“Speed kills”, says the cliché. And so do most governments around the world that prefer to keep low speed limits and enforce them by planting thousands of cameras on the roads.
Yet surprisingly, the UK government is proposing a new plan to increase the speed limit on motorways. The announcement came today from Transport Secretary Philip Hammond who announced his intention to raise the national speed limit on motorways from 70 to 80 mph (112 to 128 km/h) as early as 2013.
“I want to make sure that our motorway speed limit reflects the reality of modern vehicles and driving conditions, not those of 50 years ago”, said Hammond. “While we must ensure that our roads remain among the safest in the world, we must also consider the huge economic benefits that can be created by shortening journey times.”
Ministry data suggests that almost half of British drivers today (49%) break the 70 mph limit and the minister believes that raising it would bring them “back inside the boundary”.
Moreover, advancements in the automotive industry as well as the highway infrastructure have contributed to a decrease of more than 75% in the fatality rate since 1965.
“Increasing the speed limit on motorways from 70 to 80 miles per hour for cars, light vans and motorcycles could provide hundreds of millions of pounds of benefits for the economy and I will put forward formal proposals for making these changes later this year,” said Hammond.
