In reply to the comment about the aircraft doing 400m/p/h.

All air traffic is strictly controlled and is not allowed to exceed the speed or altitude that is instructed, so if the pilot felt that he or she could go faster because they felt it was appropriate and they were educated enough to handle the speed, they couldn't so it's really an argument for having speed limits that are not discretional.

And who is going to police this?

@PaulM

"carrying speed correctly can save an educated drivers life..... "

... sorry mate it only works if everyone has the same skill set, 'cos you might be bombing along breaking the law (it still applies whether you think you're too good for it or not), and you might be unfortunate to be sharing your road that day with an "uneducated" driver who can't react quickly enough to your superior skills and excessive speed.

You got me thinking though, and now I'm of the opinion that bombs don't kill, it's just the fault of stupid people who stand in their way when they go off, and while we are at it if you pushed your 400 mph plane into a mountain guess what ??? - priceless mate, cheered me up you have.

Johnstitch, have a look at the statistics for car accidents in the UK and you will see that by far the most common contributing factors for road deaths and serious injuries is driving at excessive speed for the conditions and driving over the speed limit. That is a fact.

Johnstitch, cars are indeed pretty much indestructible in a lot of accidents, but pedestrians and cyclists aren't. Hence the need for speed limits; it's people putting the pedal to the metal, as you call it, that are the major cause of accidents. Unfortunately, it's nearly always innocent road users that fall victim to these clowns. If people drove their cars in a manner suitable for the road and prevailing conditions, and stuck to the limit, there would be less accidents, less families losing loved ones, and no need to call for lower limits on rural roads.

The road to Sellafield over Cold Fell was reduced to 40mph last year and is a far better road to drive over now than when it was 60mph.

Cars today are not safer for pedestarians / cyclists/sheep/horses etc when driven at speed. They are all as entitled to use the roads as much as the car driver so the car driver needs to drive in a way that is safe enough for the road to be used by all.

I am in favour of lower speed limits on the smaller roads. I constantly have vans up my behind pushing the limit on small roads with many turns and blind spots.
However if it is too expensive for signs lets wait for a few more accidents.
An alternative is to actually enforce the current driving laws. the law says up to 60 miles based on current driving conditions. I never ever see a traffic officer on the road.
Better enforcement 24 hours a day will create safer roads. We should have at least one police car out on the road 24 hours a day throughout the region, no announcements as to where they will be, checking on driving speeds and the adherence to the law. The fixed price tickets given out will pay back their wages many times.

And how will local businesses survive when all their deliveries turn up later and nobody gets a morning paper because the paper boy went to school an hour before they were delivered to the local shop?
Modern cars are safer, stronger and in most accidents pretty indestructible. Bad drivers, poor visibility, poor roads and people playing with their mobiles will cause far more accidents than speed. Pedal to the metal!

This whole business of speed limits is getting dangerously out of control. In the first 1.5 miles of leaving my home there are no less than 6 changes of speed limit. They go 30,60,40,60,40,and back to 30. I suspect that this is a money-making initiative by the local council and nothing to do with road safety.