Lower speed limits on UK rural roads will save lives

The UK's Department for Transport has unveiled new guidance that will make it easier for 40mph (64km/h) speed limits to be imposed on quiet rural roads. These roads currently have a typical speed limit of 60mph but the Government is keen to change this in a bid to reduce road casualties. The latest figures from the government show that there were 1,901 road deaths in 2011, a three per cent increase on 2010. In 2010, 68 per cent of road deaths occurred on rural roads, of which almost 50 per cent had a speed
July 16, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The UK's 1837 Department for Transport has unveiled new guidance that will make it easier for 40mph (64km/h) speed limits to be imposed on quiet rural roads. These roads currently have a typical speed limit of 60mph but the Government is keen to change this in a bid to reduce road casualties. The latest figures from the government show that there were 1,901 road deaths in 2011, a three per cent increase on 2010. In 2010, 68 per cent of road deaths occurred on rural roads, of which almost 50 per cent had a speed limit of 60mph.

Normally it would prove expensive for a local authority to reduce a speed limit, as they have to put up several signs. However, under the new plans they will be allowed to designate quiet parts of roads as 40mph zones, requiring just one sign to show where the zone begins and one to show where it ends. It is thought that this move will also help to combat road clutter.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • EVs: Time for a rethink
    December 14, 2021
    Given a growing body of evidence that EVs are not the clean, green machines they are made out to be, Andrew Bunn suggests they can only be part of the puzzle – not the answer to environmental problems
    Read More
  • New York pedestrian safety plans launched
    February 27, 2015
    New York Department of Transportation (DOT), in partnership with the New York Police Department (NYPD), has launched Borough Pedestrian Safety Action Plans for each of the five boroughs in the city. The plans are one of 63 Vision Zero initiatives aimed at eliminating all deaths from traffic crashes, regardless of whether on foot, bicycle, or inside a motor vehicle. Despite aggressive pedestrian-oriented street re-engineering between 2007 and 2013, citywide pedestrian fatalities have not declined. In fact, t
    Read More
  • Average driver spends nearly £1,000 and wastes almost five days stuck in traffic a year
    August 18, 2017
    The average UK motorist is being forced to waste £968 and spend 4.9 days stuck in traffic on major roads each year because of congestion, according to new analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) in its new report, A country in a jam: tackling congestion in our towns and cities. Travel speeds across the country’s local roads continue to decrease, with the average speed on ‘A’ roads now just 25.2 mph, one per cent slower than it was this time last year. Congestion also significantly contributes to
    Read More
  • Sweden winning over doubters
    December 4, 2012
    Comparatively little negative comment has been made in Swedish media with regard to the country’s widespread speed enforcement, according to project manager Eva Lundberg of Trafikverket, Sweden’s Transport dministration. Lundberg is due to give a presentation at the Vienna World Congress special session on enforcement, probably with more than a passing word on public acceptance. Trafikverket has put a lot of work into its Vision Zero road safety strategy over the past few years; much of it targeting reducti
    Read More

Highlighted Content