'This is set at a level which is a compromise. NOT perfectly safe, and not as high as could be safely used by extremely skilled drivers.'
And this compromise is extremely unpredictable. As Dan has said, some roads are national speed limit that are dangerous driving at 40, wheras some are a 40 limit that could be 60. You have to judge for yourself what speed is safe. For the most part this is horifically bad idea as most people have no idea what they themselves are capable of, let alone what their vehicle is capable of. The solution..... better training!! Better Driving Tests and re tests every 5 years! Have a grading system (Itpro's best suggestion yet!) where people can only start out driving low powered cars, and then have to take an advanced test to drive more powerful cars.
This won't happen any time soon as even police drivers are taught a load of drivel. Plus that rich kid fresh out of college can always be bought a BMW M3 which he'll more than likely wrap around a tree the next week. The fact that it would remove half the idiots from the road and reduce the precious CO2 output means nothing to a government who enjoy the revenue gained from having over 30 million motorists.
So for the time being I would say that having a speed limit is completely justified, whilst people can breeze through their driving test so simply. That won't stop me cruising at 80 on the motorway though, you'll never stop those random occurences that can happen infront of you such as blow outs, and possibly by driving that little bit quicker you will have overtaken that car that loses control, leaving all the 70 drivers to shunt behind you!
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