Remove speed limit from Motorways:

challengemaster

Wilberto wrote: »

I would look upon this as a reason not to increase the limits. If people are breaking the current speed limit, chances are they're gonna break the newer increased limit too. If you ask me the speed limit is already at 130km/hr, at least.

Raising it to 160km/h will just encourage people to break that speed limit

I see where you're coming from, but it's like extrapolating data in maths/science, you just don't do it because you've no idea when it'll change drastically.

I'd actually feel the opposite about it tbh. You may have people who will always see a limit as "rules which are there to be broken", but I also think with a limit set around 160, the majority of people will happily regulate their own speed within the 100-160 range, be it fuel consumption, or whatever. As far as I can see, that already happens anyway, it's just anything >120km/h is illegal currently. A limit of around 160km/h keeps everyone satisfied, and in that case could actually be seen as "a limit not a target".

Anyone who's out to see how fast their car can go will do it despite what the limit is, and if they've already done it with a 120km/h limit there's no point to try again just because the limit changed, so I don't think that's a valid point either for or against.

Lando Griffin

Maybe the speed limit could be limited to size of engine. Eg the said Betty Micra if 1LTR then a speed limit of 120 applys.
A 2ltr car have a speed limit of say 180kmph.

challengemaster

Lando Griffin wrote: »

Maybe the speed limit could be limited to size of engine. Eg the said Betty Micra if 1LTR then a speed limit of 120 applys.
A 2ltr car have a speed limit of say 180kmph.

And that would make some sense if engine size actually had any bearing on power output. Considering you can have an old american muscle car with a 6+L engine but only 250bhp and 4 gears, or a 2.5L turbo with >400bhp and 6 gears, it's a totally nonsensical idea.

GE90

Lando Griffin wrote: »

Maybe the speed limit could be limited to size of engine. Eg the said Betty Micra if 1LTR then a speed limit of 120 applys.
A 2ltr car have a speed limit of say 180kmph.

Having two cars travaling on the same road with a potential speed difference of 60 km/h could be very dangerous. Plus it would be very hard to inforce.
The current limit of 120 is ok imo but wouldnt object to an increase to 130/140 aslong as proper motorway training is given.

bijapos

Lando Griffin wrote: »

Maybe the speed limit could be limited to size of engine. Eg the said Betty Micra if 1LTR then a speed limit of 120 applys.
A 2ltr car have a speed limit of say 180kmph.

No offence but that's a mad idea. It's not the speed that matters. it's how the car feels at that speed, how stable and how well planted on the road it is. But the ability to brake rapidly and stabily from that any speed is probably the most important thing.

kenyard

to be honest it drives me nuts when i see people tipping along on roads, and huge cues of cars building also. i mean 100km/hr roads, and something in front going 50km/hr with a truck behind it, which cant overtake as it doesnt have the accel to do so, leaving everyone else stuck behind both a truck and slow driver and double overtake, letalone where you are being a 10 car overtake, being nigh impossible and dangerous.
in these instances 30 minute car journeys become an hour. on grand roads most of the time. i will openly admit on good sections of 80km/hr roads i do 120. I understand them being 80km/hr as there are bends etc on them which do have you down to 40-60km at times.
also what does my head in is the straight sections of said roads is where the speedcams are. or at the bottom of hills where your car might gain that extra 10km/hr without u noticing places where you can easily get caught because there isnt a need to be monitoring your speed cautiously as such.
also e.g from limerick to clare, the dual carriageway/motorway exact same road, and i mean exact. two lanes the whole way, changes from 120-100-120 for a section. its absolutely rediculous. exact same road but speedlimit varies. and they camp there. camp in those sections.
saying all this, i stick to my ~120km speed on motorways also. i just do it on all roads where there is room for it. because a straight road is a straight road.

motorways with increased speeds? you are still gonna get cars going 60-80km/hr on them. then there is a 100km/hr difference. and if those drivers pull out of their lanes randomly - which they do. no indicators etc on people who do this as they dont take their hands off the wheel to do anything like change gears,indicate, or like the other night when one was going 60 on the motorway, turn off their full lights (if i had patience theyre exactly who i would slowdown for, pull in behind, turn on my full lights, and drive along like that to make them cop on)

people can rant on.. im glad its 120. i was in tasmania in australia, its 110 on awesome motorway there. they could have easily gone such a direction. germanys autobahn has 4 or more lanes afaik. in such cases, and where germans have driving intelligence, there is a case for increasing speed limits.

confusedeire

After reading the thread there seams to be one solution... Ban the micras....

