speed limit to go up.....theres a first!

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

well why should I apply for one of those when its obvious I'm perfectly capable already?

Originally Posted by Bibio

but are you?

have you been 'tested' to see if you are capable?

at the moment according to your test standard you are only able to do 70mph

why yes i am my good man, and to well over double that speed

[Viney]

i was trundling up the M4 on Sunday is less than perfect conditions at, well lets say non legal speeds, and i wasn't passing much that's for sure.

One thing though that makes driving on, say, the French motorways, is that their lane discipline is MUCH better than ours and therefore trundling along at 130kph is much nicer. On Sunday i gave up counting the amount of pointless middle lane hoggers there were and i ended up undertaking most of them as i got bored of swinging out into lane 3 than back into lane 1

Yeah, you watch some of those 'Porsches on the Autobahn' vids on Youtube and you see people who are clearly looking in their mirrors because they see a faster car coming so they MOVE THE FOOK OVER.

Well, apart from one dope in a Focus who moves OUT into the Porsche's path. The poster doesn't blame them much, though, saying the Porsche was coming up on them extremely fast.

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by davepreston

why yes i am my good man, and to well over double that speed

and your point is Mr Crashmonkey

One point that everyone missed is the difference in driving across borders. Ralph you should notice this.
I hate motorway riding south of the border -Hit the M6 all of a sudden its 100mph 3 inches of your backside while your overtaking something.
Even at 80 you don't pass much in Scotland so as usual a benefit for southerners.
80mph on the M80 doesn't sound too much fun and hope it doesn't extend to dual carriageways (A9)

thinks it more important to focus on the town reduction to 20mph.

crashmomkey, 118 188 got your number
as for why you asked if poeple were qualified to drive at that speed ,well i am ,also blue light qualed and about 30 other thing which i shall never ever use again

Ditto and some on here doing all the moaning don't even have a full unrestricted license.

Originally Posted by Quedos

One point that everyone missed is the difference in driving across borders. Ralph you should notice this.
I hate motorway riding south of the border -Hit the M6 all of a sudden its 100mph 3 inches of your backside while your overtaking something.
Even at 80 you don't pass much in Scotland so as usual a benefit for southerners.
80mph on the M80 doesn't sound too much fun and hope it doesn't extend to dual carriageways (A9)

thinks it more important to focus on the town reduction to 20mph.

Yes, there is an obvious difference in the sheer volume of traffic, speeds and the level to which everyone is in a rush. Driving standards are better in Scotland in terms of awareness, observation, etc. In Scotland I'd choose the car over the bike if the weather was crap and I had the choice. Here I'd take the bike every time unless it was ice or snow. The roads are running to the limit of capacity down here, they are a cats whisker away from a traffic jam most of the time, so it only takes a small incident to tip the balance and cause a nightmare. If two alternative routes get blocked, switch off your ignition and forget it. 20 years ago you could come off the motorway and take an alternative route, now the A roads and towns are so packed, I regret it every time I try it, quicker just to sit in the jam on the motorway.

I was coming home from Leeds on Friday night and there was a problem on the M1 and the A1 was closed for an accident investigation, both just South of where the M62 joins them. With two major routes south closed or delayed, the North East just ground to a complete stop. The journey home took me 3 1/2 hours, would normally take 2.

The positive thing down here compared to Scotland, believe it or not, is there is LESS aggression. The Scots are more aggressive by nature, but down here most people are only interested in getting to where they are going by whatever means fair or foul, but it's not personal, they are not interested in what they perceive to be your bad driving and they are not interested in making sure you know what they think. There is far less beeping, flashing of lights, shaking of fists, flicking of middle fingers, shouting, and pulling in front of you and slamming the brakes on, etc. Get too close up somebody's tail on a busy English motorway and you'll be ignored, do it on the M8 and the guy in front will slam the anchors on, shake his fist then accelerate away as hard as he can. Another example is when overtaking on the bike and the oncoming vehicle starts flashing the headlights in protest, when he's still 300 yds away and you are going to finish your overtake several seconds before he gets anywhere near. Happens a lot in Scotland, a lot in Wales, doesn't happen down South, people just keep driving. Down here people are only interested in getting to where they are going, and not interested in what other drivers are doing around them, they've got enough to think about with their own driving, and they are much more accustomed to other vehicles getting close to them than drivers are in Scotland. What would annoy drivers in Scotland, is just par for the course down here.

Agree with some.

Raising the limit to 80 just means people will get less of a fine if caught. I dont think any reasonable amount would change their driving habits over it. Tw4ts sitting at 60 for no reason will still sit at 60, and others that go as fast as they can will still go as fast as they can.

Lane discipline is crap. I "undertook" on the SV the other day most of the way home in lane 1 becuase everyone decided lane 2 and 3 were the ones to be in. Longest stretch was on the M11, from the 1 mile marker all the way to junction turn off in rush hour (6ish). I mean, really?

How about enforcing a lower speed limit instead? Say, 60mph minimum for cars unless there is good reason not to.

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

Driving standards are better in Scotland in terms of awareness, observation, etc.

The Scots are more aggressive by nature. What would annoy drivers in Scotland, is just par for the course down here.

and that my dear sir is why driving is better in Scotland as you had better pay attention and leave space or your gonna get in a fight. so people tend to be a bit more courteous.

so let that be a warning to you southern shandy drinkers thinking about visiting Scotland, leave your driving habits at the border. once you have crossed the border chill out, take care and enjoy the bliss.