70mph Motorway speed limits

[IanF]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-48723302

Won’t be the last, I imagine.

[Mito Man]

And you know that it will still be 50 mph even in 30 years time when all cars are zero emission and autonomous.

[nuttinnew]

Iirc that stretch of the M4 is normally pretty congested so it probably doesn't affect journey times much, just keeps the traffic travelling smoothly.

[Mito Man]

Yeah but it’s like the smart motorways round here, it’s annoying when you have to drive at 50 mph after midnight because of some silly reason, usually debris on road - it’s all crap lies to drive down average emissions.

[Matty]

But aren't most cars more economical between 60-70? I know both of mine are. Unless I've got some gross misunderstanding of MPG vs emissions.

[NotoriousREV]

Given the 70mph limit was temporarily brought in during the fuel crisis, there’s a precedent set.

[NotoriousREV]

But aren't most cars more economical between 60-70? I know both of mine are. Unless I've got some gross misunderstanding of MPG vs emissions.

Unless you’re in 3rd at 50 rather than top, your car is more economical at 50 than 70.

[Simon]

Yup, at 50mph mine is barely over tickover in 7th and doing 60mpg+. 70mph brings that down to 45mpg ish.

However, the nonsense of this decision is that if congestion is causing high pollution then I'd suggest that the cars aren't getting up to 70mph in the first place. I don't see how 50mph will solve anything.

[Mito Man]

I never like travelling slower than 56 on the motorway, the foreign lorries just don’t respect the 50 limits and you get in awkward positions with lorries overtaking cars in lane 2 and 3.

[Carlos]

I live near the Port Talbot stretch. It won't alter journey times and it's only for an additional couple of miles.

The reality is this has nothing to do with driving or motor vehicles. The topography is basically a mountain, the M4 , 200m or so of residential area, steelworks and it's like that for a couple of miles.

Understandably that residential area has historical high levels of air pollution from the steelworks as the mountain essentially contains the industrial pollution in the residential band but the increased traffic over the last 10 years has occasionally breached the EU levels.

The straw that broke the camel's back.

[NotoriousREV]

The A493 in Wrexham is by my MIL’s house and it’s definitely not a congestion issue. Not sure why that section was targeted.

[Swervin_Mervin]

The A493 in Wrexham is by my MIL’s house and it’s definitely not a congestion issue. Not sure why that section was targeted.

Baffles me as well. And most of Wrexham I think. Probably why the AM announcing the news finds most people overtaking her all the time on that section!

Oh and when asked by anither AM if there was any evidence the measures had reduced NOx ahe said the evidence was "mixed" and nothing more. No details at all.

[Barry]

That stretch by Wrexham is mainly passing a retail park FFS, containing a huge car park with hundreds of idling vehicles, emissions my ring piece.

[NotoriousREV]

Feels like emissions theatre.

[Nic]

I live near the Port Talbot stretch. It won't alter journey times and it's only for an additional couple of miles.

The reality is this has nothing to do with driving or motor vehicles. The topography is basically a mountain, the M4 , 200m or so of residential area, steelworks and it's like that for a couple of miles.

Understandably that residential area has historical high levels of air pollution from the steelworks as the mountain essentially contains the industrial pollution in the residential band but the increased traffic over the last 10 years has occasionally breached the EU levels.

The straw that broke the camel's back.

That stretch needs to be 50 imo, some really badly laid out and dangerous junctions with minimal merging on ramps leading in to off ramps.

[Swervin_Mervin]

That stretch by Wrexham is mainly passing a retail park FFS, containing a huge car park with hundreds of idling vehicles, emissions my ring piece.

As you say Plas Coch is probably the cause of any emissions problems there. And the congestion at J5 and the plas coch roundabout.

And next week Welsh Gov't will be having two public events to tell the locals all about their A483 study, the aim of which is to come up with preferred options for the upgrading of the A483 between J3-6. Which could include widening to increase capacity...

[Orange Cola]

No one will do 50 in these sections, unless it’s average speed camera controlled, in which case only the idiots who need controlling will drive through at whatever speed they feel like anyway. I just get the feeling emissions is becoming the next speed related excuse and anyone caught speeding will become a polluting dangerous monster.

But actually being able to control a car in a safe manner, regardless of speed, will not be acknowledged.

[nuttinnew]

Oh and when asked by anither AM if there was any evidence the measures had reduced NOx ahe said the evidence was "mixed" and nothing more. No details at all.

Hardly the way to get people onside. (Btw, what's an AM ).

[drcarlos]

That stretch by Wrexham is mainly passing a retail park FFS, containing a huge car park with hundreds of idling vehicles, emissions my ring piece.

As you say Plas Coch is probably the cause of any emissions problems there. And the congestion at J5 and the plas coch roundabout.

And next week Welsh Gov't will be having two public events to tell the locals all about their A483 study, the aim of which is to come up with preferred options for the upgrading of the A483 between J3-6. Which could include widening to increase capacity...

They just restricted a section of the A331 in farnborough for the same reasoning and there’s a retail park not 200 metres from the restricted section. There are queues of traffic waiting to get in and out or park every weekend and a lot of weekdays too. So anyone monitoring emissions in the area would get the results from all this congestion too.

[NotoriousREV]

Are these just sections that happen to have air monitors and the positioning is fairly arbitrary?