London Banter - View Single Post

Marc Brett · October 18th 04, 02:01 PM posted to uk.transport.london

On 18 Oct 2004 04:06:00 -0700, (Boltar) wrote:

You could use that old argument to slow cars down to any speed you choose.
People seem to forget however that the whole purpose of cars is to get you
from A to B as quick as possible. If that wasn't the case you might as well
just turn the clock back 200 years and walk. IMO speed limits should be as
high as is safe on the given stretch of road. If this means 150mph on a
straight section of motorway or 20mph outside a school so be it.

Safety is important, but there are other considerations which must be taken in
to account. Local noise & atmospheric polution levels, and national oil
consumption rates, for a start. These things matter, even if vehicle drivers
aren't immediately affected by them.

Also if you are late for other reasons 4 minutes could be the difference
between having an easy day or getting a formal warning from your boss.

That's the case no matter how high or low the speed limits are. In other words,
it's irrelevant when choosing an appropriate speed limit for a given stretch of
road.