Post
by nvdw » 14 Mar 2009 10:12 pm
Oh joy. Another limit lowered to accommodate the terminally stupid.
Having been to Blighty lately, I was surprised to find such a thing as a blanket speed limit of 60 mph, regardless of any road as long as it wasn't in built-up areas. I've driven on roads where the NSL applied yet I wouldn't even think of driving half that. And that's the beauty of a blanket speed limit. Even though it's legal to drive 60 mph on such a road, no one in his right mind would do it. Unfortunately there'll always be the stereotypical loudpipe Nova driver hitting a tree at 70, killing himself. But to be very honest I don't think any limit is going to keep such events from happening. I would say even more road deaths would occur.
The nature of any speed limit should be such that the vast majority of all drivers will adhere to it regardless, or rather drive at a slower pace. Nowadays lots of politicians agree limits should be applied as to save teh planet or the trees or the children or other sentimental nonsense and by doing so, they ruin the basic premise of every rule, law and speed limit: it should be believable. For every 30-sign that has been put up for no apparent reason, a 30-sign somewhere else in the country will be ignored, even if it would apply to the road conditions at hand. And how can a lower speed limit make any road safer if it's not being adhered to?
A similar discussion comes up regularly in Germany (as Tom would know I suppose) about its derestricted autobahns, with the same blah blah about speed limits reducing CO2 emissions and saving the wabbits or whatever. The truth is that no one is required to drive as fast as possible. In fact, when gas prices skyrocketed last year, I drove on the A3 to Oberhausen in my 340 at a steady 70 mph cruising speed and I even had to pass other vehicles driving at even lower speeds. On that 40 mile stretch, only a handful of cars passed by at what I would call 'autobahn speeds' ie in excess of 100 mph. Hardly a road in need of a speed limit I'd say.
On the contrary, my own country has cracked down on speed in such a manner that hundreds of miles of open roads are now subjected to zonal limits of 60 km/h, which is 38 mph or horsecart speed. It's only applied on a basis that it's a local road not used by transit traffic, which, as far as I know, has little to nothing to do with road safety. The result is, no one takes the limits seriously. The Zeeland province has put up with this bollocks for a few years now, and they are still surprised why road deaths haven't fallen. Gee I wouldn't know.
1988