Motorway speed limits reduced.

[Richard n Ann]

So if this is such a bad idea what is the best why to control the pollution?

I assume that the funsters complaing do believe there is pollution or did the government make that up?

Population reduction is the answer of course, but it will never happen because the people that want to reduce population will quickly become replaced with people that want hundreds of kids the only thing that will limit our numbers is the availability of food. We are like a plague of locusts taking over the planet at the minute

 

[2x2camper]

Population reduction is the answer of course, but it will never happen because the people that want to reduce population will quickly become replaced with people that want hundreds of kids the only thing that will limit our numbers is the availability of food. We are like a plague of locusts taking over the planet at the minute

No, pollution on motorways is caused by vehicles, we need to have less journeys. I don't suppose that will go down well on a motoring forum.

 

[RandallC]

While on the subject, worth remembering that motorway sections with ”smart” traffic speed control, even when switched off may still have active speed cameras. Know folks done for speeding through M4 at Bristol M5/M32 section in the early hours on the way back from Heathrow. looked like all signs switched off.

 

[Richard n Ann]

No, pollution on motorways is caused by vehicles, we need to have less journeys. I don't suppose that will go down well on a motoring forum.

Less people = less journeys. You can't argue with it

 

[2x2camper]

Less people = less journeys. You can't argue with it

It the type of journey which counts. Walking is fine ice vehicle is bad

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[Realist]

A470 Pontypridd set at 50 for the same reason, was a trial now permanent.

 

[EuroTrotters]

2 things, maybe 3.

I think its a good idea.
I don't think it will work in the UK (lorries etc)
It is supposed to be heavy policed - wot be by real cops

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Interesting that this "trial" is in the Midlands ( M5 and M6 ) and the North ( M1 and M602 ).
Nothing in the Southern half , either East or West.
No pollution in the Southern Half?
Would have thought a trial to give a balanced view would have been in place in all 4 points of the UK compass, irrespective of whether they have high Nox levels at present or not.

 

[Apache]

If all the traffic is going through these areas more slowly , won’t they be there longer so the effect on emissions will be approximately Zero ?

As far as congestion is concerned I know that on the M42 around Solihull/ NEC area which was always a car park before the smart motorway it made a considerable difference to journey times when they introduced the 50 limit smart thingy. Whether that was purely down to speed limits or combined with lots of cameras I’m not sure.

 

[steve 6644]

When there was a 50 limit on the m25 some time ago, the whole journey experience changed for the better I thought. There were no lane changing prats bobbing in and out to gain a few car lengths, no worries about being over or undertaken etc. Everyone was more relaxed and the traffic was not continuously speeding up and then comming to a standstill, I was suprised how more relaxing the drive was and how little difference it made to journey times in general. They have the data for that restriction already so it should be a no brainer in my view.

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[Odd-no-more]

We are like a plague of locusts taking over the planet at the minute

I see us more like a virus. We have taken over the host and now we are killing it.

 

[PeteH]

The UK has sold it`s Energy security to Russia. Most of our Gas comes via a pipeline through Europe from Russia. So anytime we upset Putin he can put us all in the Cold and the Dark. Yet there are STILL at least a hundred years of coal under G-B. It`s not all about "pollution" It about having a secure broad energy policy. The major polluters are those we are paying to manufacture our "goods" on the cheap.

AND. I forgot to say, those who are Burning Virgin Rain Forest the size of Wales daily to create "Farmland" for profits.

 

[steve 6644]

I see us more like a virus. We have taken over the host and now we are killing it.

Spot on. At the present rate of deterioration we will need to become a different species of human to survive the world we are creating. I don't think we can stop it now, by the time every country is on the same page we will have screwed everything up with our reliance on our own cleverness to disregard mother nature.
I feel depressed now

 

[Rumour and Innuendo]

Reducing the speed to that of trucks will cause bunching as vehicles go from 70 to 60. That will continue to get worse as people travel through the 5 mile stretch. Cars and trucks, coaches and motorhomes all trying to find a place, it will be like the current so called "smart" system!

