Motorway speed limit (what do you set your cruise control to)?

Med101007

So I purchased a car recently that has cruise control. Never had this before so was amazed when I was able to set it to 120kmph and glide along the motorway. However I noticed that practically every car was passing me which got me wondering what speed do people set their cruise control on the motorway. I remember an old boss of mine who used to travel a lot told me that he used to set his CC on the motorway to 130kmph as you are allowed a 10% tolerance on the speed limit if you are caught speeding. Is this true?

I set mine at 120

lucernarian

Med101007 wrote: »

So I purchased a car recently that has cruise control. Never had this before so was amazed when I was able to set it to 120kmph and glide along the motorway. However I noticed that practically every car was passing me which got me wondering what speed do people set their cruise control on the motorway. I remember an old boss of mine who used to travel a lot told me that he used to set his CC on the motorway to 130kmph as you are allowed a 10% tolerance on the speed limit if you are caught speeding. Is this true?

I find a lot of cars over speed, typically by about 5 kph at that speed. I set mine to 125 and GPS confirms it's at 120 kph

W0LFMAN

Med101007 wrote:

So I purchased a car recently that has cruise control. Never had this before so was amazed when I was able to set it to 120kmph and glide along the motorway. However I noticed that practically every car was passing me which got me wondering what speed do people set their cruise control on the motorway. I remember an old boss of mine who used to travel a lot told me that he used to set his CC on the motorway to 130kmph as you are allowed a 10% tolerance on the speed limit if you are caught speeding. Is this true?

Ignore them, it won't be an excuse if you get caught speeding. Just be careful some areas are set to 100 and 80. Use cruse control with caution.

liamog

It's worth checking the offset of your speedo against your actual speed. The speedo is allowed to be up 10% faster than the actual speed. For instance my wifes car needs the cruise to be set at 125km/h to maintain a speed of 120km/h.

Del2005

lucernarian wrote: »

I find a lot of cars over speed, typically by about 5 kph at that speed. I set mine to 125 and GPS confirms it's at 120 kph

Same here my car is just over 125 when doing 120 according to GPS. A lot more people are driving at120 by GPS on motorways and very few go faster, overtaking takes ages.

But I find the lower limits are routinely exceeded and the lower the limit the bigger the amount people exceed it. The RSA has made a mess with their speed kills message.

punisher5112

There are ones that will tip along at 140km/h all day long and some a hell of a lot more, you focus on your driving and only be in the outer lane while passing, leave these lads off as it's better to have someone ahead then behind....

Also great when they are the ones gone ahead and get caught.

You worry about your driving and leave them off.

CiniO

punisher5112 wrote: »

There are ones that will tip along at 140km/h all day long and some a hell of a lot more, you focus on your driving and only be in the outer lane while passing, leave these lads off as it's better to have someone ahead then behind....

Also great when they are the ones gone ahead and get caught.

You worry about your driving and leave them off.

I was always like that, and never had a problem, especially when not around Dublin or Limerick where speeding checks are more common.
Never seen anything dangerous about driving faster, even though it's illegal to do over 120 in Ireland.

However since I started driving 190km daily commute most of it on motorway, I'm most of the times at cruise control at around 110km/h purely due to fuel savings which can be significent. This commute is in Poland where limit on motorways is 140km/h, so even more strange for me.

Simple calculation revealed that at around 110km/h my car uses less than 5 litres of fuel per 100km, while at 120km/h it's close to 6 litres per 100km, at 140km/h it's getting around 7.5 l/100km, and at speeds of like 180-200km/h we're talking of more than 10 l/100km. Difference in cost of cummuting is significent, while gain in time not so much, especially on busier motorway where you have to slow down and accelerate often.

colm_mcm

I set mine at 130. Actual speed 124ish

biko

I set mine to 110/120 depending of density of traffic.
In my next car I'll get adaptive CC so car follows the speed of the car in front. More info https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWZEvRwNwfg

Miscreant

I regularly do the Dublin-Galway run and set my cruise control to an indicated 110kph (more like 105kph GPS). I figure that is quick enough not to hold up the trucks/busses on the road and by keeping in the driving lane (lane 1, the left lane, slow lane... it has many names ), it allows others to overtake me at whatever speed they want and disappear in to the distance.
I find even with a time crunch, there is little difference between 110kph and 120kph in terms of time but it does make a difference to fuel consumption.
The way I look at it is, as long as I am not holding up anyone on the motorway or causing a nuisance, then the 110 is just fine. I have, of course, had occasions where I have gone faster out of necessity but these are the exception rather than the rule.
@Med101007: Set the CC on your vehicle to whatever speed you are comfortable with and is appropriate for the road you are on. No matter what speed you travel, there will always be someone faster than you (and I have seen this even when I'm doing north of 140kph)

Allinall

I set mine to 129.

