Speeding tickets, traffic jams, and diversions; an 80 miles per hour speed limit on the motorway could make all these problems disappear
People question the necessity of increasing the motorway speed limit to 80 mph
There is a dull ache at the base of your neck, your eyes are strained, a rhythmic tapping of impatient fingers on the wheel, the radio intermittently droning in and out of your consciousness and ahead, an infuriating sight. In front of you sits a row of stationery cars, a dotted blur of red brake lights lining an endless mile along the curve of the motorway; traffic.
It is a position everyone has found themselves in, whether it is due to an accident or those dreaded rush-hour periods, culminating in everyone being late to whatever they had been rushing to in the first place. Our lives in the 21st century are fast paced and often we are expected to reflect this, flitting about from place to place, competing with our internet-fuelled, technology driven society; surely our motorways should imitate this?
The government is considering raising the speed limit on motorways from 70 to 80 miles per hour, which could be implemented in early 2013. Its effect on the safety of drivers has been widely debated.
Cars are viewed as much safer since the speed limit of 70 miles per hour was set in 1965. The government has attributed this to a more than 75% decrease in the number of people killed on British roads over the past 50 years.
While road safety is always an important issue the Department of Transport believes increasing the speed limit would have significant economic benefits through saved travel time. Philip Hammond, secretary of transport, says, “The motorway speed limit should reflect the reality of modern vehicles and driving conditions, not those of 50 years ago.”
Speed limits and modern realities
Yet there is a plethora of clashing opinions on this contentious issue.
Brake, the road safety charity, is dead-set against it. Ellen Booth, Brake’s senior campaigns officer, says, “It would be simply immoral to raise motorway speed limits. Research indicates it would lead to more deaths and serious injuries, causing devastating trauma to families, and a considerable economic burden.”
Both Brake and Environmental Protection UK have pointed out the glaring issue that with increased speed comes increased carbon emissions, a problem which the government has committed themselves to reform. Lewis Merdler, communications officer from Environmental Protection UK, believes it will result in a dramatic increase in carbon emissions as well as negatively affecting air pollution.
“In short,” says Booth, “a decision to raise the motorway limit would go against safety, environmental and financial sense.” This directly opposes the opinion supported by the government.
Motives and interpretations
It all comes down to motives and interpretations.
Tim Pollard and Gavin Green, writers for Car magazine, believe the new limit will be more in line with speeds motorists drive currently. Tim says, “It only takes a few minutes on your average M-drive to notice the comfort zone is nearer 80-85 mph. It’s seemingly good news the government has seen sense.” Gavin notes most people already drive faster than the current speed limit. “There is no obligation to do 80,” he says. “If you’re comfortable at 70, stick with it.”
Rob Parker, motor enthusiast from the UK’s Mercedes-Benz Club, says the new speed limit will be regulated by the price of fuel. “I don’t think people will break the limit by the same amount if it is raised; people won’t go over a certain speed because of fuel consumption,” he explains.
The Welsh Assembly Government’s latest statistics reveal in 2010, the police recorded 6,856 road accidents in Wales, 270 people less than 2009.
While the government views this as a sign cars have become safer and a speed increase should coincide, stopping distances have been overlooked.
While our car seats can heat up in an instant, engines beep to tell us we’re too close to a wall, and break out into an ear-drum-defying screech at the hands of an intruder, anti-lock brakes can’t make up for our slow reactions or less than ideal weather conditions; when driving at 70mph, it takes a car 315 feet to stop, a distance which increases to 400 feet at 80mph.
Catch 22
While cars are now safer, the speed limit does not ensure our motorways are accident free. Increasing the speed limit would mean cars would have to be equipped to deal with more pressures, especially on brakes and tyres, not to mention a rise in fuel consumption.
This is why the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) suggests the government implement 80mph on a controlled and managed motorway to assess its effects. Caroline Holmes, communications officer for IAM, says, “A fifth of motorway-users already travel at 80mph suggesting a properly controlled 80mph limit may not show huge increases in carbon or road casualties.”
The real issue at stake, in fact, is not necessarily contingent on a national speed limit but the driving standards of individual motorists on the road.
“Driving at 80mph is not safe for an 18-year-old in a Corsa running on old tyres or a family of five in a minivan, luggage piled high,” Gavin explains.
“The skill of the driver, the capability of the car, the weather, the traffic: they all predetermine a safe level of speed far more accurately than a fixed limited, as inflexible as it is unfringeable.”