tonyg3nwl Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 Hi, my daughter phoned earlier this evening to ask if motorhomes were speed restricted legally on the m5 motorway. She sai that on her return journey from Cardiff to Taunton, when she was on the inside lane, at 60 mph, she was overtaken by a large motorhome, at high speed, with someone on their tail with less than a car distance between them.. she estimated their speed approaching 80, but certainly far too close and would have been a severe pileup, if something had gone wrong.. Unfortunately, she didnt take a number plate number, but felt that it was a very dangerous situation, and backed of to be safe herself. If the maniac drivers should by chance read this, please remember there is a 70 limit for cars, and tailgating is very dangerous, and motorhomes are heavy vehicles . She asked if there was a lower speed limit for heaviir vehicles similar to commercial vans etc. Tonyg3nwl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocs Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 It wasn't a Smart Car or something similar that was "tailgating" the motorhome? :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 tonyg3nwl - 2017-05-07 9:26 PM ...she was overtaken by a large motorhome, at high speed, with someone on their tail with less than a car distance between them.. ...please remember there is a 70 limit for cars, and tailgating is very dangerous, and motorhomes are heavy vehicles . She asked if there was a lower speed limit for heaviir vehicles similar to commercial vans etc. Tony, Motorhomes are restricted to the same speeds as cars on motorways (irrespective of unladen weight, unlike on most other roads) BUT it really sounds like the MH in question was towing the 'tailgating' car on an A-frame (as suggested by Robert) and if so should then have been restricted to 60 mph, the same as for any vehicle towing. Have a look at this simple table... http://www.motorhomeinfo.co.uk/speed-limits/ Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 I must admit i'm often staggered by the speed some mh owners drive at, particularly on the Autobahns in Germany where i've often had a huge A class go flying past me. I tend to stick around 60-65 with only the occasional 70 if and when necessary. I can only think they've got very deep pockets and enjoy watching the fuel gauge plummet! :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Salisbury Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 vehicles towing trailers are not allowed in the "fast lane", unless instructed to do so by a police officer i.e. there has been an accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keninpalamos Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 I just deleted my post due to it being total rubbish :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Motorways are high speed roads so everyone who drives at 80 mph on a motorway hardly qualifies as a "maniac", and nor are they necessarily doing anything more dangerous than those drivers who trundle along at 50 mph in Lane One, oblivious to the problems they are creating for others behind them. Some MHs are built to do - and more importantly they will have air brakes or similar to be able to stop reasonably quickly from high speeds. For example those built on heavy commercial or bus chassis, like the top-end American RVs. Most MHs in UK are however relatively low powered and heavily loaded vehicles and are incapable of stopping anything like as quickly as a car so even if the aerodynamics and steering is stable enough for high speed the brakes certainly won't be. It's the weakness of the braking system which limits a MH's suitability for high speed, even on motorways. Just as you need to slow down well ahead of roundabouts to be able to get around them without rolling too much compared with a car, you need to drive a MH so that you can always stop before you run into whatever is in front of you, including on motorways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 I don't think that a MH's limited brake efficiency was much of an issue for this bloke..as he didn't seem to know where the pedal was anyway..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ham Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 We have noticed the speed of vehicles the last month just too fast. The M4 section around Newport and the Brynglas tunnels now have live cameras and they have prosecuted 4000 speeding offenders in 3 months. Last week on the M4 J8 I had a car try to overtake me on the slip road he could not get pass due to a lorry in front of me but he still tried to force is way through, when we got to the Motorway proper he was gone like a bat out of hell. What I did not see or neither did he, he had an unmarked police car behind him not long before blue lights came on . we were laughing as we passed him as he pulled over to the hard shoulder. I now have dash cams in the car and Van. One problem we have on the M4 is that the police no longer patrol the Motorway ,due to costs its left to the highway patrol but I believe they have no authority to book speeders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Hi Ham.. .."slip road"...don't you mean "launch pad"....!? ..because that's what a lot of drivers seem to use them as nowadays. A means to "sling shot" themselves at full chat, straight across to lane 3 ! :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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