Average Cruising Speed

I presume Mr Plod is not reading this forum...?

Anyway, my question is this. What is your average cruising speed on a motorway ?

I have to admit that mine seems to have rocketed alarmingly since i've been hanging round with the other 10 Tenths' gang and hammering from one race track to another in all four corners of the country... but that's another matter.

What i'm interested in is what speed you feel comfortable with whilst on a long journey...

I have to admit that I can't resist accelerating up to 90-95mph when the road is clear, because it still seems comfortable and controlable. However, if its at night I will stay below 75mph, or if its a road I don't know the same.

I have to say that I don't think that doing 80-90 on a dual-carrigeway is anywhere near as dangerous as doing 40 in a 30 limit, especially if you still keep 2 second gaps. GoThe distance you are from the car in front is a more important factor in determining how safe you are driving than your speed IMO.

Ooh No! Definately 70mph Craig! I mean, twenty miles per hour faster than that would obviously be illegal, wouldn't it? ;)

Well, the road I take every day is very twisty so It's no highway but there aren't any traffic lights either so you can go relatively fast. If there's traffic you can drive at 60kmph average with a top of 80kmph but if there isn't much traffic then you can take it at 80kmph average with top speeds of 120kmph (although the other day I was doing 120 and a Citroën Saxo VTS passed me like I was standing still).

On the highway and as long as there isn't much traffic and the tyres are well balanced (no vibration) I'll floor it...which only gives me about 135kmph.

While working in Germany there was only one speed on the autobahn and that was flat out. In the rented Ople Astra that varied between 165 to 180 km/hr depending on where the wind blew from and if it was down hill.
In the 70ties while covering motor racing in a BMW 2002 there was the CB radio that helped. Average speed for coast to coast travel was between 75 to 90 mph. The speed limit at that time was 55 mph in the USA, but with the CB radio I would know where every radar trap was located and could slow down just in time. It does not work so well now.
Now that I'm older and wiser(??) I try to not go much over the speed limit. The max. for me is now about 20 to 30 km/hr over the limit depending in the traffic.
Just now got home from a trip to Ajax on our 401 highway. There are between 3 to 6 lanes each way. Speed limit is 100 km/hr and if you drive less then 120 km/hr you will be run over by everybody including the tractor trailer I followed tonight that was doing 130 km/hr. The trailer looked about 50 to 60 feet long and on it it was printed"Specialist for on time delivery".

I would have to agree with the comment of judging the speed for the situation, width of road, how far you can see ahead, other traffic etc etc, all common sense stuff. Around here, people generally drive like mad fiends, with 30, 40, 50 kph over the limit very very common, whether the innercity biways or the main highways. Don't want to come across as a nay-sayer, but it's the fast driving when the traffic conditions aren't appropriate is what gets my goat. On the open highways, you can safely (police-wise) get away with up to 118kph and you will not get stopped, but if you get a few "front men" who go galloping off ahead and you give them a bit of a lead, you can feel fairly secure at 130.

I, too, have had the extreme pleasure of driving in Germany a number of years back, with longish 160-200 stints, which I fondly fondly remember each time I do a long slog down the very boring 401. As everyone I imagine who has driven on autobahns, I have great memories of cruising along and spying rapidly approaching German-made vehicles that, as they pass, make your nice 160 or 180 seem rather poo-pooish. At least in my experience over there, people always passed on the left, kept an eye on the rear view mirror, and used the passing lane for passing. Here around Montreal, passing on the right is so common that it's almost a given. This and unsuitable speeds for the given amount of traffic are what make driving in Quebec...well....special. (that and the potholes, that's why you don't see any Minis around anymore, they've all fallen into great holes back in the springs of the 70's and 80's!)

Craig, when did Mr. Plod become a member, I see he doesn't post very often. :-)

I have long said that the safest speed is the fastest speed at which you feel comfortable... which assumes you take into account all your surroundings and the car.

Of course, this is mandated in most places to be hopelessly unattainable... I used to sit on 105mph on trips to Adelaide, except when the car would go faster. Other roads I would only do what the car would attain, unless circumstances dictated less.

