Motorway.

[Chippy_Tea]

The speed poll got a bit derailed but I liked the idea so here is another.
What speed do you try to maintain on the motorway if safe to do so assuming it's a 70 mph stretch of road and you are allowed to do 70 mph in you vehicle?

 

[MmmBeer]

You get 10% + 3 mph leeway, i.e 80 mph. In reality motorway police are only likely to react to vehicles moving at mid 90's or higher.

Travelling at 60 or less, when a motorway is moving freely, feels downright dangerous, constantly being overtaken by lorries and caravans.

 

[Graz]

Depends in the wife / back seat driver is in the car or not

In reality to the conditions & up to where I'm not going to get more than 3 points and a fine. I have a fast car more for the reasons that it's safer rather than fast because it has powerful brakes, good suspension, positive steering, stability control etc. I have a clean licence (probably tempted fate with that!). In my younger days I got pulled for doing ~97 mph on the M40, the copper said he'd probably have let it go if I wasn't hustling the cars in front of me, and said as he couldn't be doing with the paperwork to take me to court that he'd call it 95 mph and give me a fixed penalty. I've calmed down a bit with age.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Travelling at 60 or less, when a motorway is moving freely, feels downright dangerous, constantly being overtaken by lorries and caravans.

I would like the two who voted 60 to explain their reason but guess as they havent already done so they are trolling the thread, you are supposed to drive to the read conditions so driving at 60 when 70 would be perfectly safe is ridiculous.

 

[Dutto]

Er ... maybe the ones who gave 60mph as a figure only go on motorways when they are towing their caravan and don't want to exceed the speed limit!

I get sick to death of people who whizz past me at over 70mph towing their caravan (usually swaying alarmingly) and can hardly believe the number of tuggers that I have seen towing a caravan in the third lane; which is also illegal!

I find that driving along a dual-carriageway much more entertaining than a three-lane motorway.

Sat behind a lorry that is overtaking another one at a speed difference of 1mph has become a lot more bearable since I learned the term "Elephant Racing".

 

[Dazlerisepic]

You get 10% + 3 mph leeway, i.e 80 mph. In reality motorway police are only likely to react to vehicles moving at mid 90's or higher.

Travelling at 60 or less, when a motorway is moving freely, feels downright dangerous, constantly being overtaken by lorries and caravans.

Lorrys are restricted to 62 either by a road speed restrictor or the fact that its recorded on a tacho so if you want to cruise which I do at times 62 means you wont be overtaking or overtaken by many lorrys

 

[Leon103]

I would like the two who voted 60 to explain their reason but guess as they havent already done so they are trolling the thread, you are supposed to drive to the read conditions so driving at 60 when 70 would be perfectly safe is ridiculous.

Why have a vote if you want explanation.
By the way I voted 70 and also posted why but it was removed. I guess you want people to post that they speed

 

[Alex.mc]

I've changed my views over the years.
I used to drive fast, deliberately so, in cheap sports/faster cars pushing myself and the car a bit to learn and enjoy. To qualify that, I used to often do this with a friend with his car also, and we used to get up very early on weekend mornings and go out into the country roads to roads we knew fairly well. I guess we tried to be sensible about it, oxymoron as that may be. We always slowed right up past houses and conurbations etc, and tried to keep it to quiet roads(they were much quieter then).
I took this further by taking up motor racing, and built and raced a small saloon for a year and a half before the cost got too much for me.
The interesting thing was, as soon as I got on the track with the others(experienced), I realised that you can never... ever... really drive fast on the public road, no matter how good you think you are, and you will never be a fast driver unless you learn on a track. Once you've raced on a track, you then realise that trying to go fast on the public road is highly dangerous, deeply irresponsible, and a dead end idea.
It changed my outlook completely. Over a couple of years after that, driving to me on the public road became a pure exercise of getting from A to B, safely and effectively.

