Chris S
Legendary Member
- Location
- Birmingham
There's effectively a 20mph limit in central Birmingham. There's so much congestion you can't go much faster.
Paris becomes another 30 kph capital
- Thread starter BalkanExpress
- Start date
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Indeed - I think London has a 10mph one!!
Yes, i had the "interesting" experience of riding pillion on my French exchange's dad's motorbike on my first French exchange in Bordeaux (so aged 13?). It is without a doubt the most terrifying journey I have ever had. It was literally my welcome from the airport where he worked in air traffic control. My bags went with my French exchange and his mum in the car.
NEVER AGAIN
OP
OP
BalkanExpress
Legendary Member
- Location
- Brussels
Part of the strategy will be, as it is in Brussels to make it more difficult to speed, notably by removing/narrowing traffic lanes. Obviously works better for the main roads where speeds are being reduced to 50kph
Archie_tect
De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
- Location
- Northumberland
There isn't even a 20mph limit on the road past the schools here... they've widened the road and put in protected right turns to avoid slowing the traffic too but no TRRO to reduce drivers' speeding.
mustang1
Legendary Member
- Location
- London, UK
In a 30 zone, people drive around 35, maybe 40 if you're a real a-hole. In a 20 zone, you might drive at 25, or 30 if you are the aforementioned a-hole. So overall, it's still a good idea to post the 20 limits.
Having said that, it's odd to have 20 zones on the main roads but then you turn into a side street and can drive at 30 again. But it's only aatter of time when that's fixed.
I think overall it still reduces the speed though. For example instead of doing 40 in a 30 zone, you end up with people doing 30 in a 20 zone.
Yes, I think that's what the studies I referred to earlier (in Lille?) bore out. That is, the percentage of people exceeding the previous limit of 50kph was (as I recall) a single digit percentage. The much bigger proportion of speeders were in the 30 - 50kph range. So whilst there was still a high number of people exceeding 30kph, overall the speeds had reduced.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
In Manchester the average car journey is under 1km in length, which ,akes me wonder why people are driving at all, never mind have the time/opportunity to speed.
Andy in Germany
Guru
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
Doesn't that mean a significant number of car journeys are well below a kilometre?
(I'm not a mathemetician...)
HMS_Dave
Grand Old Lady
I think the question you're asking is wrong. The question should be put to those that if their comfy armchairs could drive, would you use it?
It just the inner cities and built up areas. I don't think anyone is giving up on the sleek new machines with speed and that lovely purring sound. Its for city rings roads and pedal down along carriageways and highways designed for speed.
The Germans got it right. They built autobahns where 70% had no mandatory speed limits and when you hit city centre, most people are on bikes and on foot.
Sadly of all the people Hitler drove it's construction.
I don't think they are. I think they are built to accelerate quickly and to perform well at a speed of 60-70mph, the by product of which is that they can easily reach higher speeds.
There is a relativistic principle which is that when you have been travelling fast (e.g. on a motorway), then when you move on to slower roads, your perception of the speed is that it feels much, much slower due to the fact that you have been keyed up to driving a car at much faster speeds.
rogerzilla
Legendary Member
This is why we don't have them in Swindon (the auditory onslaught of street racing in the early hours on Saturday and Sunday, every week, is one consequence). The council took them all out when it no longer got a cut of the fines. The fact that the incumbent slimeball council leader had himself been banned for speeding was probably a factor, too.
rogerzilla
Legendary Member
A friend once got a pillion ride from central Exeter to central Plymouth on a Honda Fireblade. 20 minutes. Look up the distance and do the maths. He never got on a motorbike again - he said it was like the Millennium Falcon jumping into hyperspace, when everything turns to streaks.
