Around Gloucester, a large number of roads have been reduced from national speed limit to 50mph. These include a dual carriageway stretch of the A40 in a rural area with only two or three right turnings, all with dedicated filter lanes. At busy times this limit makes no difference anyway, whilst at quiet times it has made the road more dangerous in my opinion as everyone trundles along in clusters of cars dreading the sight of a speed camera. (The nature of the approach roads mean that traffic tends to arrive in bunches, ie all being held at traffic lights). Many other A roads have been similarly blighted, without any particular history of speed related casualties that I know of.
Who decides the speed limit on trunk roads - the Highways Agency or county authorities? Either way, the NSL is an endangered species in this part of the world, the motorway will seemingly soon be the only place where > 50mph is deemed safe.
Just today I was about 10th in a line behind a 40mph dawdler on the 50mph A38 between Tewkesbury and Gloucester - the couple of cars that did overtake presumably had to break the speed limit to complete what should have been a piece-of-cake safe manouevre, or they had to spend greater time on the opposite side of the road, increasing danger and reducing the overtaking opportunities for the cars behind (hence increased frustration).
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Who makes the rules on speed limits-?
probably the police along with local authorities decide on how they can raise funds and where they are more likely to fleece the motorist and accordingly reduce the speed, and set up speed cameras on open stretches of roads
I live in a village between two towns, with a park, several schools and village shops - and am fed up with speeding motorists often doing 50+, but the council said as there had been no accidents they wouldn't even be a temporary speed camera.
The dawdler doing 40, probably sticks to that speed whether it is a 30,40,50, or nsl - myopic, I'm doing a steady speed causing no problems mentality- who doesn't use the rear view mirror
oh I hate Bank holiday drivers
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I can recall (as a young passenger) pre-1973 single carriageways with NSL of 70 mph. There are posters here who can recall driving when derestricted meant derestricted. Just a shame that the cars were rubbish pre-1965(or was it 1963?). Although a good Bonneville could make good progress as and when required.
I've had several conversations with mature drivers who refer to nonsensical times for cross country journeys in the 1960s and early 1970s eg Liverpool to Dover in a touch over 3 hours, but then I realised that the common theme was that epic trips were undertaken in the small hours, by enthusiastic drivers, generally in the summer to catch the ferry. So no tractors, no commuters, no holiday makers, Plod had no way to intercept or photograph, just the odd milkfloat to sweep past, depart at 0200 hrs and hold a steady 100+ wherever possible. Before my time of course.
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There are posters here who can recall driving when derestricted meant derestricted. Just a shame that the cars were rubbish pre-1965(or was it 1963?).
Cobblers.
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On our regular tips to Cardiff we often used to use the A48 from Gloucester to Chepstow - great views across the Severn and the A road broke up the miles of motorway - it was also a fairly quiet road and good progress could be made, we used it so often I knew it very well.
A few years ago we decided to return using the A48 - the 50mph limit and proliferation of speed cameras in safe overtaking areas meant it was crossed off my 'Great roads of the UK' list.
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I suspect we can blame some of this - and I agree that it seems like undue restriction - on the BR's old friends in the generously-cut leathers. Much of the A444 between the A5 and the M42 has a new 50mph limit, and it's also a road that gets a lot of two-wheeled attention and, I believe, has the accident record to match. A pity - it's a nice drive with some stimulating twists and contours, and a few places where no-one sane would exceed 50, or even 40, anyway.
Like some others here, I suspect this sort of thing has a perverse effect on some drivers: whereas they take NSL, correctly, to mean 'anything up to 60, so long as it's safe', 50 on a country road says to them 'they obviously think 50 is the safe speed for this road' and cruise along at exactly that. In other words, what should have been a warning to be more alert has actually made them less so.
Doesn't bother the fat bikers (there, I said it!) of course. They took little notice of the old limit and even less of the new one.
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It's the same around here and getting worse. Dual carriageways are narrowed and speed limits reduced with the dreaded cameras everywhere. Motoring is becoming a game avoiding getting a speeding fine and finding a route home avoiding the car damaging humps beloved of Basingstoke and Deane anti- motorist council. It is only a matter of time before i get 'done'. I like to think I drive sensibly and safely but with so many cameras and speed traps around points on the licence which has been clean for 40 years seem inevitable. I am waging a one man campaign to avoid giving any money to the local lot in speeding fines but it only needs one momentary lapse in concentration.......
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I have seen the same thing in the Luton area. It's not just NSL roads that are becoming 50. 50 is becoming 40, 40 becomes 30, and 30 becomes 20.
I suspect this is due to central government dictating to councils. It is due to a highly simplistic attitude of this government to road safety. Make cars slower = safer. I think it is daft. They could for example make sure that pedestrians do not walk into the road, particularly when inebriated, but motorists are an easy target. Maybe in our Socialist Utopia only the top pig needs to travel fast.
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EU Directive. All member states have to analyse every 'death or serious injury' and do something (or be seen to be doing something) about it.
I read about it recently on some council's website while looking for something else.
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