It's partly psychological. I'm still in the "one-twenties".

Also reckon actual speed is about 125, and not enough to get done.

punisher5112

Allinall wrote: »

I set mine to 129.

It's partly psychological. I'm still in the "one-twenties".

Also reckon actual speed is about 125, and not enough to get done.

I can't my car only goes in two's

ELM327

120.
As in my car the speedo is pretty close to actual road speed. 120 is GPS 119-120.

punisher5112

130 all the way, then 110 on N road once safe of course.

Truckermal

Rarely use cruise I prefer to stick the accelerator down to the floor.

duffman3833

car is in miles so set to 78 which i believe to be 125kmh
what drives me nuts though about people using CC is when they are in the overtaking lane with CC on but only doing 2 or 3kmh faster and they take ages to pass and sometimes you catch up on traffic and have to slow down because they are doing the slowest overtake ever. accelerate a little ffs

bladespin

82mph by default.

punisher5112

duffman3833 wrote: »

car is in miles so set to 78 which i believe to be 125kmh
what drives me nuts though about people using CC is when they are in the overtaking lane with CC on but only doing 2 or 3kmh faster and they take ages to pass and sometimes you catch up on traffic and have to slow down because they are doing the slowest overtake ever. accelerate a little ffs

What's worse is when using it the car in left lane pulls out, slows down as overtaking and eventually pulls in and then speeds up, this then adds to the issue you outlined and make you or me that was tipping along nicely then look slow as fook.....

Its getting worse imo and dangerous manoeuvre and just sh1,te driving.

loyatemu

generally have it set to 125, I'll speed up a bit when overtaking.

What you notice with CC is how some people drive really inconsistently - they'll overtake you and 10 minutes later you'll be back on their bumper. Often they'll be driving a newish car that probably also has CC, but a lot of people seem reluctant to use it.

xtradel

125 in my car, 130 in my work van because I'm not paying for the diesel

Del2005

duffman3833 wrote: »

car is in miles so set to 78 which i believe to be 125kmh
what drives me nuts though about people using CC is when they are in the overtaking lane with CC on but only doing 2 or 3kmh faster and they take ages to pass and sometimes you catch up on traffic and have to slow down because they are doing the slowest overtake ever. accelerate a little ffs

Why should I break the speed limit because you are impatient? I could even overtake a HGV at 91 kph if I want to.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

Del2005 wrote: »

Why should I break the speed limit because you are impatient? I could even overtake a HGV at 91 kph if I want to.

because its dangerous to slowly overtake anything ?
blindspot ?
sudden emergency ?

get out, get past , get in , safest process

Del2005

Niko Jealous Coroner wrote: »

because its dangerous to slowly overtake anything ?
blindspot ?
sudden emergency ?

get out, get past , get in , safest process

The risk is the same regardless of how fast you go

bladespin

Del2005 wrote: »

The risk is the same regardless of how fast you go

It's the time exposed to the risk that's different, moment of danger etc.

R.O.R

Del2005 wrote: »

Why should I break the speed limit because you are impatient? I could even overtake a HGV at 91 kph if I want to.

You could do, perfectly legally, but it's still a bit of d1ck move.

Backs traffic up for miles if this happens on a busy 2 lane motorway, and quite frequently (on the M1 Northbound in evening rush hour anyway) is a factor in accidents, which then further slows down everything.

punisher5112

BMW pulls out coming home there now, woman, on the phone well actually fixed looking at the screen, no concept what's around, truck at 90 she falls back to that and less, then speeds up a little, eventually finished manoeuvre, pulls back in and speeds up.... Ugh


Then before this I get a fricking stone chip..... Will need fix as it's that bad and right in front of my face.... Ugh

cpoh1

Niko Jealous Coroner wrote: »

because its dangerous to slowly overtake anything ?
blindspot ?
sudden emergency ?

get out, get past , get in , safest process

The guy is a windup merchant and looking for a reaction, best to ignore.

Del2005

R.O.R wrote: »

You could do, perfectly legally, but it's still a bit of d1ck move.

Backs traffic up for miles if this happens on a busy 2 lane motorway, and quite frequently (on the M1 Northbound in evening rush hour anyway) is a factor in accidents, which then further slows down everything.

It's proven that when roads are busy reducing the speed limit improves safety and reduces congestion, which is why a lot of countries have variable speed limits on motorways . So if drivers are crashing due to slow moving traffic it's bad driving to blame not the slow moving vehicles.

liamog

Del2005 wrote: »

It's proven that when roads are busy reducing the speed limit improves safety and reduces congestion, which is why a lot of countries have variable speed limits on motorways . So if drivers are crashing due to slow moving traffic it's bad driving to blame not the slow moving vehicles.

