Rural Speed Limits May Be Reduced

Rural Speed Limits May Be Reduced

A new Predomination plan has dehiscent that speed limits on most single - carriageway roads in rural areas could be cut from 60mph to 50mph in an header to reduce the unit of car accidents and deaths.
Jim Fitzpatrick, the road safety minister noted that figures suggested a road accident was most likely to eventuate on rural parts of the road network, upon most of which the national speed limit of 60mph applies.
Dangerous roads
Great Britain had one of the best road safety records in the world, but this has slipped in recent senescence. In 2007, proficient were 2, 946 deaths and 30, 000 serious personal injuries on the roads. 29 % of these collisions were due to suggested speeding. The Rule is share a consultation on the plan, which is likely to be by much opposed.
The bellwether of the AA, Edmund Rajah, will suitable Mr Fitzpatrick and Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon to contend the matter, but pointed out that a cover lessening of speed limits would not make roads safer, liable that many accidents on rural roads involved only one car.
“It will not solve the problem – you have to look at the detail a scant closer. Halfway every weekend we espy these solo car accidents. They ' re no thing to do with the speed limit. They ' re to do with inexperienced drivers driving recklessly. For a virginity of reckless drivers, the rest are punished. A drape lessening could lead to some roads having a lower speed limit than necessary. That could lead to dangerous overtaking. The best speed limits are those motorists obeisance and believe, ” he spoken.
Local authorities have the power to impose secondary speed limits, he increased. This is a thought that is also supported by The Assortment for British Drivers, who altercate the accent should be shifted from speeding to driving habits.
They have suggested that police patrols should be released to trial over dangerous or bad drivers, whether they are speeding or not – moderately than spending their eternity pipeline after speeding vehicles that much represent no task.
The ABD farther that the Government’s research suggests that oftentimes when speed is blamed for a car accident, it is really just bad driving. For advance, accidents caused by ‘failure to evaluator other person’s corridor or speed’ are noted in the report.
The framework however, oral this theory was sappy: “It is utter nonsense to class this as a ‘speed related accident’. The situation here is one person oversight to appraiser the path or speed of a second vehicle – which is not to say that the second vehicle is travelling at an pained or illegal speed. It is in toto a failure to discover correctly on the allotment of the first gala. ”
A Department for Transport spokeswoman uttered: “This is being looked at, but no decisions have been taken. ”
Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers verbal: “Rather than across the board reductions in the speed limit that hit the most responsible drivers, we credit a purpose to make our roads safer needs to target problem drivers. ”