Now it's a constant battle of balancing on that knife edge of about 5kmh more than the limit, maybe 8kmh, and keep an eye constantly open looking for speed cameras.

No wonder I have trouble staying awake!

On minor roads, where there is a much reduced likelihood of finding such obstacles, I can go like the old days, but even so, a higher level of wariness prevails... there are cops everywhere!

I'm with Ray on this one. It's too expensive too speed and on some roads it is ridiculous the speed limits there are. Now I'm not saying there are many roads, but some are just so inconsistent. For instance roads which had a 70km/h limit reduced to 60km/h. Which according to Australian police advertising means that everyone should have died at the old speed limit. OK, slight exaggeration but you get the idea.

I usually cruise about 5km/h over the speed limit on the open road. I did cruise at about 130-140km/h going to Adelaide from Sydney though but otherwise it would have been very dangerous with fatigue going at too slow a pace for the conditions.

It is more acceptable speed for the conditions, including the car, road surface, weather, other drivers and other factors. The driver is the biggest factor in any accident. There are some people who are extremely dangerous on the road even at 40km/h.

Living in Bathurst and traveling to sydney quite often along the Great(ha) western highway you are out of your mind if you decide to do any moe than about 10 km above the speed limit. On a trip i would see a minium of three highway patrol cars, some weekends it can run into double figures, plus there is one fixed speed camera along the way, and the odd one or two mobile ones.

The better trip is out to nyngan. $00km there and about 200 of it is flat and straight. set the cruise control on 160km/h and have theoccasional quik blast with the needle off the dial and have some fun. The only thing to watch out for along the way is grain and cotton harvesters, farmers in utes and the flocks of cockatoos.

hmm. if i'm off to manchester or somewhere like that, i'll cruise at about 90-100mph depending on the road conditions. i once did the a1 strech between the m11/a1 junction and the sherwood forest roundabout at an averege of 100-110mph behind a mercedes 4x4... of course, we took turns in sharing the other car's slipstream.

as for fuel economy, my #1 tip is to find a lorry without a speed limiter and cruise behind them. they're usually brand new (or really old), and live on the m25. they do about 70mph, and i got 45mpg out of my little 316i last time i tried it :)

my car's more stable at higher speeds (although i'm screwed if i have to stop. hence i learnt to look far up the road and accelerate through any developing danger..); 70mph is just dangerous...

and i get better fuel consumption at high speeds :) and fixed speed cameras don't work on foreign plates (haven't set one off yet..).

the local roads are a bit dangerous, what with horses (i went past a horse and cart today - what was that all about?!), but at night, when the only things about are mini deer and badgers, taking the racing lines down the roads is more exhilerating than doing high speeds.

i drive 80 miles a day, just to get to work and back.
i stick to around 80 to 85mph on the motorway or up to 90 if i have to get past someone.

I love to drive fast, but i dont want to crash or lose my license.
There is a quiet park road near where i live, and i can get to about 80mph before i have to brake and turn. even though the speed limit is 20 mph :rotate:
but its ok because its fairly safe, no cars and no speed cameras.

Woody.

On the cross town expressway in Tulsa, usually 65 or 70 mph if traffic allows. On the interstate highways or our turnpikes I run at 75 to 85 mph. I have been known to run at over 90 mph at times, but not so much lately with our increase in fuel prices.

I can make it to parents home 290 miles south of Tulsa in around 4.5 hours. About 150 miles of the trip are spent on the turnpike with only 3 stops to pay tolls, the rest are on two and four lane roads with 9 small towns on the way. This makes my average for the trip just over 64 mph.

In the car I'd say a steady 110 klms an hour on the highway (100 limit).

On the bike, anything I can get away with. On the Beemer about 120 up to ?? depending on the road.

Excellent... :)

Thanks guys - don't feel so bad now :)

What, feel bad?! You should only feel bad if you get nicked-I say that yet I have never had a speeding ticket. (I am at this very moment reaching around and frantically touching all the wood I can get my hands on, including my head!!)

Often on the Motorway to work I do 65 - 70 MPH as sometimes I am a little bleary eyed ;) It feels like I'm slowest car on the road.