Therefore, these days I tend to stick to 70-ish most of the time. If the motorway is quiet, I may trundle up to 80.
The only occasion I will go faster is often specific, and usually when I am entering a known stretch or motorway from a junction, and it's clear and quiet, and I'll nail the accelerator and just enjoy the acceleration (It's a TT so not slow) up to say 100mph, then will back off back to 70-ish.
If I want to relive the old days, I pay my money and book a track test day.

 

[Dazlerisepic]

I voted 70 too but I used to have a transit van and went on trips to the lake district and even scotland and to drive at 70 used twice the fuel that 60 did so from a purse strings point its sensible, having said that I now have an Astra SRI and with 6 gears its doing 2000 rpm at 80mph so its difficult to reighn in the speed

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Er ... maybe the ones who gave 60mph as a figure only go on motorways when they are towing their caravan and don't want to exceed the speed limit!

Er... which bit of "if you are legally allowed to do 70 in your vehicle" did you not get?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Why have a vote if you want explanation.

Giving a reason is not compulsory but I find it strange people would drive 10 mph slower than they are allowed to when the highway code says you should drive to the conditions and you would fail a driving test for not doing so.

 

[DavidDetroit]

I voted for 70 mph but I would go 75 since that was the closest number.

Not to throw gas on the "60 MPH" fire, but some people do stay well below the speed limit even under perfect driving conditions. Maybe they just like it or aren't comfortable going faster or possibly chance going a bit over and getting a ticket. Is 60mph in a 70 zone still legal? It's got to be. I think the minimum legal speed here is 45mph on the freeway.

 

[The Baron]

You get 10% + 3 mph leeway, i.e 80 mph. In reality motorway police are only likely to react to vehicles moving at mid 90's or higher.

Travelling at 60 or less, when a motorway is moving freely, feels downright dangerous, constantly being overtaken by lorries and caravans.

I think that rule of 10% plus 3 is not the law but a guide line that some police forces apply but the law is they can still prosecute for going over the speed limit how do I know this I have just been done for doing 35 in a 30 which according to the guidelines I should have been allowed to do 36 and on the speed awareness course I had to attend they will tell you it is at the discretion of the police force, some are more lenient than others I believe

 

[simon12]

I used to drive at 90 but calmed down to 80ish a good while ago. I once had a tyre blow out on the motorway and stopped feeling safe for a few months but still did 70 until I got back up to 80.

 

[jceg316]

Here's a picture of me about to merge onto the M25 and reach top speeds of 763mph

 

[Gunge]

Flat out everywhere. Especially on the motabike... mash the gas and it's just like that bit on Star Wars where the Millenium Falcon or whatever it's called goes into hyperdrive. Cars look like the stars on that flying backwards like summat out of a video game!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I had to attend they will tell you it is at the discretion of the police force, some are more lenient than others I believe

I imagine they look at the manner in which the driver is driving and the road conditions then use common sense or the law.

 

[simon12]

Flat out everywhere. Especially on the motabike... mash the gas and it's just like that bit on Star Wars where the Millenium Falcon or whatever it's called goes into hyperdrive. Cars look like the stars on that flying backwards like summat out of a video game!

Careful you don't spill your beer

 

[JonBrew]

Giving a reason is not compulsory but I find it strange people would drive 10 mph slower than they are allowed to when the highway code says you should drive to the conditions and you would fail a driving test for not doing so.

I get the argument about driving to the speed limit in and around towns/cities etc. However, on a motorway the speed limit is very much considered a safe maximum and I see no need for less confident motorists to drive at 70 MPH if they don't feel comfortable doing so (within reason of course). I'd rather share the road with a driver at 60 MPH who is comfortable and confident at that speed, than at driver who is less comfortable at 70 MPH.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I'd rather share the road with a driver at 60 MPH who is comfortable and confident at that speed, than at driver who is less comfortable at 70 MPH.

As i said earlier if you do not drive to the conditions in your driving test you fail it if a driver is not confident enough to drive at 70 (conditions allowing) on a motorway they shouldn't be driving.

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