Irish Motorway Speed Limits should be Increased.

Saab Ed

This should produce wonderfull debate but im of the opinion that the motorway speed limit should be increased to 160 kmh.

Firstly: The current limit of 120 is just too low. They're motorways for God sake. Is it really possible that a modern car driving on a modern , safer motorway can only legally drive at 20kmh faster than on one of our older national routes . Nonsense I say.

Secondly: I'd only allow this limit in the outher most lane- be it two lane or three lane - so that the inside lane/s would remain at 120kmh. This would have the benefit of decreasing your journey time and maybe , just maybe put an end to the plague that is the citizen speed police who refuse to move over at 120 kmh based on the fact that they are at the limit and nobody is getting past.

And last : Breaking the limit of 160 kmh would be severly dealth with i.e 6 points on a licence etc. The reverse would also apply where by if you block the over taking lane/s its a 2 point offence staright away.

Now obviously this couldnt apply to all M-ways in Ireland i.e the M50 etc etc , they're just too congested , but on one of our new roads to the South and the West it could be perfectly safe and acceptable to travel like this.


Opinions please ....

keithclancy

Saab Ed wrote: »

Secondly: I'd only allow this limit in the outher most lane- be it two lane or three lane - so that the inside lane/s would remain at 120kmh. This would have the benefit of decreasing your journey time and maybe , just maybe put an end to the plague that is the citizen speed police who refuse to move over at 120 kmh based on the fact that they are at the limit and nobody is getting past.

With your idea you end up with this:



If people used the motorway like they were supposed to with the existing limits it would look like this:

stevenmu

It's a good idea, and I'd completely agree with it. Modern cars can easily handle this speed safely in a motorway environment.

But...

Saab Ed wrote: »

And last : Breaking the limit of 160 kmh would be severly dealth with i.e 6 points on a licence etc. The reverse would also apply where by if you block the over taking lane/s its a 2 point offence staright away.

I don't think this would fix this problem. People would still drive in the right hand lane at 120kph (and usually less) simply because they don't see anything wrong in doing so. I think the only way to reduce this would be to enforce a minimum speed of say 140kph. Otherwise their would regularly be right-lane-hoggers trundling along at 100kph with people approaching them at 160kph. This would also need to be enforced as toughly as the speed limit would be.

Cookie_Monster

150 on all Motorways ( excluding passing large urban areas )

130-140 should be the limit, minimum
lower limit increased to 80,
lower limit in outermost lane 100

variable limits for weather/traffic

truck restriction in outside lane actually enforced.

spiggotpaddy

the problem is were preaching to choir.if you read motors forum you have
an interest.suggest a higher speed anywhere else and they'll label you some kind of mentally insane spastic.

djimi

I agree completely, but not to 100mph. The idea of some of our road users driving their ****boxes legally at 100mph quite frankly scares the hell out of me! 140kmph on motorways would be a better limit; in reality theres not a whole lot of difference between 75mph and 84mph but it would make a nice difference.

Queue the RSA followers from the "speed limiters thread" saying the limit should be lowered to 80kmph for the safety of everyone on the road...

Mr.David

I think it would be positive, except for the impact in terms of vastly increased fuel usage (and hence CO2 output) if people changed from 120 to 160.

Still though, if it saves me 15mins let the poxy ice caps melt!

cson

From my experience driving on Irish Motorways a lot of people seem to think 160kph is the limit anyway or that there is no limit.

martydunf

Alot of other roads beside motorways needs the speed limit looked at tbh.

The outer ring road in Waterford is a prime example. 60km/h on what is practically a dual carriage is a f*cking joke!:mad:

PattheMetaller

martydunf wrote: »

Alot of other roads beside motorways needs the speed limit looked at tbh.

The outer ring road in Waterford is a prime example. 60km/h on what is practically a dual carriage is a f*cking joke!:mad:

+1

And also sort out the white lines in the middle of National and Regional Roads. Continuous white lines where there is no need and broken lines where there should be continous!!!

djimi

My other concern with raising the speed limit too high is that it then becomes a target for idiots to try and hit, a lot of whom wouldnt have a hope in hell of doing so safely. 75mph is achievable by almost all cars without too much effort, even 84mph is grand for most cars, but you got some plank in a Micra or something hell bent on going 100mph then for me thats a recipe for disaster...

unkel

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

minimum lower limit increased to 80

+1

I've driven in many countries but only in Ireland can one see someone driving at 50-60km/h on a motorway every time you drive on one :rolleyes:

160km/h is not ok if people do 60km/h in the driving lane imho...