The reason why reducing the speed limit in variable systems works is because it reduces the delta between traffic, it's safer for vehicles to be travelling at approximately the same speed. A slow moving vehicle in the midst of otherwise free flowing traffic has a detrimental affect on the overall safety of the road.

duffman3833

Del2005 wrote: »

Why should I break the speed limit because you are impatient? I could even overtake a HGV at 91 kph if I want to.

going a few extra kmh isn't going to hurt. Road awareness is non existent on roads.
If i was overtaking you in the overtaking lane with CC on, but seen we were both approaching a lorry driving on left lane, i would speed up just a bit to hurry the overtaking process and so you would not have to break and slow down, especially if busy as breaking can have a chain reaction further back

Isambard

my speedo is 4% out so I set to 124 or 6 (it won't do 125 for some reason...)

(104 in a 100 and 82 in an 80)

10% tolerance is not official, depends on the Officer's discretion I think.

cpoh1

Am i going to be the only one who is honest here?!

145kms (136 on gps) when im on my own. Family in the car cruise set to 132kph (125 on gps

punisher5112

cpoh1 wrote: »

Am i going to be the only one who is honest here?!

145kms (136 on gps) when im on my own. Family in the car cruise set to 132kph (125 on gps

They will do you at that speed....

Plenty speed checks out my way.....

bladespin

punisher5112 wrote: »

They will do you at that speed....

Plenty speed checks out my way.....

Very true, passed a garda a few weeks with the cc set on 85 mph (not sure what the real speed is), he was tucked away in one of the gateways on the M7, only spotted last minute eek! Gave me the slow down gesture, just guessing but pretty confident much more and I'd have had lights in the mirror - nice garda that, really appreciated that.

Del2005

duffman3833 wrote: »

going a few extra kmh isn't going to hurt. Road awareness is non existent on roads.
If i was overtaking you in the overtaking lane with CC on, but seen we were both approaching a lorry driving on left lane, i would speed up just a bit to hurry the overtaking process and so you would not have to break and slow down, especially if busy as breaking can have a chain reaction further back

There's a big difference between a potential issue ahead and an impatient driver behind.

Dr. Steve Brule

123 km/h, which is 120 km/h on GPS for my car.

mikeecho

85mph or 136k depending on which car.

The GPS will show 130k

Will often go a little faster, anyone that does lots of motorway driving will know the usual spots that your speed will be checked, and always be aware at on/off ramps.

newmember2

mikeecho wrote: »

85mph or 136k depending on which car.

The GPS will show 130k

Will often go a little faster, anyone that does lots of motorway driving will know the usual spots that your speed will be checked, and always be aware at on/off ramps.

I prefer never having to watch for anything and never set it to too much more than the GPS limit although that varies depending on the roads, usually 51 on a 50; 61 on a 60, 81 on an 80; 113 on a 100 on the M50 and 103 on other 100 roads; and 125 in a 120. Car is pretty accurate only off 1-3 kmh up to 100KM/h.

Trouser Snake

Limit +~10% and stick to 60 and 50kmh limits.

Atlantic Dawn

I do a combination of 126kmh on cruise and playing the offside trap when someone obliges. Knowing the general configuration of unmarked cars also helps.

Jim Gazebo

Don't have cruise control :O I'll tip away around 130 normally, whcih is 126 GPS in my car. Generally pass most traffic at that. Depends where I'm going too. If it's a long spin I'll sit at 140 for long periods on the Speedo, slow at certain trap areas. Burns some fuel too so I might grow up soon.

Jim Gazebo

Jim Gazebo wrote: »

Don't have cruise control :O I'll tip away around 130 normally, whcih is 126 GPS in my car. Generally pass most traffic at that. Depends where I'm going too. If it's a long spin I'll sit at 140 for long periods on the Speedo, slow at certain trap areas. Burns some fuel too so I might grow up soon.

I think if I had cruise control I'd be more inclined to just do the 130. Having to press the accelerator all the time goives temptation

bobbyy gee

Mine is set to 140

viper123

140

bilbot79

140 for me

bilbot79

Lol based on this thread I think there is a correlation between how late you stay up on boards and how fast you set your CC on the notorway

dohouch

Using a BMW rental in Germany, I set it at 200. The car had automatic distance maintenance sensors. Great fun, I could be in nearside lane traveling at 100, (because of some holdup) with an appropriate gap to the vehicle in front, then swing into outside lane and she'd be off , up to the 200 kmh. Bit of fun. Didn't figure out how to use the auto parking though!

colm_mcm

bilbot79 wrote: »

Lol based on this thread I think there is a correlation between how late you stay up on boards and how fast you set your CC on the notorway

They’re probably late for work.

Paddy@CIRL

110KM/H

Quieter, more relaxed and uses (in my case) significantly less fuel.

TheRiverman

110 Km per hour, still get there almost as quickly as all the lunatics doing 140 +