I think the current speed limit is fine. Maybe bring it up to 140kph but impose a minimum speed limit on the outside lane of 110.

Also trucks to have there limit raised for the motorway.

kenyard

confusedeire wrote: »

After reading the thread there seams to be one solution... Ban the micras....

I think the current speed limit is fine. Maybe bring it up to 140kph but impose a minimum speed limit on the outside lane of 110.

Also trucks to have there limit raised for the motorway.

nah there is no need for a speed limit on the outside lane, but rather an enforced rule where you cant drive in it for more than ~20 seconds.
so you either overtake quickly and dont block both lanes of traffic, you dont overtake, or you get a punishment for blocking traffic.
simple as.
nothing worse than a truck going at 101km/hr overtaking one going at 100km/hr. then the first car behind it has to overtake the second truck after it pulls in, usually at 102km/hr. sometimes you get a nice cue of traffic caus of it. yes its still 100km/hr, but for those who do go 140-150km/hr on a 2hr journey its a difference of 30minutes i guess.

langdang

OldmanMondeo wrote: »

Picture this, Subura Impreza WRX, belting along a motorway at top speed 180+ kph(?), way out in front is little Nissan Micra nipping along at 120kph and decides to over take a car in front and BANG!

I vote no..

Exactly, would only make things WORSE to have such a difference in speed.
Minimum speed limit is needed, and NO it doesn't exist already here. You need to have a vehicle "capable" of a certain speed but there's no compulsion to achieve and maintain a speed greater than or equal to that speed. (afaik anyway!)

There's no winning without removing utter numpties from the road though. We'd still have fools misinterpreting the min speed as a max speed -the same clowns who brake for every speed sign, even if the limit is higher than the speed they are doing.

Our man in Havana

It is a crazy idea. They would need a separate news programme just to report all the accidents/deaths from this foolish plan.

GE90

also e.g from limerick to clare, the dual carriageway/motorway exact same road, and i mean exact. two lanes the whole way, changes from 120-100-120 for a section. its absolutely rediculous. exact same road but speedlimit varies. and they camp there. camp in those sections.
saying all this, i stick to my ~120km speed on motorways also. i just do it on all roads where there is room for it. because a straight road is a straight road.
Your p

In fairness the limerick to shannon dual carrage way is not up to motorway standard. It is alot better since the resurface but it is not good enough to take traffic at 120. Their are countless houses on both sides with driveways leading straight onto the road. Also that roller coaster ride at bunratty where the road is sinking is not good.

Your practice of driving at ~120 on any road that you deem a "straight road" is just plain reckless and dangerous.

Vicxas

Well the M1 should be considered an autobahn as no-one ever obeys the speed limit on that piece of road. Except of course where the gardai sit.

But as for unlimited speed on the roads, Considering how bumpy our roads are (even our motorways) I think it would be a bad idea as one bump could send a high speed car flying off the road.

djimi

Id have no real problem with the speed limit on motorways being raised to say 140 as I think the majority of cars nowadays have absolutely no problem with driving at that kind of speed (and lets face it 140 isnt exactly F1 speeds considering the standard of modern cars and roads). I would be completely against the idea of unrestricted motorways though as people would quite simply die on a regular basis. Motorways are our safest roads currently because people are limited to speeds below 100mph. There is no need to change this. The majority of drivers are simply not capable of driving at speeds approaching and exceeding 100mph in anything other than a straight line, and if something were to happen at that kind of speed then very few drivers would be capable of dealing with the situation.