Mr.David

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

variable limits for weather/traffic

+1

thirtythirty

After driving to the Wesht and back last weekend, I can confidently say that the speed limit should be higher. The roads are excellent now, and I kept experiencing speed creep up to about 90mph where myself and the car are extremely comfortable, only to then have to bring it back down again and sit there basically stopped at 75.

What's the point in spending all that money on those great roads, when you'd achieve essentially the same time/distance travelling along behind a stream of cars at almost the same speed on a national road like the N5. Which incidentally is FAR more dangerous in terms of the road safety/speed ratio.

I would honestly vote for the Nazi party of Ireland if they announced they were going to raise speed limits ( /impose higher dry, same wet limits).

OldmanMondeo

Raise the limit to all lanes or don't raise it at all. There are 2 many drivers who do not know / understand how to drive on a motorway as it is. Look at the threads on lane changing, using roundabouts with 2 or more lanes etc...

We need to educate before we can progress.

Oh and I do agree with raising speed limits.

alias no.9

I think 140km/h is a much more suitable limit as it is within the capabilities of nearly every car sold within the last 20 years. 160km/h is pushing the bounds of both stability and performance for a significant proportion of everyday motors. Yes I know you don't have to drive at the limit but there's no end of idiots out there.

I also think that a sustained 160km/h for the kind of long journies that are now possible on our motorway network would lead to a massive increase in mechanical breakdowns on motorways given the Irish publics less than diligent adherence to the manufacturers servicing schedule. Even if the driver gets the car safely to the emergency lane, just wait for the inevitable rubberneckers, followed by the pile up.

Maybe if there was a concerted campaign of education on both lane discipline and tailgating, and ruthless policing of the same, for a period of time until the irish public were up to the challenge of motorway driving, maybe then a 160km/h limit would be feasible.

djimi

Is there any country in Europe (apart from the unlimited autobahns in Germany) that have 100mph speed limits on their motorways?

Theanswers

I agree with increasing the speed limits... to at least 140kph if not above!

It really gets to me everytime i'm on a motorway safetly cruising at 140-160kph and you spend more time looking out for guards and have to be prepared for the "are you crazy speech?"

It's the RSA with there 'speed kills' slogon. People have this idea once your above 120 your crazy.

Only in Ireland have I seen this, drove in Europe a few times. Left Paris and arrived in Denia in the South of Spain. Cruise Control 100mph for the entire journey... passed police and all, not a word said....
Infact we where passed a GOOD few times.

It's only here that i've seen people actually worried about speed checks on motorways. Everywhere else the attidue is that it is "safe"! Which it is....
Sooner we move with Europe on this the better.

There is low limits on europe too, however they are not one bit enforced. It's only here.

sealgaire

Agree, people aren't able to control cars or react at high speeds. Lord knows they are hardly able to do it at low speeds. I get passed out everyday on the motorway on the way to Galway by cars going 90-100 mph and they constantly drift over lines etc cause of a lack of control.

Lemming

I think the limits should be raised; but the following need to be addressed first:

• On/Off ramps: They are too short to allow traffic match speed and integrate safely (which brings me to point two)
• Driving standards: Irish standards are abyssmal. Doubly so on motorways. There's little common sense, and little visible policing leading to outrageous behaviour.

Deal with those (and good luck with it ... ) and the limit could be raised safely imo.

That said; if the limit is raised to say ... 160km/h, a law needs to be brought in (and enforced!) similar to the UK where if you exceed that limit (100mph in the UK; motorway limit is 70mph or 115km/h) you aren't dealing with "only one or two penalty points", but having your license stripped from you there and then by the police. Otherwise, you'll have speeding going on at speeds that are extremely dangerous for most cars (or drivers).

peasant

Yeah ..brilliant idea ...

The greater majority of Irish motorway users has never had any training in how to drive on a motorway ...they just make it up as they go along.

Let's increase the speed limit by 33 % !

mikedragon32

keithclancy wrote: »

With your idea you end up with this:



If people used the motorway like they were supposed to with the existing limits it would look like this:

There's a major problem with your illustration.

Everyone's using indicators...

Lemming

peasant wrote: »

Yeah ..brilliant idea ...

The greater majority of Irish motorway users has never had any training in how to drive on a motorway ...they just make it up as they go along.

Let's increase the speed limit by 33 % !

If the NRA announced tomorrow that they were upping the speed limit by 33%, I'd have the exact same reaction peasant. And it'd be madness.

As I said above, if they can deal with the whole driver-education thing (among other things), then it'd be safe to do so. In other words, it wont happen any time soon as the powers that be have absolutely no initiative or ability to think forward, and we have a police force and road authority more interested in generating income than genuinely preventing accidents/deaths/enforcing the law

djimi

Lemming wrote: »

That said; if the limit is raised to say ... 160km/h, a law needs to be brought in (and enforced!) similar to the UK where if you exceed that limit (100mph in the UK; motorway limit is 70mph or 115km/h) you aren't dealing with "only one or two penalty points", but having your license stripped from you there and then by the police. Otherwise, you'll have speeding going on at speeds that are extremely dangerous for most cars (or drivers).

This would have to be very seriously enforced by the guards, and I mean to US traffic cops proportions. At the moment a lot of drivers are quite happy to drive 10-20mph over the speed limit on motorways. If the limit was 100mph that means youll have guys pushing 120mph because "ah sure its only a few mph over the limit like". Say what you like about road conditions, modern cars etc but 120mph is in excess of what most drivers would be able to handle.

charlemont

Theanswers wrote: »

I agree with increasing the speed limits... to at least 140kph if not above!

It really gets to me everytime i'm on a motorway safetly cruising at 140-160kph and you spend more time looking out for guards and have to be prepared for the "are you crazy speech?"

It's the RSA with there 'speed kills' slogon. People have this idea once your above 120 your crazy.

Only in Ireland have I seen this, drove in Europe a few times. Left Paris and arrived in Denia in the South of Spain. Cruise Control 100mph for the entire journey... passed police and all, not a word said....
Infact we where passed a GOOD few times.

It's only here that i've seen people actually worried about speed checks on motorways. Everywhere else the attidue is that it is "safe"! Which it is....
Sooner we move with Europe on this the better.

There is low limits on europe too, however they are not one bit enforced. It's only here.

SOONER WE MOVE WITH EUROPE ON EVERYTHING THE BETTER

Prabhu Deva

Increase limit to 160-200km/h

Prabhu Deva

charlemont wrote: »

SOONER WE MOVE WITH EUROPE ON EVERYTHING THE BETTER

Vote Yes to Lisbon 3

Atomic Pineapple

160 on all Motorways ( excluding passing large urban areas )

Why cant we just sack everyone employee'd by the RSA, disband it and with the money saved implement early driver education in natiowide schools, this would lead to a much safer drive everyday for everyone.

And then once thats done you can talk about upping the speeds on motorways, imagine traveling at 100mph on the M50, it would be suicide with all the dawdlers in the middle lane and the people who would **** a brick if they seem a car coming up on them that fast.

pippip

130 on all Motorways ( excluding passing large urban areas )

I honestly thought, given the title of this thread, that it was a piss take of a thread.

I cant believe people seriously think it would be safe for everyone to drive at 160kph.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_by_country

The above lists most motorways speeds, doesn't seem that anyone else thinks 160kph is safe.

Lemming

djimi wrote: »

This would have to be very seriously enforced by the guards, and I mean to US traffic cops proportions. At the moment a lot of drivers are quite happy to drive 10-20mph over the speed limit on motorways. If the limit was 100mph that means youll have guys pushing 120mph because "ah sure its only a few mph over the limit like". Say what you like about road conditions, modern cars etc but 120mph is in excess of what most drivers would be able to handle.

Oh that's why I think that a very straight forward law needs actively enforced if they ever put the speed limit up like that;

simply put: > 160 km/h = automatic license disqualifiation, with immediate effect.

The attitude of "shure it's only a 'bit' over", combined with the absolute ignorance towards stopping distances & road-conditions is exactly why such a law would be needed at anything over 140km/h; I'd have concerns about half the cars on Irish roads doing 140, never mind 160, and god forbid 161+

no1beemerfan

A lot and I mean a LOT of people wouldn't be able to handle 160kph. Plus the way people look after their cars.......

What I think would be better is if the minimum limit on motorways was increased and the current rules ENFORCED.

If (outside) lane hoggers were dealt with properly it would help things an awful lot.