MINI too fast for "B" roads. Government to act swiftly!

[Apial]

The title of this post is little tongue in cheek, but there is a serious aspect to it too.

The Government is proposing a blanket 40 mph limit on all the countries "B" roads. I guess that this includes the thousands of "unclassified" roads that exist around the country too.

As all MINIs are fitted with more than gears 1 and 2, that means you. In Lincolnshire 90% of the roads will be affected under the proposals. Even some tractors wil have to slow down!

This legislation would have serious consequences for all car owners. We would be in the ludicrous position where the average family banger would be capable of doing 2.5 X the speed limit. Buyers would want cars with 30 bhp or less.

The future of cars such as the MCS would be brought into doubt as buyers would be reluctant to pay for performance that was totally unusable.

Journey times would increase to 19th century levels.

I for one, would have been prosecuted for riding my bicycle at over the speed limit on several occasions, had this limit applied during my youth.

So just exactly how serious is this proposal, as April 1st is bit too far away for this to be a joke?

[3GGG]

Why don't they just bring back the man with the red flag in front of the vehicle?

[Apial]

Quote:

Originally posted by 3GGG
Why don't they just bring back the man with the red flag in front of the vehicle?

They already have done.

His name is TONY BLAIR.

[eBrit]

Quote:

Originally posted by 3GGG
Why don't they just bring back the man with the red flag in front of the vehicle?

Now let's be realistic....How many cameras will they deploy on these thousand twisting roads? ...and if you can't spot Mr Plod on your tail in the 'Vast Green '...there is no hope.

Remember, the French (and general European) motto ..."Rules are there to be broken"

And let us JUSTIFY ourselves...."The man with the red flag" was run over and killed by "Rocket" !!!!!

What a happy note on November 5th

eBrit

[3GGG]

Quote:

Originally posted by eBrit



Remember the French (and general European) motto ..."Rules are there to be broken"

What a happy note on November 5th

eBrit

Yes,

"Laws are for the guidance of wise men and the blind obedience of fools"

[eBrit]

Quote:

Originally posted by 3GGG
Why don't they just bring back the man with the red flag in front of the vehicle?

Originally posted by Apial
They already have done..... His name is TONY BLAIR.

Originally posted by eBrit
And let us JUSTIFY ourselves...."The man with the red flag" was run over and killed by "Rocket" !!!!!

WELL...that's an interesting thought

eBrit

[Gee4orce]

Some of the drivers I get stuck behind seem to think that this law already applies....

[NickG]

I think it's a good point, as I have got older/more mature, the speed at which I drive through towns/built up areas has decreased to where it is either at or below the speed limit, while on the motoway when conditions allow I am happy to drive at 95mph. Where problems occur is when roads that don't warrent a reduction in speed get them, and then worse are enforced with gatsos or similar.

My local authority has a policy of allowing communities to determine their own speed limits, what this means is that the parish councils are able to dictate the speed limits. No offence to anyone who sits on a parish council but I'm sure they are not representative of the population as a whole, certainly not of motoring enthusiasts.

So what were 60 limits become 30s with only the odd farm house alongside the road, the 30 generally get ignored by everyone, so it is extended outside the hamlet, and usally preceded by a long 40 limit in an attempt to get people to slow by the 40, the result being that in the rural area where I live all the villages will soon be joined by 40 limits anyway, and these are fairly major roads, and most have fields on both sides.

I would love to see some statistics on how the reduction in speed limits and therefore increased journey times adds up in terms of man hours spent travelling, pre increases.

Phew, rant over got a bit carried away there sorry.

[Dom]

Why can't they stop hassling us and catch some real criminals??

Dom

[NickG]

Real criminals don't give them 60 quid to spend on coffee and donuts when they get caught.

[Gee4orce]

Good point - surely the likelihood of an accident is directly proportional to the amount of time spend driving, and only indirectly related to the speed at which you are driving !? It's the severity of the accident that's affected by the speed.

[AntH]

Studies have shown that reducing speed limits can INCREASE the average speed of traffic...

A minority observe the new limit, while the majority were at least showing some sort of respect to the old limit. Result: people get frustrated driving at 28mph along a straight, empty piece of road, pull out, overtake, then put their foot down to make up lost time. Result: increase in average speed. This also applies to sections of road AFTER speed cameras....

[R1]

Better sell the R1 then and buy a pushbike! .............NOT!!

Stuff 'em!!!

[Wul]

I did a quick search on the web and came up with this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...19/nsped19.xml

Looks like it could be a real possibility!

What a Nightmare!

[chiph]

Quote:

Originally posted by AntH
Studies have shown that reducing speed limits can INCREASE the average speed of traffic...

A minority observe the new limit, while the majority were at least showing some sort of respect to the old limit. Result: people get frustrated driving at 28mph along a straight, empty piece of road, pull out, overtake, then put their foot down to make up lost time. Result: increase in average speed. This also applies to sections of road AFTER speed cameras....

In the US, the highway engineers try and set the speed limit to the 80th percentile of traffic. Of course, then the politicians then call up: "Mrs. Rosewater, one of my most important constituents, says cars are flying by her - can you lower the limit near her house?"

Chip H.