Speed Limits, Road Safety, Technological Change, Economic Growth

TruckerT

Trucks are currently limited to 40mph on single carriageways and, trust me, Thames Valley police have been known to enforce that limit

After I received my 9 points, for getting caught three times in three days by the same camera, I observed the speed limits because my livelihood depended on it

I was terrified by the kamikaze overtakes which I witnessed, but I continued to observe the speed limits

Since the 40mph limit was introduced, truck technology has advanced at least as far as car technology

And the economic benefits of abolishing the 40mph HGV limit would surely exceed the economic benefits of increasing the motorway car limit to 80mph

TruckerT

Going4TheDream

TruckerT wrote: »

Trucks are currently limited to 40mph on single carriageways and, trust me, Thames Valley police have been known to enforce that limit

After I received my 9 points, for getting caught three times in three days by the same camera, I observed the speed limits because my livelihood depended on it

I was terrified by the kamikaze overtakes which I witnessed, but I continued to observe the speed limits

Since the 40mph limit was introduced, truck technology has advanced at least as far as car technology

And the economic benefits of abolishing the 40mph HGV limit would surely exceed the economic benefits of increasing the motorway car limit to 80mph

TruckerT

How exactly?

TruckerT

Going4TheDream wrote: »

How exactly?

Because car drivers would be able to drive nearer to their legal limit of 60mph on single carriageways

TruckerT

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Totally agree.

purch

Yep

LGV's nowadays are automatic, or semi-auto (i-shift, comfort shift) and all have sophisticated retarder/intarders that make stopping safe and easy.

Speed Limits need to alter to reflect changes in technology.

The UK Speed Limit for a Coach/PSV on a motorway is 70mph for vehicles up to 12m long. Coaches up to 15m have been allowed in the UK for a few years now, and most new coaches sold are 13.5m, yet nobody has bothered to update UK law to reflect this.

ILW

It does seem that whenever a serious pile up occurs on a motorway, there is usually aN HGV involved. No matter what technology is involved, it does take a fair distance to stop something weighing that much.

lisyloo

And the economic benefits of abolishing the 40mph HGV limit would surely exceed the economic benefits of increasing the motorway car limit to 80mph

Don't forget the cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists.
Did you know that each fatal crash costs £1.8million (figure from IAM chief exec Simon Best).
I would agree that speed limits are a blunt weapon but it's a easy one to use. Other solutions (like raising driving standards) are a lot harder.

TruckerT

ILW wrote: »

It does seem that whenever a serious pile up occurs on a motorway, there is usually aN HGV involved. No matter what technology is involved, it does take a fair distance to stop something weighing that much.

For every HGV, there is usually more than one car - any technology is only as good as it's operator

TruckerT

TruckerT

lisyloo wrote: »

Don't forget the cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists.
I would agree that speed limits are a blunt weapon but it's a easy one to use. Other solutions (like raising driving standards) are a lot harder.

If they used the technology of speed cameras to automatically limit vehicle speeds, they would lose all their income from speeding fines

TruckerT

ILW

TruckerT wrote: »

For every HGV, there is usually more than one car - any technology is only as good as it's operator

TruckerT

True, but the results from a 50 tonne truck running into something at 70mph tend to be a lot worse than a Micra doing the same speed.

TruckerT

ILW wrote: »

True, but the results from a 50 tonne truck running into something at 70mph tend to be a lot worse than a Micra doing the same speed.

Perhaps Tesco should do away with their fleet of 40mph HGVs, and replace it with millions of micras

TruckerT