Having said that on a longer trip, wide awake keeping pace with the traffic means 80 - 90 MPH.

Simon

just done 5 hours of driving (cambridge to harrogate - i love the a1). i cruised at around 85-90mph, except down the a14, when it was 65-70mph.
i hit 160kmh (car talks in those - couldn't be bothered to translate it) on the 4 lane near peterborough stretch of the a1(m) in the fast lane, until i figured i really would lose my licence if the police caught me.

My average cruising speed on the highway (where we have a 90 km/h speed limit) is between 100 and 110 km/h. It's really built for speeds up to 110 km/h, so the 90 km/h speed limit is just bs in my humble opinion. I generally have a lot more respect for speed limits at 50 km/h and downwards, in fact, most people here do. If you drive at 90 km/h on the highway, almost everybody will overtake you.

As an update on this, I can mention that it's been reported today that the speed limit will be set to 100 km/h on a trial basis on parts of the highway this summer.

My cruising speed may increase to between 110 and 120 km/h then. :rotate:

Well, in the city area's I don't go faster than the legal limit because they have radar control everywhere in my area by now. But on freeways with a 130 kph limit I usually drive 160. And if on a highway the limit is 90 I drive 100 in average cause it's a nice number...lol.
Never got a ticket so far...will see how long I will be that lucky :-)

mmmmmmmmmmmm you all seem very tame and honest - i think everyone hear would love to say they drove at 150mph everywhere but it just aint practical.

i have to confess since taking delivery of my new car i drive way more slowly than my last car - i had a ford ka and would bound up and down the motorways at 85-90mph easy and it still wouldnt burn up any fuel. Now i have my focus 1.8 zetec which is far more sporty and powerful i have found myself driving way slower than normal i cruise everywhere speed limit king i think ill rename myself - well apart from the m6 up to oulton pk where i whooped a fiesta who got on my nerves where i topped 125mph that is the only time in the 6weeks of having the car that i have ever really sped

i dont know whether its because its worth more, uses more fuel or what - or maybe im getting old and sensible!!

Spoon-perhaps a combination of all, plus the fact that you were breaking in a new engine....

80mph like everyone else! *sigh* how dull!

My current cruising speed is unknown, since my speedo cable is dodgy to say the least! I've got used to driving fairly rapidly. I thought I was doing maybe 35 through town, but after going in convoy with Chris, he tells me it's more like 45 :eek:

Ditto motorways - I now know why corners feel so scary - it's because I'm taking them at 85 instead of 70! I'll rectify the problem when I get some time to spend on the car. There's also the problem of it being a dash out job. My steering column mountings are broken, and I think the garage have "helpfully" glued the 2 column halves together at the top, which means I may have to do some butchery to get it all apart. This would be OK if Mk1 Maestro dashes in Prussian blue weren't virtually impossible to get hold of.. :rolleyes:

Oh my god! I'm never getting in a car with YOU!! Not that I would anyway, you understand. A purley hypothetical situation. Obviously. Y'see.... I MEAN NO HARM!!

I'm with Ray on this one. I beleive that driving at a mandated speed far lower than what both the driver and car are capable of in the conditions is actually quite dangerous and contributes massively to fatigue.

I'm also with Elephino, I don't buy the authorities assertions that every driver in every car is facing certain death at 70, but quite safe at 60. Come off it!

Notwithstanding the above, I'm now so paranoid about police, fines etc. that I very rarely exceed the limit by more than 10km/h.

I usually sit at about 80 on a UK motorway, because that's fine for fuel consumption (306 Turbo Diesel) and I'm going to be very unluckly to get done by the flat feet for that. I'd love to go faster - I've never seen the point in driving slowly when you could be going quickly - but I had a couple of accidents (not speed-related, just lack of concentration) three years ago, and it's hit my insurance pretty hard. I don't need another accident now, and I certainly don't need a fine and points on my licence.
I generally make a reasonable effort to stick to 30-40-50 mph limits because they're there for a reason, to protect both drivers and members of the public, but the national limit of 60 and motorway limit of 70mph are both too low, in my opinion.

Originally posted by MichaelC
I've never seen the point in driving slowly when you could be going quickly

Good one! :laugh: