22BUK

From "The Sunday Times"

"The European Union’s energy commissioner has called for a 100kph — 62mph — speed limit to be adopted throughout Europe. Andris Piebalgs said roads in all 25 member states should be posted with a uniform limit to cut accidents and save fuel. His suggestion follows a recommendation by the International Energy Association in Paris and is seen as a quick way to cut energy consumption in response to depleted oil reserves.
“If in Germany cars are speeding at 200kph (124mph) they are using too much petrol,” said Piebalgs. He was speaking at a meeting in Germany, where motorists enjoy the only speed-limit-free roads in the EU.

A comment on the website of Der Spiegel, the German news magazine, said: “With those speed limits we would be castrated.”

Piebalgs’s proposal came as the European economic and social committee, a body that advises the European commission on drawing up new legislation, launched an initiative to create a common European highway code. Its aim is to remove the wide variations in road regulations of member states.

The committee said that in Portugal it is illegal to drive with daytime lights while in northern and eastern Europe lights cannot be switched off. Critics point out the contrasting weather conditions in Scandinavia and Portugal.

The committee wants a commission white paper, with legislation to follow".

corradoboy

And accident rates will rise as people become disinterested in what they're doing, stop paying attention and maybe even nod off. Stupid EU jobsworth feckwits with no concept of reality trying to justify their salaries and very existance with sweeping legislation backed up by liberal do-gooder bullsh!t statistics. The majority disagree with all this tripe, but never open their mouths to protest, and all the while the gobby tofu sandalled green nutter minority do their utmost to try and spoil anything with an ounce of fun. TW@TS

martyrobertsdj

iTrader: (1)

LOL

BRILLIANT!!!!!!

Leslie

Just another reason Why I was concerned about what the different parties thought about Europe and was wondering why it was not mentioned in the lead up to the election.

I thought, and still do, that it is very important to our future lives.

Les

Poor Guy

*scream* *scream* UKIP, save me!

bastids.how will that save fuel any hows? different cars geared for different speeds.
my car for example running at a shade under 3krpm (62mph) is less efficient than at 3.8krpm where I get real good mpg. if i drop a cog that 65mph so that doesnt help, then another its 56mph. so for my max efficiency it wouldt really work.

morons

Jap2Scrap

The Germans will probably do us a favour on this one tbh. There's very little chance their economy could afford to be stifled with imposed limits such as this so I'd expect them to veto it or protest it anyway. Just as well because as a nation we're hopeless at sticking up for ourselves anymore...

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

If I spent all morning trying to come up with something better, I would fail. Brilliantly put

STi-Frenchie

Another reason for the French to vote No to the European Constitutional Union Treaty on May 29th...at least I hope they don't follow the example set by the Spaniards. Problem is, the voters here are split on the issue...but it would be sweet to tell the EU what they can do with their demands for tighter integration (read that as centralized legislation and the dissolution of cultural and national identity).

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

I used to be pro-European. I thought that it would be great if we could all get along as one big "state". Jesus I was wrong.

All they do is meddle, I've not heard anything positive come out of the EU

SJ_Skyline

Piebags...

Yes I know I spelt it wrong but it's far better that way! Makes him sound like Greggs the bakers answer to Hamburgler

Brendan Hughes

As most governments make money from fuel (duty), and as most would have to pay to change all the roadsigns, and as most would find their economy slowing as business slows (which is happening already), I'll do a rare thing for me, and say that the chances of this happening are precisely zero.

Clett

Simple solution to this one....

Have a multi-tiered speed limit.

Only cars capable of 50mpg at 70mph would be allowed to go the full 70.

But cars managing 50mpg at 80mph would be allowed to go 80, and cars managing 50mpg at 90mph would be allowed to go 90 (etc).

This is similar to how it worked in Italy, cars with 1300cc+ being allowed a higher speed limit than cars <1300cc.

People won't pay much more to have a fuel efficient vehicle but they definitely would if it meant they were allowed to go faster than everyone else on the motorway! Manufacturers would all of a sudden make huge progress in mpg too, and the savings in fuel for the EU would be far more dramatic than asking everyone to tootle along at 62mph. Much more sensible option!

(But it does mean that all the VAG TDi boys in Other Marques would spend all day overtaking Scoobies! )

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I don't know...if they really wanted to reduce fuel consumption why don't they ban large 4x4s and high powered cars over 200bhp

Ban the impreza!!....imagine the outcry

SirFozzalot

Scoobs would be limited to about 30mph! In fact they would probably be banned altogether!

SiPie

100kmp/h Limit works well in NZ .....






....but then admittedly the traffic is slightly less (apart from Auckland in rush hour) and the scenery is nicer to look at as you are dawdling along

Brendan Hughes

"An EU spokesman also said that the new limits would be enforced by 5 million new speed cameras, linked to a central European driver identification database based in Brussels, with cross-links to each driver's fingerprint as submitted in order to apply for the Harmonised EU Drivers Licence. This quantum leap in camera sites would be funded by a mandatory extra 2% in VAT on consumer goods across the EU, with the lion's share expected to come from the EU's best performing consumer economies, namely those outside the Eurozone."


<retires to safe distance, does not return to a thread once lit >

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about, here. Is he proposing that 100kph will be for ALL roads, including motorways?

At the moment, for example, you can do 60 mph on UK country roads, but only 70mph on our motorways.

Whereas you can only do 56mph on vastly superior French country roads, but 85mph on their motorways.

Isn't he just proposing a standard SET of limits throughout Europe?

Alcazar

22BUK

It's proposed to be a blanket 100kph limit.

I don't blame Mr Piebalgs (one wonders if he has any other problems) personally; he's only doing his job, after all.

I do blame, however, the fact that he has such a job in the first place, together with all his un-elected EU cronies.

Let's hope that France says "Non" on May 29th. It looks from the latest polls that the Netherlands definitely will say "No" on three days after the French vote.

STi-Frenchie

If the French and Dutch both vote Non and Nee respectively, that'll probably sink the Treaty there and then. Blessed are the cheesemakers

Leslie

Just the sort of thing to expect from an leftie authoritarian government. Similar but even deeper then the sort of thing proposed by our own lot. Just shows what sort of power they want to take for themselves.

Really don't want to have my life dictated to me by a corrupt government with corrupt unelected leaders who cant even get their accounts passed by the auditors for 10 years now!

Les

paulr

Having just come back from France how about the fact that they can get loans for 2% yet we pay 5%.Who's the muppets there then?

Mick

iTrader: (1)

If they want to reduce fuel consumption - give everyone an allowance 1200 litres a year or something... It's not just high power and high speed that guzzles fuel - It's long distances too...

There was aprogramme on TV about this ages ago showing (I think) Ladies undies... No, Not that one... One where the undies were designed & cut in Switzerland trucked to Italy for sewing, trucked back to Switzerland for packaging and then trucked to UK... How crazy is that? - Fuel and trucking stuff is too cheap!

Mick

Brendan Hughes

Yeah but remember that Switzerland and Italy adjoin - they might just be trucked 30km...

STi-Frenchie

Hmm....just been watching a spate of new adverts on French TV...they sure are getting VERY liberated these days -- deodorant ads are all T&A shots which makes a welcome distraction from the news.

Talking of distractions, I'll let you folks carry on with the thread

boomer

Mick,

IIRC, they were sewn in Spain, not Italy - and that is a fair few miles from the land of cuckoo clocks

mb

Mick

iTrader: (1)

Ah well... You know the point I was trying to make - I knew it began with 'S' LOL

Mick