Smart motorways cause congestion (try the M1 in the mornings from Milton Keynes to Watford) and they are pretty hairy!

Cars are at their most efficient on motorways, the pollution on the five areas muted is mainly from industry and off motorway driving. But they will do what they want, it won't affect us in our old Talbot!

 

[Terry]

Did anyone get Data from the M1 junction 35 to about 30/29 that had a 50mph limit for about 2 years recently ? If anyone did it would not need slowing down at meadowhall, it's already been done

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[PeteH]

Id settle for another 50 years

I`ll bid for Ten?.

 

[steve69]

Why would any motorhomer be concerned about this reduction in motorway speed limits. I thought the idea of a motorhome was to chill out and drive at a leisurely pace - in my case 50 to 60 mph - and enjoy the scenery.

On the subject of killing the planet:
"In the year 2525", if man is still alive etc.
written 50 years ago, so nothings changed.

 

[gus-lopez]

Strange timing: with so many white-collar workers working from home and most meetings being held virtually due to Covid-19, surely pollution is at the lowest it's been for quite some time.

Or furloughed workers out & about?

Walking is fine ice vehicle is bad

I gave up walking & public transport when I got a driving licence. People are hardly likely tto return to council houses ?

The results of this 1 year test can then be used to develop future policy in this area.

As I said before "they" will always get the result "they" want unless a completely disinterested party does the testing.
You only have to remember that the fifth columnist ,Khan, introduced the new London Ulez on the back of "consultations" using only people registered to the TFL site .That was a total of barely 15,000 people!!!!!!! On a city of nearly 8 million.
If they can scam you they will.

 

[mry716]

Well, I am buying my wife a 'Red Flag' for Christmas.

 

[Neodave]

Anyone booked a ticket on the third flight to Mars yet.

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[PeteH]

Out of interest. The A1035 which bypasses our village, was a standard well used 60MPH trunk road. Some bright spark decided that it should be speed limited to 50MPH. The car I had at the time, would cruise at 55-60 in 6th gear, BUT being Auto, once the limit was dropped to below 50. it never got out of 5th gear!. I did an experiment on several occasions, taking the speed to the point at which it changed to 6th, and checking the MPG on the readout. Then running the same section at the restricted speed, it was returning 5MPG less. Repeated several times the outcome was still the same. The "new" speed restriction was costing me money!. More relavent to this thread it was likely also creating more pollution!. (more fuel = more emissions) for the same distance. BTW the only way (I was informed) to make the Box change up earlier, was an (expensive) re-boot of the management computer.

 

[Gromett]

Did anyone get Data from the M1 junction 35 to about 30/29 that had a 50mph limit for about 2 years recently ? If anyone did it would not need slowing down at meadowhall, it's already been done

This is a specific experiment. Not all motorways have NOx senors. These would need to be installed and a baseline measurement taken.

I suspect the meadowhell junction speed restriction was a safety measure. Was always a bit of a nightmare junction.

This new experiment is not at a junction, it is between a number of junctions. Hard acceleration and hard breaking increases NOx emissions so measuring NOx at a junction itself wouldn't be helpful I don't think?

 

[Terry]

Hi Karl I remember watching Calendar and someone had measured all stuff like co2,emissions etc so the data may well be known. Could be a case of department not speaking to each other

 

[Gromett]

The UK has sold it`s Energy security to Russia. Most of our Gas comes via a pipeline through Europe from Russia. So anytime we upset Putin he can put us all in the Cold and the Dark. Yet there are STILL at least a hundred years of coal under G-B. It`s not all about "pollution" It about having a secure broad energy policy. The major polluters are those we are paying to manufacture our "goods" on the cheap.

Most of our Gas does not come from Russia. Russia supplies only 40% of Europe's Gas, most of which goes to Germany.

