Why can cars go over 70mph?

I find acceleration the biggest problem (usually bmw*****s) i travel at the speed limit but the times i have been overtaken by cars who must reach 30 +mph more than me in the twinkling of an eye and leave the oncoming drivers fearful of imminent disaster.
 
Juninhoburger said:
The question should be

"Why is the national speed limit 70mph?"

It's a completely arbitrary number and at the end of the day, speed doesn't kill - driving dangerously at speed does.
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At least speed is an easier thing to police.

There is nobody out there checking for dangerous driving is there? Only after the accident?

If you removed the speed limit then it would be carnage in my opinion.
 
Juninhoburger said:
The question should be

"Why is the national speed limit 70mph?"

It's a completely arbitrary number and at the end of the day, speed doesn't kill - driving dangerously at speed does.
Click to expand...
Whilst I agree that speed, in and of itself, doesn't kill, it isn't just dangerous driving that causes accidents and speed is the main contributer to the severity of any accident.

If everyone was driving perfecty you could still have a blow out, or a bird strike, or an animal unexpectedly in the road. All kinds of accidents occur without dangerous driving being a factor.

Speed is always a factor in how much damage ensues.
 
GibbosEmpire said:
Surely you can have a car with a powerful engine but cap the speed at 70mph. Less crashes, safer for everyone, and LESS FINES.
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Not necessarily, what if you need to accelerate out of a dangerous situation on the motorway and you can't because you're limited to 70?

Also we live on a small, very drivable continent with differing speed levels. I want on a road trip to Germany recently. I could legally do twice that, and did. If I had to stick at 70 it would have been both dangerous and far too slow
 
Build a lot more of these......they do up to 200+ mph (y)
1700399240580.jpeg
More convenient,
energy efficient,
comfortable,
clean,
less stressful,
easier for people with physical disabilities to get on and off.
eat, drink, onboard catering and dining,
wee without stopping,
air conditioned,
spaceous with plenty of leg room,
lots of storage space
usb and charge points at each seat,
no charges for parking,
no mardy kids feeling clostrophobic in a tin can,
no sharing farts with everyone else,
no sudden braking for the idiot who just cut across you at 90 mph,
big windows to look out of and see what the UK looks like instead of the tail pipe of someone else`s tin can,
hold interesting audible conversations in with each other,
use your laptop and smartfone [with NFC] in comfort sat at the tables,
relax and snooze without worrying,

WHOOPS!
HS2
Risky`s cancelled it!
Drat.....

Back to the tin can then :(🚗
a19.jpeg
 
Angus said:
Undertaking is a massive issue on the roads as I drive round the country. People seem to be a massive hurry and are happy just to disregard people’s safety.
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A lot of under taking is a result of the d1ckheads hogging middle and outside lanes. Both need cracking down on.
 
1finny said:
We can and could - I’d like to see that happen.
For the reasons you mention and………

The frothing at the mouth of all those who think speed is cool
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Tbf not a single person is frothing at the mouth. Just presenting a counter argument. Surely you can be better than that, and better than wanting a restriction put in place just because it annoys people?
 
Juninhoburger said:
The question should be

"Why is the national speed limit 70mph?"

It's a completely arbitrary number and at the end of the day, speed doesn't kill - driving dangerously at speed does.
Click to expand...
This would never fly, as you can see there's too much resistance but with the improvement in handling, tyres, safety systems, visibility etc, it's clear that logically a speed limit set when everyone had ford anglias with cross ply tyres and drum brakes is probably too slow for modern vehicles. You'll get resistance from the anti car guys simply because you are changing something regardless of common sense
 
It's not the vehicles that are at fault here though. Much the same as the discussion around gun control in the USA.
A Ferrari or Lamborghini driven sensibly is just as safe as a Smart car driven sensibly. It's the person behind the wheel that is the issue just as it's the person with their finger on the trigger that is the problem.
I don't speed, but that's not to say I'm any safer a driver than the next person if I choose to do something stupid like not leave a sufficient gap, change lane erratically, sit in the middle lane on the motorway or any other of the daft things that drivers do.
 
Dunno if is just me but as I have got older I find I am driving much slower rarely go over 60. I am bit of nightmare really on country roads slow right down to look at birds of prey and generally day dream, recently a car was behind me and driver was getting agitated wondered what his problem was when the missus pointed out I was only going 25 mph lol think I need to get a grip on this
 
Fattyfoggon said:
Dunno if is just me but as I have got older I find I am driving much slower rarely go over 60. I am bit of nightmare really on country roads slow right down to look at birds of prey and generally day dream, recently a car was behind me and driver was getting agitated wondered what his problem was when the missus pointed out I was only going 25 mph lol think I need to get a grip on this
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I have no problem with people going slow on country roads. This can be twisty, badly surfaced and small. As long as people don't mind being overtaken then it's fine.

I have noticed quite a few drivers doing this lately though: Driving, say 40, on a country lane then getting to a village with a 30 or 20 zone and staying at 40. That's just bad.

IN fact, I go through a few 20 zones on my way to work and I'm amazed at how many cars catch me up when I'm doing the speed limit.
 
So who are these cretins that tailgate and overtake with little regard for other road users as it appears everyone on here is a safe and careful driver . Which is statistically improbable.
 
Juninhoburger said:
The question should be

"Why is the national speed limit 70mph?"

It's a completely arbitrary number and at the end of the day, speed doesn't kill - driving dangerously at speed does.
Click to expand...
You're right, it is the sudden stop that kills you.

Motorways are the "safest roads" because they've removed vulnerable road users, designed them with gentle curves to keep drivers mentally engaged, crash barriers to prevent you heading off into the scenery or smashing into signs & bridge pillars, junctions to smooth your transition etc and yet people are still concerned about Smart Motorways because they are worried about distracted drivers smashing into them at 70mph.

Crazy that e-bikes with a rider/object weight of c.100kgs are capped at 15.5mph, while SUVs of the world etc weigh c.2,500kgs can hit 60 in 6 seconds and have 150mph top speeds are completely legal to drive round towns & cities unrestricted.

If we had capped speeds on vehicles in urban areas at least, just think how many lives would be saved. Those two little girls at the school picnic in Wimbledon, the eight people left with 'life changing' injuries when the 20 year old 'lost control' in Central London, etc.
 
SmallTown said:
This would never fly, as you can see there's too much resistance but with the improvement in handling, tyres, safety systems, visibility etc, it's clear that logically a speed limit set when everyone had ford anglias with cross ply tyres and drum brakes is probably too slow for modern vehicles. You'll get resistance from the anti car guys simply because you are changing something regardless of common sense
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I'd agree except for the fact that there are millions of more cars on the road.
 
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