At University I was once accused of being a little bit to the left -







of Gengis Khan. Everyone can spread it - Anyone can catch it. Stay home - the life you save can be your own!

Yes, Gengis was very left...............

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-54130862

Motorways to trial 60mph limits to cut pollution

come back Clarkson, we have a real job for you !!!

Won't make much of a difference - often you cannot get to do above 40 on the M6  Jules

There was a time when I commuted into Birmingham. There were roadworks on the M6 Witton-Spaghetti for months with 40 mph limits. Once the restriction was removed and it was back to the usually free-for-all accelerating and braking, it actually took longer to get to work than it did during the road works. The reduced speed produced a more orderly flow of traffic and was more efficient at getting the vehicles along the road. Jules

This just seems like another 'knee jerk' action that was most likely announced to give the impression that something is happening.

In my experience, during the times of heavy motorway traffic you are lucky to get much above 60mph anyway, and I can't see the point of slowing traffic when traffic is light.

To me, it seems that we, as humans, are destined to use up all the world's resources quicker than they can be produced, and unless we can work out a way of tapping the power produced by nuclear fusion we will have a finite time on this planet.

Only then will electric cars make sense. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 79k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

Ian, I, and I am sure many, will remember petrol rationing ? NO not during WWll, but in the mid 70's.
It was then we were told the fuel would run out and the world would stop revolving. 45yrs on I still fill my car up at the local garage.
and we didn't fight the Faulklands war for nothing, oil is still being found down there and other hot spots around the world.

Yes electric cars a good move ....... for the future though.

Faulklands??

You mean Falklands I suppose?

Of course oil reserves continue to be discovered and exploited......but climate change is here and our short-term behaviours need to change.

I remember the early seventies when the fuel crisis and the 50mph limit on the motorways. The fine for being caught over 50mph was £1 per mile per hour . I got one fine of £34 for zooming down the M1 at 84mph and not spotting the police XJ6 that was sandwiched/camouflaged by a lorry in front and one behind it as I swept past in a spitfire in overdrive top. Then got caught again near a Derby junction doing 75mph, so a £25 fine with both times also getting an "endorsement" so had to be careful for the next 3 years because if you had 3 endorsements that meant a ban! And my wage at that time as a student doing a practical year was £24 before tax per week so the fines were swingeing! Used lots more fuel poddling about in huge groups of lorries, buses, cars, vans, caravans and buses all driving at 48mph and trying to do 51mph to get free!! So, in my opinion reducing mph to 60 will have the same effect. Everybody in cars, vans, buses etc all doing 58-59 mph trying to get past trucks doing 56mph. All doing a brake / accelerator drive down the road will increase fuel usage and driving in bunches means you cannot get to clean air.

3landertwo wrote:

Ian, I, and I am sure many, will remember petrol rationing ? NO not during WWll, but in the mid 70's.
It was then we were told the fuel would run out and the world would stop revolving. 45yrs on I still fill my car up at the local garage.
and we didn't fight the Faulklands war for nothing, oil is still being found down there and other hot spots around the world.

Yes electric cars a good move ....... for the future though.

Click image to enlarge

Thanks 3landertwo, your post reminded me that I had come across my old 1973 petrol coupons in a box recently. Above is a picture to remind everybody.

You are not quite right about the fuel shortages of the 1970's as they came about as the Arab nations cut supplies in response to Israeli attacks.

The energy crisis of the 1970s begins with the Yom Kippur war between Israel and a
number of states in the Middle East, which erupted on 6 October 1973. The Arab
members of the Organisation of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) implemented an oil
embargo on 17 October 1973, initially applying to the United States but quickly
expanded to Western Europe and Japan because of the perceived support which
those countries were giving to Israel. The embargo was accompanied by significant
increases in the price of oil, which went up from around US$3 per barrel before the
war to over US$11 per barrel by January 1974 and around US$15 per barrel by
November 1974.


Full story in this link
https://www.racfoundation.org/wp-content/u...report.pdf

The 'knee jerk' government reaction then was similar, as they imposed a maximum of 50mph limit on all roads.
I remember this bit well as it led me into a discussion with a couple of policemen over what they estimated my speed as.

I agree that by the late 1970's we all expected gas and oil to runout early in the 21st century, and then we discovered it off-shore.

What I can't agree with is that global-warming/resource-shortages can be overcome by blaming someone, as it is a real problem and time is no longer on our side. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 79k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

I well remember those days and the discussions on whether there were enough coupons to continue ones weekly commute, the original limit was 60mph later reduced to 50mph, I lost 4mpg in the drop to 50mph, at 60mph my car revved at just over 3000rpm but at 50mph it was just over 2500 not its most economical engine speed, with a car with over 2.5 litres capacitiy the number of coupons would have given more miles than a mini for my commute, whereas at 50mph a drop of about 13.5%. Just goes to show that not all pollution or fuel saving solutions work, non technical minds making decisions of a technical nature should be completely ignored and the proposers cast into oblivion. my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

Thinking of miles of reduced Mway speeds - One of my pet hates is people who cannot maintain a constant speed. I was recently following a bloke in a Merc through the M6 road works where it has a enclose outer lane . I tuned on cruise control but had to keep resetting it as his speed was over all the place from 42 to 54. He had a clear lane in front of him whilst I had a long queue behind me - there was no way to get past.  Jules

I always use 'cruise control' in any speed limit as it allows me to travel at, or very slightly above the limit without having to constantly monitor the speedo.
I find it gets me through the controlled motorway sections much quicker than the 'go quicker but slow for the cameras' brigade. (much to their annoyance)

In fact I engage 'cruise control' as much as possible on all kinds of roads, and tap up and down on the buttons to alter speed as necessary. (I share Jules hate of constant speed changers on the motorway, especially those who seem to hog the middle lane and alter speed to trap you in either the slow or the fast lane)

PS I always use the GPS speed displayed on my stand alone Sat Nav as the FL2s speedo overreads by about 2-3 mph. i.e. GPS 62 mph is FL2 indicated 65mph. A nice gentle speed, but still clear of the lorries. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 79k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)