consumption will rise, that CLAIM is based on the ASSUMPTION that everyone currently drives at 70! I don't believe for one moment that I'll drive everywhere at 80, just because I can, and nor do I think many others will. The difference is that under the current system, you only have to be doing 80 once, in the wrong place, for a fraction of a second and you'll be £60 and three points wrse off, REGARDLESS of the road conditions or any actual danger caused. In effect, being punished for something that is perfectly legal in most of the rest of Europe!

By molebag on 13 October, 2011, 8:19am

Perspective!

Isn't it about time that we put a little perspective on this article?...

If as reported, most drivers or at least a good proportion already break the 70 limit, how is it going to increase the rate of accidents? How is it going to raise the level of fuel consumption? Surely, these limits are already in place, albeit without official sanction, so the suggested "pitfalls" are already there?

When the stopping distances are mentioned, it is always distance from a stationery object. On a motorway, unless someone hasn’t noticed stopped traffic, you never get that situation! The traffic in front also has to have that slowing down as well, so the 30 car lengths is a bit of a misnomer! Then factor in the max figure of 55mph, achievable on half the British motorway network, this is all hot air about nothing! In fact, the only benefit to anyone is to the people who travel at up to 88mph now! It will take them out of the court system for something that seems unenforceable.

If the Government really want to make our motorways safer (they are the safest roads we have!) then tackle the middle lane drivers! Tackle those that only do 50 mph in the middle lane. Allow undertaking on motorways as it is in other countries and with no increase in accidents. New Zealand has this system and has free running roads. They certainly don’t get the outside lane congestion that we do!

Lastly, education! Get the police to drive on motorways in unmarked cars, looking for those who drive in the middle and outside lanes without need. Stop and warn! The sooner we start to drive on motorways like our French and German cousins, the better…

By Rumour on 13 October, 2011, 9:13am

Hear, Hear Rumour

......thanks for backing up some of my points. Today, again there was 6 cars sitting at 70mph in the outside lane with no one in the left. No guessing what I did next.....(I took the New Zealand example).

Crazy, crazy stuff - seriously the % of drivers who don't understand the common laws of driving on my route must be 70-80%.

By dan_gers on 13 October, 2011, 9:24am

Stopping distances

Can we please stop using stopping distances from the Highway Code based on a Morris Minor with Drum Brakes!

By biggsy24 on 13 October, 2011, 9:26am

Hear, Hear Rumour

......thanks for backing up some of my points. Today, again there was 6 cars sitting at 70mph in the outside lane with no one in the left. No guessing what I did next.....(I took the New Zealand example).

Crazy, crazy stuff - seriously the % of drivers who don't understand the common laws of driving on my route must be 70-80%.

By dan_gers on 13 October, 2011, 10:16am

M25 at 80mph, comes to grinding halt at Dartford Crossing.

The government have decided to increase speed limits on motorways from 70 to 80 mph to speed up traffic to improve the economy, but there is a conflict of interest reference the Dartford Tunnel / QE2 Bridge. The logic being that you would be able to do 80mph around the M25 only to come to a grinding halt at the tunnel toll booths.

The tunnel / bridge was only agreed to be built under planning regulations on the express understanding that the fees would be removed once the bridge/tunnels had been paid for! This was achieved many years ago, but the fees not only continue but have been increased!

Whilst I appreciate that these are difficult financial times for the country, the government cannot have it both ways. They want to increase speed limits but continue to provide an artificial bottleneck at the tunnel. Even when on rare occasions the toll fee is suspended there are still massive waiting times due to the fact that the barriers instead of being permanently lifted to allow a free flow of traffic, they are still left to operate slowing traffic down unnecessarily.

The toll booths should be removed completely and immediately with no fees. This would achieve the government’s target of speeding up traffic immediately.

The long daily queue effects are:

1. Pollution is increased causing health and environmental problems, especially to those stuck in the traffic.
2. Wasted fuel causing
a. Increased costs to individual
b. Increased energy imports to UK PLC!
3. Wasted time
a. Affects the UK economy as the government have admitted
b. Affects the efficiency of the individual to carry out their duties, personal and business.
4. Frustration which leads to anger and possibly an increase in accidents later on due to the stresses involved
5. Missed appointments, ferries etc.
6. A N Other?

Someone sould carry out a profit and loss exercise on the above. Time and the environment are the biggest losers.

By ericlowe22 on 13 October, 2011, 10:20am

Wag

Tolls must be one of the most inefficient ways of collecting tax. Move to Scotland. Our government has scrapped tolls on bridges.

By catriona55 on 13 October, 2011, 10:36am

Go 4 It

With all the "lowered" speed limits on normal roads ie; 20 then up to 40/50 then within 100/200 yards going back down to 30, some journeys take half as long again. Iwhenever possible use motorway/dual carriageway it may mean going further but at 80 would mean I could get to my destination only 5 minutes or so later so I'm all for 80. I will add, because I'm an intelligent person should the weather be somewhat inclimate I slow down and go as safely fast as weather allows, now that responsible driving unlike some idiots. I have driven on the German unrestricted autobanns and even there should the weather be bad have driven accordingly slower, the German drivers also have a responsible attitude to this.

By shad25 on 13 October, 2011, 11:02am