Motorway network not safe enough for higher speed limits - Road Safety Foundation report
Thu 10 May 2012
View all news
A report from the Road Safety Foundation says that England's motorway network is not safe enough to have the speed limit raised to 80mph due to poorly-maintained and inadequate roadside protection and the rapidly rising risk of shunt crashes from the sheer volume of traffic.
Last autumn, Philip Hammond, then Secretary of State for Transport, stated the Government's desire to "make sure that our motorway speed limit reflects the reality of modern vehicles and driving conditions, not those of 50 years ago … we must consider the huge economic benefits that can be created by shortening journey times". He promised formal proposals. (See link.)
The Road Safety Foundation report finds that currently motorways do not provide enough protection to drivers and car occupants to consider raising the speed limit.
Director of the Road Safety Foundation, Dr Joanne Marden, who oversaw the new research, says: "The vehicle fleet has become safer in the last decade through better crash protection. At motorway speeds, the car alone cannot protect the human body. The car has to work with the motorway's protection systems such as safety fencing to absorb high speed crash energies. In the next decade, the greatest potential for reducing deaths is on higher-speed roads outside built-up areas. This will be delivered through crash avoidance technology and road engineering catching up to complement improved vehicle crash protection."
In a related development, Green MP Caroline Lucas has tabled an Early Day Motion on Motorway Speeds opposing an increase in the limit.
Related Links
< Back to news list