If anyone wants to drive at 100mph+ Mondello Park has track days most bank holidays; go fill your boots...

h3000

I'd be happy enough to see the limit raised to 130kph. While there are a lot drivers that could handle higher speeds there are far too many who cannot. As my Dad always says "You're only as good as the person driving towards you". The standard of driving and the general upkeep of our cars would not allow for any higher.

• The standard of lane discipline in Ireland is the worst of any country I've driven in. As mentioned in this thread a few times could you imagine a car traveling at 160kph in the overtaking lane (overtaking ) and some twit suddenly pulls into the overtaking lane doing 100kph right in front of you. It would all get very messy. It's a lot easier to bring a car from 60-0kph than 160-100kph.
• While our cars have got better the general maintenance of them has not. We often have threads here about tyres and the quality v's price of them. It seems to be very common that people will spend €35k on a car but when it comes to changing tyres they only want to spend €50 a corner.
• The standard of our motorways is not what you would call good either. There can be a huge amount of surface water and undulations on stretches of some of our motorways. There is a section of the M7 near Borris-On-Ossary that can be lethal at times.

Patser

I'd be happy to see the speed limits increased on certain sections of Ireland's motorways too. Again using the Autobahns as an example only certain sections of the Autobahn network are unlimited, so if we'd incresae the speed limits it would only have to be on certain good visibilty, low traffic flow sections over here. Similarly on most of the German Autobahns but also in Poland and a few others, they have a 2nd Speed limit for when there is rain. Bring that in too to deal with surface water issues.

Ireland has one of the newest motorway networks in Europe and IMO the motorways here are in great nick. Having driven the Autobahns a few times, quite aften you'll find that they are rough with lots of dirt on them, even in unrestricted areas but you'll still find family cars like Zafiras etc happily cruising along at 160km/h. While there I did max my car out once or twice but quite quickly the thrill of that goes and it does tire you out concentrating, that's why you'll very rarely find anyone doing it (fuel economy, wear and tear issues also play a part). But trust me, driving at 160 quickly becomes normal for most.

As for those that always spout that Autobahns are great for Germany since they've a great driver education system - please remember that Germany is at the centre of Europe and that a fairly high percentage of drivers there are not German. Driving on the continent anywhere you'll quickly spot registrations from all over Europe - Germany expecially given its central location. So even if the Germans do have a great driver education system, they still have to deal with Polish trucks, British cars towing caravans, Irish Campervans, Italian F1 wannabes and all other stereotypes using their road network. And still they have no limits in places.

renofan

What we REALLY need is proper education on how to use motorways. I honestly believe people who hog the outside lane and middle to outside lanes on 3 lane carriageways should get points and a fine.

Educate first and enforce the rules and then see about speed limits. I think they are fine at the moment btw, maybe 130kph tops.

joujoujou

renofan wrote: »

What we REALLY need is proper education on how to use motorways. [...]

I'd rather say: What we REALLY need is proper education on how to use all roads. :P

corktina

joujoujou wrote: »

I'd rather say: What we REALLY need is proper education on how to use all roads. :P

coupled with proper enforcement

joujoujou

corktina wrote: »

coupled with proper enforcement

Yes, of course.

Iwannahurl

h3000 wrote: »

While our cars have got better the general maintenance of them has not. We often have threads here about tyres and the quality v's price of them. It seems to be very common that people will spend €35k on a car but when it comes to changing tyres they only want to spend €50 a corner.

The standard of our motorways is not what you would call good either. There can be a huge amount of surface water and undulations on stretches of some of our motorways. There is a section of the M7 near Borris-On-Ossary that can be lethal at times.

Does the NCT not take care of the tyres issue?

With regard to Irish motorway standards, one deficiency I would add is that they can be very dark, eg the M6 which IMO is not adequately equipped with cats eyes etc.

munchkin_utd

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Does the NCT not take care of the tyres issue?

