‘Stupidly low’ 60mph motorway limit would cause MORE accidents, blast ABD

Friday, February 21, 2014 - 14:00
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Motorway-fleet-news

LOW: Do you back the 60mph limits?

Proposals to enforce 60mph motorway speed limits would cause MORE accidents, the Alliance of British Drivers (ABD) have blasted.

It has been revealed that, between junctions 3 and 4 of the M3, the speed limit could be reduced to meet EU pollution laws.

However, the ABD claim the ‘stupidly low’ threshold would incite inattentive driving and make the motorway more unsafe.

The Alliance also slammed the government for ‘pandering to naïve but vociferous lobby groups who have no real perspective on safer driving’.

Nigel Humphries, of the ABD, said: “Driving at a speed with a good balance between speed and safety demands that the driver give full attention to the road.

“When drivers are forced to drive at absurdly low speeds, they stop paying attention, because they no longer perceive any risk.

“Their mind wanders off to other worries.”

The ABD call for the removal of 20mph speed limits, the retention of 60mph speed limits on rural single carriageways, a motorway speed limit increase and national speed limit standards.

8 Comments

  1. Entirely agree with the headline. As usual, hand-wringing, pant-wetting lobbyists make policy again.

    When will someone in authority have the common sense to make the driving test a real test of a driver’s capacity to control a car, so that the roads are safe enough to drive on at speeds commensurate with modern auto engineering?

    It ludicrous to have to drive at 60 or 70mph on motorways in cars capable of being driven safely at well over 100mph.

  2. If the limit goes down to 60mph what speed will the people who hog the middle lane go at?

  3. I totally agree with the headline. Personally, I drive much more attentively at speed and consequently safer – I’m sure that most people would react exactly the same. It’s like snow skiing – more people get injured pottering about than skiing at speed!

    Further, the ridiculous idea of fluctuating mandatory speeds on motorways for no apparent reason is even more dangerous – which is often the case in the Midlands on the M42 and now recently the busiest stretch of motorway in Europe on the M6 junctions 5 – 12.

    Yesterday the brand new signage over the M6 between junction 8-10 was stating ‘Congestion’ when there was non and further advising drivers to use the hard shoulder even though there were two stationary cars on the hard shoulder approximately 1/2 mile from junction 10!! In the very short time of me passing the two cars a HGV very narrowly missed both of them. Clearly, if the authorities are going to use signage to advise drivers of which lane to use they need to be aware of the immediate dangers that lie ahead!

    The authorities need to confine their tinkering to prosecuting irresponsible motorists who insist on driving in the middle lane of motorways. If this action was policed properly this would certainly make the motorways even safer.

  4. totally agree with post 60 limits will do nothing for safety, more training etc is needed to work out appropriate speed for conditions /traffic etc
    I think there should be variable speed limits up to 100mph depending on the time of day

  5. The UK/EU air quality limits and pollution restrictions save 100’s of lives each year, and improve quality of live for people living in the pollution. No driver should think they can pollute and kill. All drivers should be attentive to their safety and that of others it is a poor hypothesis that lowering speeds reduces the concentration or attention required for safe driving. Some drivers have no regard for risk until they are in court following a fatal accident – then they change their perception but too late. Nobody should endorse or advocate anything other then defensive lawful driving. Or would they choose to increase road deaths as well as intolerable pollution?

  6. We urgently require this Government to sit up and take notice of ALL out of date speed limits, we operate out of Lincolnshire which has traffic madness caused by lorries, who’s speed limits are 40mph on our antiquated single carriageway A roads, these vehicles would easily travel safely at 50mph and seriously reduce the terrifying risks taken by some motorists who simply MUST overtake at ALL costs, resulting in the ultra high accident rate we have in this Motorwayless massive county, but no, instead our inept Lincs highways dept only want to reduce speeds and further frustrate drivers, why dont these desk sitters have any positive ideas?

  7. Yes I do agree that at the moment the majority of drivers see the 70mph as 80 to 100mph and those of us that travel at 65mph to save fuel and drive safely are not liked.

    So lets see the motorways reduced to 60mph and have average speed cameras on them all, plus the national speed limits need to be indicated.

    Another thought is that engine sizes should start to be limited.

  8. since the 70mph limit is read by a majority of drivers as 90-100mph, presumably 60mph will be treated as at least 80mph anyway.
    Personally, I try to drive at 60mph already as the saving on fuel is significant and I consider myself a responsible driver.