Really? I thought it was just an arbitrary number. 80 in France is "safe" but in England it's speeding.
Turboman
Mab An Gov
Believe it is to do with safety and fuel economy. That is what my driving instructor told me. He remembered National Speed Limit being introduced.
It got introduced cos some geezer went up the m1 pretty quick and it got in the papers.
private penguin
Well-Known Member
I suspect at the time the limits were introduced, france had less congested roads than us?
As modern cars have got better, with better brakes, limits haven't increased unfortunately.
The german autobahns didnt feel particularly unsafe - although the speed differential between lorries at 60 and cars at 100+ was very noticeable. But i was driving them in a modern, swedish built car with a great safety record and a powerful engine. I would not want to be on there in a series landrover. But then i'd also rather not be on the M4 in a series landrover.
Yes its my choice to want to drive quickly on the motorways. But it's your choice to drive a car which isn't up to modern standards on the motorway. Why should your choice have priority over the majority of peope who want to get places quickly?
flat
Well-Known Member
It was bloody ages ago. 1960 something.
Car technology, tyre, engine and fuel technology etc have moved on a LOT since then but the speed limit has remained the same.
It was introduced because of the number of people crashing driving at whatever speed they wanted in bad weather, not for any other reason!
unfortunately the human body hasn't
.
It was a bit dangerous on the motorways those days, trucks using all three lanes and Morris Minors struggling at 65mph mixing it with Jags and Daimler Darts etc doing ninety. I suppose the 70 limit was to protect the majority of vehicles trundling along at 50 to 60 mph.
And it was 1968 transport act that also brought in HGV licences
And it was 1968 transport act that also brought in HGV licences
private penguin
Well-Known Member
unfortunately the human body hasn't
True.
Although cars now seem to be trying to make up for the human body's failings. The last few hire cars i've driven have all sorts of sensors to brake in the event of a hazard.
Hippo
Lord Hippo
Probably changed the engine for a rover 1.8k seriesI take it all these old Defenders doing 90 or cruising at 80 are tweaked to the heavens.
mikescuba
Well-Known Member
The motorways or Peage in France are wider than the British motorways, and they are in a better state of repair with less traffic on them in most cases.
Stone56
Well-Known Member
Have got to agree whith that but when you drive across EU most of the roads and motorways are better than GB
mikescuba
Well-Known Member
What amazes me is the speed with which they clear up accidents here in France and repair the barriers. In the UK the motorways and roads are closed off for ages. I was driving into Paris recently and a large motor home was completely on its side. I thought to myself I'm going to hit a traffic jam on the way back. 30 minutes later I drove back and it had all been cleared up, no signs of any accident. I also recently drove to St Etienne. and they had just started to repair the barrier from a previous accident. Never seen so many repair vehicles at the scene. I drove back three and a half hours later and they were just driving off. Job done.
Original lower speed limit on motorways was 35 MPH. That is why mopeds, and i mean bloody mopeds, NOT motor scooters that are now called Mopeds, were not allowed on motorways, because they could not maintain that speed and were likely to be blown about by passing traffic. Motor scooters were allowed on motorways but not Mopeds, IE Motor/Pedal assisted.
