Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, has made it clear that he does not support the proposed increase in the motorway speed limit, championed first by Labour, and then by the previous Coalition Transport Secretary, Phillip Hammond.
Plans to raise the speed limit from 70mph to 80mph on motorways have not been helped by an “agnostic” view of the proposals by the Prime Minister and the Chancellor. Only the previous Transport Secretary, Mr Hammond, gave any weight to the idea, but he has now moved to the position of Defence Secretary.
Hammond had previously said the speed limit increase would be worth “hundreds of millions of pounds” a year to the UK’s economy.
Fears that more accidents will occur if the limit rise goes ahead are behind the change of heart. Road safety group Brake has echoed these concerns.
If the 80mph limit was introduced, a de facto increase to 90mph would come into effect – since we understand police officers usually only prosecute when the limit has been broken by 10% plus 2 miles per hour.
Official confirmation of the speed limit increase is expected later on in the year.
The UK’s speed limits are among the lowest in Europe, but Britain also has one of the best road safety records in the EU, suggesting to some that lower speed limits do indeed reduce deaths and injuries.
As one of our car or motorbike breakdown cover customers, what do you think about the scrapping of the new speed limit? Would it make our roads safer and increase productivity? Or would it make them more dangerous? Feel free to let us know in the comments section below.