driving slow : your views ?

Norman_Castle

If everyone went 20% slower, there would be at least 20% more traffic on the road, .

What ?????

keith1950

Quote:
If everyone went 20% slower, there would be at least 20% more traffic on the road, .
What ?????

Maybe he "meant" there would be 20% more congestion as everyone would end up following the selfish numpty who doesn't like driving at a suitable speed ?

prowla

If everyone went 20% slower, then each vehicle would be on the road for 20% longer, therefore there would be 20% more traffic on the road at any given point in time.

facade

The vehicles could be much closer together, so more can fit on the same stretch of road.
Dunno about 20% slower = 20% more, I suspect it is a lot more.

This is the reason for those ridiculously low variable speed limits on motorways for no apparent reason, it is to fit more cars on, and therefore move more traffic in the same time.

stampede

prowla wrote: »

If everyone went 20% slower, then each vehicle would be on the road for 20% longer, therefore there would be 20% more traffic on the road at any given point in time.

Exactly, if a journey normally takes 60 minutes & it now takes 72 minutes - you are on the road 20% longer, which equals more traffic.
The more traffic you have, the more likely you are to have an accident, although probably at a lower speed.

marlot

stampede wrote: »

Exactly, if a journey normally takes 60 minutes & it now takes 72 minutes - you are on the road 20% longer, which equals more traffic....

Except, if everyone is keeping 2 seconds apart, the slower traffic allows cars to safely travel closer together.

Of course, the fact that so many drivers follow far too close, means that this may not apply!

What really creates congestion on busy motorways is people speeding up and slowing down - it creates ripples which can go back miles. Constant speed is much, much faster for everyone. As the variable limits on the M25 showed quite well (well, up until the point where the motorway is saturated)

Marvel1

marlot wrote: »

What really creates congestion on busy motorways is people speeding up and slowing down - it creates ripples which can go back miles.

Ah yes that one, accident on other side of motorway, driver's slow down for a look, building up a traffic on the no accident side :mad:

prowla

facade wrote: »

The vehicles could be much closer together, so more can fit on the same stretch of road.
Dunno about 20% slower = 20% more, I suspect it is a lot more.

This is the reason for those ridiculously low variable speed limits on motorways for no apparent reason, it is to fit more cars on, and therefore move more traffic in the same time.

Sure - it's not a precise measure; I was really just expanding on the logic behind the assertion, as it was being questioned.

You might also argue that people driving slower might also tend to accelerate less quickly, and so gaps would open up more as cars slow down & speed up (traffic stop/start tends to follow a wave-like pattern); I guess you'd need a big study and traffic simulation to figure it out.

Retrogamer

I don't mind people too much who drive under the speed limits, as long as it doesn't hold up the flow of traffic too much. If i'm in a rush and need to be somewhere then i'll wait to when it's safe, then over take.

If someone is driving under the speed limit then becomes annoyed i've overtook them and flashes the lights or gestures, then yeah...i'll become annoyed.

The ones that sit at 30mph in NSL roads, then accelerate to 40mph in 30mph limits annoy me much more and it happens a lot near me.

Or the ones that sit in the right hand side lane of dual carriageways when they're not turning right or overtaking.

Or the ones that sit in the middle lanes of motorways when not overtaking.

They all annoy me much more

Strider590

Retrogamer wrote: »

side lane of dual carriageways when they're not turning right or overtaking.

Someone did this last year on a 1/2 mile stretch of DC, in some scrotty old Fiat with a yellow go faster stripe, doing 35mph. I followed them all the way to where they work......... Worcestershire (west mercia) Police Headquarters.