A31 named as one of the UK's fastest roads (From Daily Echo)
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A31 named as one of the UK's fastest roads
8:44am Friday 15th March 2013 in News
A31 named as one of the UK's fastest roads
A CONTROVERSIAL stretch of road, where Ringwood youngster Jade Clark recently died in a horrific collision, has been named one of the UK's fastest roads.
Figures show some motorists reach speeds of up to 140miles an hour on the A31, with local people leading a campaign for the speed limit to be reduced to 50mph.
Recent meetings with the Highways Agency have led to local people and Ringwood Town Council attempting to take their campaign to the Secretary of State, after the Agency said speed is not a contributory factor in the number of accidents on the road.
The A31 was fourth in the top five speeding convictions in the UK, with 137mph recorded.
The figures, which reveal the fastest A roads in the UK, were obtained through a Freedom of Information request.
Comments(14)
10 Minute Man
says...
9:49am Fri 15 Mar 13
But setting aside the ignorant mis-use of data for a second, 50mph or 60mph seems to make more sense. The A31 between Stoney Cross and Ringwood is much more twisty and has various junctions with shorter slip roads on than a motorway, so I don't think 70 (with drivers at 80) is appropriate. Setting it lower would give people more time to think and react, as well as sending the message "you are not on the motorway" which many drivers appear to forget.
DJames75
says...
10:01am Fri 15 Mar 13
one in a million
says...
10:18am Fri 15 Mar 13
The irate commuter
says...
10:24am Fri 15 Mar 13
one in a million wrote:Exactly...in all the 20 years I have driving down the A31, I have NEVER seen a speed trap in this section ..... & can count on 1 hand how many times I have seen a camera on the whole of the A31. Always West bound at the Shell garage.....never seen a camera East bound
Its not the speed limit that needs changing its the way speeding is policed.
But regular as clock work you can find a car tax camera sat in the slip road of the A338 every week....Priorities all wrong here !!
And if a idiot is driving 140mph in a 70 limit - what makes anyone thing he/she will show down if it's 50??
Richard 51
says...
10:40am Fri 15 Mar 13
Police Camera Action
CharlieOxbridge
says...
10:48am Fri 15 Mar 13
.
Dropping the speed limit will not work here but tougher sentences for drivers caught doing + 120 mph. Is a hefty fine really going to bother a motorist that can already afford a high performance vehicle?
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Instant driving bans and prison sentences need to be dished out and an example made.
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It will be interesting to see what punishments were giving out to the motorists caught doing these speeds.
good-gosh
says...
10:52am Fri 15 Mar 13
elvisimo
says...
11:01am Fri 15 Mar 13
The irate commuter wrote:Agree with comment about 50 instead of 70 but regarding speed cameras- too bad. Slow down. Too many people think speed limits are a suggestion
one in a million wrote:Exactly...in all the 20 years I have driving down the A31, I have NEVER seen a speed trap in this section ..... & can count on 1 hand how many times I have seen a camera on the whole of the A31. Always West bound at the Shell garage.....never seen a camera East bound
Its not the speed limit that needs changing its the way speeding is policed.
But regular as clock work you can find a car tax camera sat in the slip road of the A338 every week....Priorities all wrong here !!
And if a idiot is driving 140mph in a 70 limit - what makes anyone thing he/she will show down if it's 50??
ohec
says...
12:34pm Fri 15 Mar 13
CharlieOxbridge
says...
12:49pm Fri 15 Mar 13
ohec wrote:25k a unit is the cost of average speed cameras.
The cheap and simple not to mention most effective answer is average speed cameras with a 60mph limit rigorously enforced, people don't want to use the left hand lane for fear of getting boxed in behind slower moving vehicles so they tend to sit in the outside lane bumper to bumper, or they just pullout from behind slower vehicles expecting others to give way and many are not keen on that.
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What I also dont like about average speed cameras is they take your eyes of the road and onto the speedometer.
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I would rather see the money spent on more policing than another ugly yellow camera.
Ozmosis
says...
1:47pm Fri 15 Mar 13
Graeme Harrison
says...
2:27pm Fri 15 Mar 13
CharlieOxbridge wrote:But since people routinely monitor their speed so as to comply with the speed limits, that's not actually a problem is it?
ohec wrote:25k a unit is the cost of average speed cameras.
The cheap and simple not to mention most effective answer is average speed cameras with a 60mph limit rigorously enforced, people don't want to use the left hand lane for fear of getting boxed in behind slower moving vehicles so they tend to sit in the outside lane bumper to bumper, or they just pullout from behind slower vehicles expecting others to give way and many are not keen on that.
.
What I also dont like about average speed cameras is they take your eyes of the road and onto the speedometer.
.
I would rather see the money spent on more policing than another ugly yellow camera.
ohec
says...
3:25pm Fri 15 Mar 13
Graeme Harrison wrote:Ok 25k for one unit how much do you think one accident costs in financial terms without even considering the human cost, not just the immediate cost of the accident but the wider costs as well like the cost to industry in delays. Yes i would like to see a much greater Police presence on all our roads but there is more chance of the Pope declaring he is a Muslim than getting more Police on our roads, I live on a main road and the amount of vehicles you see with defective lights is unbelievable a simple thing but something you wouldn't have seen a few years ago because you would have been pulled but now nobody cares because the likelihood of getting stopped is negligible and in the same way the likelihood of getting caught speeding on the A31 is negligible as a previous post has pointed out. Road Policing could be largely self funding by way of on the spot fines, we need to become proactive rather than reactive.
CharlieOxbridge wrote:But since people routinely monitor their speed so as to comply with the speed limits, that's not actually a problem is it?
ohec wrote:25k a unit is the cost of average speed cameras.
The cheap and simple not to mention most effective answer is average speed cameras with a 60mph limit rigorously enforced, people don't want to use the left hand lane for fear of getting boxed in behind slower moving vehicles so they tend to sit in the outside lane bumper to bumper, or they just pullout from behind slower vehicles expecting others to give way and many are not keen on that.
.
What I also dont like about average speed cameras is they take your eyes of the road and onto the speedometer.
.
I would rather see the money spent on more policing than another ugly yellow camera.
DJames75 says...
9:43am Fri 15 Mar 13
I watched one of those interceptor shows where some clown was driving 100 mph on a B road, does that feature?
The road is dangerous, and its tragic what happened there, but this story doesn't make sense.