With regard to Irish motorway standards, one deficiency I would add is that they can be very dark, eg the M6 which IMO is not adequately equipped with cats eyes etc.

you dont need cat eyes.
The Autobahn has none and manages to be ok.

about the speeds, I find that the lack of a speed limit on the Autobahn often leads to less "sticky" traffic, i.e.
a ) you overtake as quick as you want meaning you arent in the overtaking lane for minutes when overtaking someone doing 117kmh and you sticking to the limit of 120kmh like you see in Ireland and france/ low countries.
b ) the knowledge that there's always someone going faster than you is a very effective voluntary lane discipline enforcer and you dont hog the overtaking lane unnecessarily. No muppets like you see on the M7 or M8 doing a shade under 120kmh (but not steadily as they dont have cruise control) in the overtaking lane for dozens of km sure in the knowledge that they are ok to do so as sure who would be overtaking them with them doing (almost) the limit.

h3000

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Does the NCT not take care of the tyres issue?

Not really. It will make sure the tyres are legal but that does not necessarily mean they of good quality. The new E-mark thing has helped but there is still plenty ****e with the E mark. Anyhow there are an awful lot of cars on the road with expired NCT.

Iwannahurl

munchkin_utd wrote: »

you dont need cat eyes.
The Autobahn has none and manages to be ok.

Perhaps not cat eyes specifically. Reflectors and well-maintained lines would be nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iVR8-Y6Jms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1NH0lX7S_o

Some parts of Ireland's M6 are well-supplied with reflectors:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNajS5Vo6W8

Other (older?) parts look more like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc-5TZQTmU8

Iwannahurl

h3000 wrote: »

Anyhow there are an awful lot of cars on the road with expired NCT.

Brings us back, again, to the low level of road traffic law enforcement in this country.

Markcheese

You're only as good as the person driving towards you

Last year I was in the overtaking lane on the balincolig by-pass (120kph) , an Audi ahead of me suddenly lurched into the left lane , a second or two later I noticed a dark blue polo( with no lights nearly twilight) coming towards me ... Scared the $h1t€ out of me ... 220kph doesn't give you much time to react...

challengemaster

Our man in Havana wrote: »

It is a crazy idea. They would need a separate news programme just to report all the accidents/deaths from this foolish plan.

I'm sure there was probably much of the same opinion when cars were first made available to the masses.

And when roundabouts were introduced.

People don't like change....

djimi wrote: »

If anyone wants to drive at 100mph+ Mondello Park has track days most bank holidays; go fill your boots...

This is honestly the most idiotic thing that always gets brought up during this debate. Mondello is a technical track with lots of turns, and 1 main straight. The single seater Formula Sheane won't even get near 100mph, never mind a road car weighing much heavier.

The only place you can safely get above 100mph in Ireland is on the decent motorways.

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Does the NCT not take care of the tyres issue?

The NCT can't stop people buying chinese ditch finders that wouldn't stop a wheelbarrow within a kilometer. The car mentality in Ireland is the issue.

Markcheese wrote: »

You're only as good as the person driving towards you

Someone shouldn't be driving TOWARDS you on a motorway.... so that's a bit of a red herring

Iwannahurl

challengemaster wrote: »

Someone shouldn't be driving TOWARDS you on a motorway....

If there is, they're obviously not as good as the person driving towards them...

Our man in Havana

Jim McDaid?

djimi

challengemaster wrote: »

This is honestly the most idiotic thing that always gets brought up during this debate. Mondello is a technical track with lots of turns, and 1 main straight. The single seater Formula Sheane won't even get near 100mph, never mind a road car weighing much heavier.

It was largely meant as a tongue in cheek comment; Im well aware that Mondello only has one relatively short straight. My main point being if you want to do very high speeds then find somewhere safer than a motorway populated by the general public to do it.

djimi

munchkin_utd wrote: »

b ) the knowledge that there's always someone going faster than you is a very effective voluntary lane discipline enforcer and you dont hog the overtaking lane unnecessarily. No muppets like you see on the M7 or M8 doing a shade under 120kmh (but not steadily as they dont have cruise control) in the overtaking lane for dozens of km sure in the knowledge that they are ok to do so as sure who would be overtaking them with them doing (almost) the limit.

Do you really think that would make a blind bit of difference in Ireland? :rolleyes: The number of high speed rear endings would go through the roof, along with the number of motorway fatalities, and the majority of drivers would still cruise along in the overtaking lane at 100-110kmph...