Taking it easy, its all 50

[StuartFZR400 0]

Lapping up the sunshine I was a little hesitant on sunday when out for a ride. Thats what I continued to do for a lot of the journey too; everywhere seems to be turned into a 50pmh zone, that used to be a National. Its barmey, because you'll drive past a side road that twist & turns more than a pikey in a jewelry store, thats got a national on it, where you wonder how 60 is possible on half of it.

 

It just saddens me a tad, as its added on to the matter that I've heard some forces are cracking down on any road infringement with the unmarked cars. Im not a huge fan of these boys; they're using anything these days - saw some woman plodd on sunday sat in her black impretza with gold alloys. The unofficial word is that they've been told to book anyone for anything - that there are to be zero warnings in our county. I know they use funding from speedcameras, I'll bet they have quotas to meet - anything goes; expect them to fill up the quota on anything.

 

Anyone else got these new limits on nice quiet A roads?

See much sense in it?

I mean, sometimes you can note where there maybe a danger, but there are those triangular warnign signs, or you jsut see the hazard and you back off. No? Well, maybe average joe doesnt.

 

It's deffinately going to be the case that we see far more 50's. On roads that are begging for more, its now going to be begging the question, can i afford to do the old limit. Many roads are so busy. Every headlight I see Im backing off, waiting for it to get close so I can make a decision; they'll use any form of motor-bikes too, no form of identification required either, just a blue strobe when its too late. I never see plodd in town doing anything about speeding there; and that where I see the biggest danger and largest infractions.

 

Take it easy guys and treat everything as plodd.

 

book-em-Danno!

[Jim 2]

They've suddenly changed ALL of the speed limits around Kenilworth and Leamington I've noticed. 60's have become 50's, 50's have become 40's. I'd love to see their research / justification / explanation for doing this on long stretches of road with no houses or junctions on them.

 

To$$ers.

[yeti 0]

They've suddenly changed ALL of the speed limits around Kenilworth and Leamington I've noticed. 60's have become 50's, 50's have become 40's. I'd love to see their research / justification / explanation for doing this on long stretches of road with no houses or junctions on them.

 

To$$ers.

 

same over at gaydon jim - up the fosse and by southam as well... pointless! :cuckoo:

[MattWilde 10]

It's been happening here too :( and as stuart said, the twisty b roads are still national. Thankfully the police still seem thin on the ground so when you forget it's not a 60 anymore you don't get caught out. They have also changed my local bypass to 40 all along, instead of having the middle bit 50. No warning, they just removed the 50 signs and put up a couple of 40's. I still find it difficult not to accelerate to 50 out of habit! Amusingly, they have still left the posts and lights for where the large 50 signs were, good use of electricity guys!!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Suffolk and Essex have been 50 and 40 for years so I'm used to it. All it achieves is congestion. People are too afraid to overtake, so they all bunch up behind the pensioner doing 40 (in a 50) instead :roll:

 

This country is going backwards, fast. We'll make better progress on horse and cart cross country soon.

 

And all because local councillers don't like people driving through their pretty little villages. C'nts, the lot of them, complete and total ones.....

[Swompy 0]

Plus cos every one is going slower and every one will be bunched up no one is going to be able to turn onto a main road from a side roads cos there wont be any safe space to do so

[StuartFZR400 0]

Yeh Gaydon was one place. Stratford to Oxford was another.

Its this bunched up malarky that annoys me. Its so incredibly easy to get past on the bike, that its second nature to pop past. Get back in the car and Im cuckoo at how close people drive. Nobody in the que has a first thought of overtaking, yet hug the bumper of the car in front, all leading to a potential accident and pile up, but never heard of a pile up on an A road. Little do they realise that that short strech of straight was sufficient for a 200bhp to make a clean pass.

