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

  • Asecap Days delves beneath the surface of tolling
    August 8, 2017
    Colin Sowman picks his highlights from Asecap’s 45th annual Study and Information Days in Paris. European tolling association Asecap holds annual Study & Information Days, provides delegates with updates on the latest moves and thinking in the tolling sector and is a key meeting place for concessionaires from 22 countries. The importance of road transport to the French economy was highlighted by the country’s director general of transport infrastructures, François Poupard, in the opening session. He told th
    Read More
  • Switching Atlanta onto MaaS
    May 9, 2019
    It’s easy to talk about MaaS in the abstract – but MaaS isn’t going to work if it’s just a theory. Colin Sowman speaks to one woman about the practical benefits - and difficulties - of getting out of her car and switching to public transit in Atlanta, Georgia One of the first goals of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) inventor Sampo Hietanen is that MaaS should persuade households they don’t need a second car. This is starting to happen - even in the car-dominated US. Last year, authorities in the state of Ge
    Read More
  • Multi-modal’s long road into the transportation mainstream
    June 4, 2015
    Andrew Bardin Williams looks at 20 years of multimodal transport in the Sun Belt and beyond and the key requirement for user engagement. Phoenix residents will head to the polls in August to decide whether to implement a three-tenths of a cent sales tax to fund the city’s new multimodal transportation plan. It will be the second transportation-related sales tax hike in the past 15 years yet city officials and advocates expect the resolution to easily pass—despite the strong anti-tax environment that has dom
    Read More
  • Countering falling fuel tax revenue with mileage fees
    April 20, 2016
    Eric G. O’Rear and Wallace E. Tyner look at the benefits of mileage charges and how these might be implemented. Since the early 1900s, taxes on petrol (gasoline) and diesel fuels have been used to finance the construction and maintenance of roadway infrastructure and, in some countries other government spending too. Now, a combination of improved fuel economy, the advent of hybrid and alternative fuelled vehicles and a reluctance in some countries (especially the US) to increase fuel taxes has led to a d
    Read More

Highlighted Content