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Speed Limits Spiraling Ever Down
Blog Date - 07 August 2012
If you see one of these, it's time to slow down...
Once upon a time, long long ago, things were simple (oh the joy of rose tinted glasses). If you were in a built up area the speed limit was 30mph, if you were out of town in the countryside the speed limit was 60mph. Even further back it was unlimited but that was before my time. I do recall some 20 years ago there were 40 and 50 zones but they were few and far between, and a 20 zone was unheard of.
I live in Bolton in the North West. Manchester lies to the South East, Liverpool to the South West, Preston to the North and Blackburn to the North West. There is countryside around, some of it quite pleasant, but this is a highly populous area. The old national speed limit sign, the white circle with the black diagonal line, is a rare thing and it's becoming ever more so.
I know there was much talk in government about reducing the national speed limit from 60 to 50, or maybe even 40, miles per hour. The problem with such a policy is that it would prove unpopular, and national governments don't like unpopular as they are desperate to get voted back in. So it seems the policy is being implemented through the back door, by making it easier for councils to drop speed limits and by encouraging them to do so by creating safety targets. The councils have responded by dropping as many roads as possible to 50 and 40 zones.
These are becoming a rare breed. How ling before this no longer means 60mph on a single track road, but maybe 50 or even 40mph?
I'm unsure as to how I feel about this. Anyone who reads this will guess I'm no speed freak, but I do like to move along and I enjoy curving a bend and opening the taps from time to time. On the other hand I've had first hand experience of the pain caused to those injured on the roads and to those who's loved ones have died in road traffic accidents. Like any spoiled child I want to be able to play but not suffer the consequences.
I hear those who cry "Speed doesn't kill!" Of course speed itself does not kill, but crashing at speed does. If we all traveled at 15mph in our cars, motorbikes, lorries and buses then I'm sure there'd still be the odd fatality but far far less, perhaps even a year could pass without a death. So why not impose such a harsh speed limit? We've got used to high speed transport and our economy depends upon it. A typical business journey could quadruple in time, the journey to work may double and the idea of going to Cornwall on holiday at 15mph would be hellish! Even at a steady 15 with no breaks it would take me 24 hours solid ride. I can fly to Australia in less time that.
Then of course for the biker riding at speed, even a sensible speed, is part of the fun. Even sticking rigidly to the national speed limit in the countryside there's bends aplenty that will challenge at 60mph. At 15 even a cyclist can navigate a sharp bend. Bikers can and often do pay a heavy toll for this fun, sometimes innocent bystanders pay that price as well.
So any government is trapped. Stuck between the modern demand to be somewhere else as quickly as possible and the human suffering caused in this pursuit. Wedged between families of those who've lost loved ones on our roads and those who enjoy the pleasure of riding or driving. It's an impossible conundrum. At present the weight is shifting towards lower speed limits and harsher enforcement of those limits.
I think there will come a time when almost all roads will be less than 60mph, except motorways. Town centres and residential areas will be 20mph. I can also see a time when each vehicle is physically limited to the posted limit, the technology is already available with our computer controlled bikes and cars combined with satellite navigation. I think this will reduce accidents and save lives, but at the cost of freedom and pleasure on our roads.
While the National Speed Limit sign is becoming scarce, the 20mph sign is breeding profusely.
Oh hell, I don't know what to think, like any spoiled child I want to be able to play but not suffer the consequences.
Reader's Comments
Tom McQ said :-
I live in Horwich and am perfectly happy for speed limits to be reduced in the urban areas around me. Some streets (eg Claypool Lane) are being reduced to 20mph and I agree with that too. On small streets lined with family homes, the priority HAS to be the pedestrians and particularly the kids.
But for goodness sake, the speed restrictions in some areas are just plain ridiculous! The other day I was in Manchester on a Dual Carriagway WITH a central reservation and the speed limit was 30!!!
Every weekend I use the A6 and as it goes through Preston, it just gets plain crazy. Wide, straight road with great visibility and again, a 30 restriction.
Worse still, they have recently reduced a "National Speed Limit" section of the A6 between Lancaster and Garstang to 50mph. You know why I think this is?? I reckon it's because there were so many IDIOTS in cars who don't even KNOW what the national speed limit is on a single carriageway. These fools tootle along at 40mph and cause huge tailbacks, which in turn, cause the drivers behind to become aggitated and carry out risky overtakes, blaring their horns as they pass by.
The Police carry out speed checks - I reckon they should pull these idiots over and ask them what the speed limit is on the current road. If they don't know - give them a verbal (recorded) warning and if they don't brush up on their highway code, they should be fined if they get pulled up again and haven't learned.
The other weekend, I went riding around Derbyshire and enjoyed it very much, BUT the journey to get there was thoroughly miserable due to all the pathetically slow speed limits.
Motoring pleasure is being strangled!
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