:cuckoo:

Im narked too; heres me minding my own business, getting left behind by moms who cane off in the suv in the 30, whereby i often catch up and then go to sleep in the national due to the snail pace. I always leave a large gap, even more than the 2 second rule, basically because it makes life so much more simple, as I know Im not getting past any time soon. Then you get back into town and Ive got those mums in 4x4's ready to mount me... and it happens, hence Im still without a car, for that very reason. Luckily still here today, as I was in a car and not on my bike.

 

Wire, you're right; I wonder how many of these councils are made up of grandad volvo doing 45 everywhere they go.

The thought patterns probably go...o0(There i was doing 45, watching out for bunny rabbits, when this loud car tore past. It was like the Back to Future car, yes that was it, it had flames coming out of it, burning up the street it was. Nearly pushed me off the road - toe-raggs the lot of em).

 

Tell me this then; all those coppers and Advanced motorist instructors who abide to the limits, are now seeing new lower limits - how on earth can they educate us as to how the new limit is better, when only yesterday they'd condoned a quicker pace?

[Leonard 0]

Suffolk and Essex have been 50 and 40 for years so I'm used to it. All it achieves is congestion. People are too afraid to overtake, so they all bunch up behind the pensioner doing 40 (in a 50) instead :roll:

 

Ditto in the Peak District. You can imagine how bad it is here with all the tourists gawping at everything.

 

But yes as you say Stuart the crazy thing is you have these perfectly straight surfaced roads with clear visibility at 50 and then B roads with blind corners, crests, junctions, cyclists, walkers, tractors, cows! etc etc at national limit. Not that I am saying make them 50 as well!!!!!

 

Why the hell there is not more driving education in this country I do not know. The Norwegians know how to do it so why cant we. Re-tests for people of retirement age is a must as well as far as I am concerned with retests every five years there after. Plus GP's should have the authority to remove a patients right to drive if they deem them unfit to do so.

 

Rant over, cheers for the platform :grin:

 

Matt

[junkie 0]

More education needed, in Germany you cant pass your test until you have had lessons and been tested on driving above a fast limit on the Autobahn.

[vwdeviant 0]

2 words...

 

Nanny

 

State

 

 

or

 

Gordon

Brown :bad-words:

 

Buckinghamshire's done this pretty much cross county... not many national speed limits left... My folks live in a tiny cul-de-sac of 6 houses, and the council put a 30 limit sign at the top! Even in a super-car you couldn't get to 30 and stop in time, frikking pointless!

 

And don't get me started on the number of pointless road signs that have sprung up in Aylesbury lately! :bad-words:

[horney 0]

All national speed limit roads are to be reduced to 50 unless they are dual carriageway in new governement proposals.

 

Sucks balls frankly.

 

nick

[Leonard 0]

All national speed limit roads are to be reduced to 50 unless they are dual carriageway in new governement proposals.

 

Sucks balls frankly.

 

nick

 

On some 10 mile journeys on major A roads around where I live I am only 10 minutes slower on my bike :grin:

[swiftkid 1]

*touch wood* its not too bad round here. there are a few sneeky 50s coming in here and there. end of the day its an elected dictatorship, stereotypical views are used by all people in places of power. rather than address the growing issue of bad drivers, they decide it necessary to lower speed limits.

 

heres a message for all the chunts, "LOWERING THE SPEED LIMIT WON'T STOP BAD DRIVING"!!!!!!!

 

i actually got ran off the road this morning along a 60mph road when down a country-ish road someone was driving in the centre of the road, didn't even move out the way when they saw me, i had to go onto the verge to get past. granted it was quite foggy but it was a straight road and the person in front of 'it' managed to stay on their side, if it were 50 mph it wouldn't have made a blind bit of difference.

[Kempy 0]

Junctions 24 - 30 on the M4 seem to 50 now??!! even got perminate signage up

[corradophil 3]

One of my local B roads has been dropped from 60 to 50, and a 40 zone extended.

 

Also one of the few straight sections now has no overtaking signs.

