Speed limit reduction consulation paper due today

Bobc wrote (see)

Personally I have no problem with 20 mph zones outside schools and in busy town centres, other than that the government should leave well alone.

Are there lots of problems with speeding vehicles causing deaths outside schools then?

I thought most injuries to school children were from those squashed by others parents at 9:00am and 3:30pm.

I find 20mph limits outside schools very appropriate, because children do not know the roads like we do and need more care and attention than is given them when whistling past the school at 30mph. (other countries already have this in place)

 But I resent the new plans to reduce the national speed limit on country roads to 50. Especially after driving in Germany/Europe, bearing in mind in germany most country roads are 'de-restricted'.

 The quality of road provided in Europe is also superior (so why are we driving on pot-hole-ridden - bad quality carriageways?) This would make our roads safer by FAR.

This is not the only instance where we could learn from the ways things are done elsewhere (not just Europe)

FJSRiDER. wrote (see)

Bobc wrote (see)

Personally I have no problem with 20 mph zones outside schools and in busy town centres, other than that the government should leave well alone.

Are there lots of problems with speeding vehicles causing deaths outside schools then?

I thought most injuries to school children were from those squashed by others parents at 9:00am and 3:30pm.

60 to 50 it will make no difference, the people who exceed 60 will continue to exceed 50!

Spend some money on road changes to improve the roads and accident black spots.

The consultation paper will recommend wholesale reduction of speed limits because it will be seen as the way to reduce frequency and speeds of accidents and result in fewer casualties.

In the road I live in is about 2/3 of a mile long, we have speed ramps every 50 or so yards for it's entire length.  (There are also 5 schools within a mile.)  It's a 30 mph speed limit, and not all that busy (other than at school chucking out time.)   Still most vehicles exceed the speed limit, some by a huge margin (particularly vans and dare I say it bikes).  If the speed limit was 20mph the motivation to drive at these speeds won't change. Few people (not even the most law abiding) are going to drive up the entire length of the road at 20mph anyway.

When ah were a lad . . . .

everyone walked to school (the only ones that didn't lived a l-o-n-g way away - I can only remember two kids who came by car.) There were 30 limits in built-up areas, the rest of the country was good for whatever speed the vehicles would do and the 70 mph limit was only imposed in the '70s as a fuel-saving measure because our Arab friends turned the tap off on us.

We didn't get killed on the roads in droves because we were taught to cross the road properly and to be responsible for our own safety. 

If parents today didn't insist on buying Chelsea tractors to take the kids around the corner to school and walked their brats to school instead there wouldn't be all this congestion on the roads twice a day.

Then maybe this nanny state wouldn't be imposing lower and lower speed limits all the time and I'd be able to get out of 2nd gear on the K100 . . . .

Er4s0r wrote (see)

 Especially after driving in Germany/Europe, bearing in mind in germany most country roads are 'de-restricted'.

 On the Autobahn you will find some de -restricted areas. Country roads (Landstrassen) are restricted to different speed limits (80Km, 100Km), depending on the nr, of lanes, built up area ect.