We get almost 50% of our Gas from the North Sea and 40% comes from Norway which has no interconnects with Russia.

It is impossible to say how much of our gas comes from Russia, but all estimates I have seen is that it is an extremely low amount. 1.4% is the only estimate that seems to make sense mathematically. This is based on deducting from our total usage the sources we know about that have no connection to Russia. Including LNG from the Middle East and the USA etc.

This article from 2018 covers the sources quite well and they are unlikely to have changed much since then. However, it was written before we started imported a lot of LNG from the USA.

Salisbury attack: How much of the UK's gas comes from Russia?

Theresa May was asked how reliant the UK is on gas from Russia. Who is producing the country's supplies?

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Ivory55]

Once self driven trucks come, computers can control the speed of the traffic by slowing or speeding up the trucks

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[TonyEmm]

With a lot of cars being high geared they are probably less efficient at 60 than they are at 70 my smax would only be doing 2000 revs so very little boost would make emissions worse surely

You go down a gear?

 

[tribalbrit]

Complete joke will make no significant decrease in emissions
This is what the smart motorway network is all about
Speed control but nothing to do with safty

Although who does more than 60 in their motorhome on the motorway anyway?

Starting to see to many dick heads going far to fast in motorhomes and caravans

Have you tried changing direction or emergency stopping in either a mh or towing a caravan

Some people will learn the hard way

GB

Or perhaps some people can actually drive and aren't frightened to go above 60 mph. Not sat watching the fuel gauge and calculating how slow they need to go to save 25p on there trip out either.
Far to many MH drivers dawdling along at 40 mph with no thought to those they are holding up behind them.

 

[Sandancers]

This is a specific experiment. Not all motorways have NOx senors. These would need to be installed and a baseline measurement taken.

I suspect the meadowhell junction speed restriction was a safety measure. Was always a bit of a nightmare junction.

This new experiment is not at a junction, it is between a number of junctions. Hard acceleration and hard breaking increases NOx emissions so measuring NOx at a junction itself wouldn't be helpful I don't think?

Problem is, as I think someone pointed out earlier in the thread, when were the baseline figures taken?

If it were a year ago then the emissions, due to the traffic density at that time, would likely have been well above the emissions for today, due to the lesser amount of traffic today because of CV_19. Hence if the trial is starting in Nov. and runs a year then will the average emissions measured be lower anyway, just because of less traffic ? And would that be taken into account before the trial will be declared a success, somehow I doubt it.

Hooray for the planners and pollution consultants, bonuses all round lads.

Whereas in fact maybe the emissions would have been less anyway without the slow down zone ?

 

[Gromett]

Problem is, as I think someone pointed out earlier in the thread, when were the baseline figures taken?

If it were a year ago then the emissions, due to the traffic density at that time, would likely have been well above the emissions for today, due to the lesser amount of traffic today because of CV_19. Hence if the trial is starting in Nov. and runs a year then will the average emissions measured be lower anyway, just because of less traffic ? And would that be taken into account before the trial will be declared a success, somehow I doubt it.

Hooray for the planners and pollution consultants, bonuses all round lads.

Whereas in fact maybe the emissions would have been less anyway without the slow down zone ?

I don't know the answer to those questions. But I suspect the people running this would have thought of all this... I would guess that they had installed the sensors 2+ years ago to get a baseline over 2 years at least.

The basics of any experiment is that you use the same sensors (calibrated) in the same location for a period of time to establish a baseline. Then you run the experiment by changing only one variable. As the things like date and day won't be the same for example 1Dec will be wed one year then thur another you have to allow for this. You also can't rely on absolutely the same number of cars passing on each day at the same time each year there is a number of statistical analytics that need to be done. This would allow for changes due to Covid as well. The stats will be done over a full year to allow for seasonal changes, accidents and much more.

The planning for these experiments won't have been done overnight and they will have tried to allow for as many confounders and variables as possible.

 

[Sandancers]

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