 

The government/council are totally obsessed with slowing traffic down to a snails pace. :hitler:

 

What really is annoying, is that I have written to the council to highlight a potential dangerous situation caused by a refuse truck running along a very busy route at peak traffic times, stopping at every house, which everyone tries to pass to get on with their journey, and the council are not in the slightest bit interested. It appears to me that safety is not their highest priority :shrug:

 

I hate to think what things will be like in 10 years time :epicfail:

[corradophil 3]

Suffolk and Essex have been 50 and 40 for years so I'm used to it. All it achieves is congestion. People are too afraid to overtake, so they all bunch up behind the pensioner doing 40 (in a 50) instead :roll:

 

This country is going backwards, fast. We'll make better progress on horse and cart cross country soon.

 

And all because local councillers don't like people driving through their pretty little villages. C'nts, the lot of them, complete and total ones.....

 

I can understand and accept the low speed limits in villages, but once out of them and away from pedestians etc it is very frustrating.

 

You are spot on about everyone being stuck behind the pensioner doing 40. That describes my average journey perfectly. The only good time to drive is late at night.

[swiftkid 1]

my local council found it clever to reduce the speed limit of a main road from 60 - 50, then kick off because everyone is 'speeding' and set up speed camera's :censored:

[vr6-phil 0]

On the plus side (the only one I can think of)...it helps my MPG!

 

I didn't even realise the speed limit had changed on some of the roads until about a week after. I obviously blanked the signs after driving passed them every day for a good few years.

[Jim 2]

On the plus side (the only one I can think of)...it helps my MPG!

 

I didn't even realise the speed limit had changed on some of the roads until about a week after. I obviously blanked the signs after driving passed them every day for a good few years.

 

Same mate. Noticed that most people seem to be doing the same on the A452 out of Leamington. Even though it's dropped to a 40, most people are still steaming along at 50. Considering there was no warning or notice given and new signs just went up, it's hardly surprising!

[Wendy 0]

The excellent road from mine to Stealth has also been reduced to 50, only when you hit the Warwickshire border though.

 

Listening to all the bikers - they are ignoring it though.

 

I think it may be time for me to purchase some kind of camera detector, I fortunately managed to avoid getting any points to date, but with this reduction happening everywhere, the risk is getting higher. More research to be done now - on which model to purchase.

 

Best time to go for a blast - late on a Friday or Saturday evening - when the whole Police Force appear to be in our town centres. !

 

It makes me really mad though, when i have followed someone out of town at 50mph, for them to continue through villages and towns at 50mph.

 

As for the Advanced Motorists - in my experience they of course will suggest you keep to the speed limits, but in fact are much more concerned about safety of driving than speed reductions.

[StuartFZR400 0]

Yeh Wendy, let me just reiterate, plod is using any type of bike he likes now, with no signs its a copper; they no longer have to wear white helmet, or high-vis or anything.

 

Borrox to the old fuddy duddies, its all sorts of groups driving 45 everywhere. In the morning, my new journey takes me down many country lanes. The first is one where you take life OUT of your hands; many a bad driver doing about 50 around seriously sharp bends (which isabout on the limit IMO) but they're well over the white line. If I came fully committed we're in for a big bang. If I chose to drive badly and go over the lines on blind bends, it'd a very loud bang, and trip to A&E. I then pootle through villages with schools where the mummy MPV's need 3 foot space and know nothing of givign way when an obstruction is on their side. I then head into another National, where everyone does 30-50, some even down to 25. Its a taxing road, but 60 is commonly possible, just as long as you're prepared to slow for every single hazard, of which there are many.

 

So what is 50 doing? I reckon its just a bigger book for them to throw at you if caught speeding. Its not going to help No-brainer doing 50 already, as he's going to get boyracer up his azz anyhow, not to mention late-mum-who-is-late-pickingup-the-kids. Its not gonig to stop the midnight boyracer who kills him self and mates while doing 90 plus in his half-cut Nova. If they're bothered, lets fit limiters to all cars, to about 40. Im sure death rates would significantly reduce, and it takes into account for all the half-awake people out there; bring on the automated cars; say goodbye to fun.