Motorway speed limits may change.
The new PM Lizz Truss hints that the motorway speeds may be reassessed. During her final election campaign, she made the suggestion that she will be considering scrapping both motorway speed limits and smart motorways.
She was asked by a party member whether she would remove the 70mph motorway speed limit and let drivers decide a safe speed for themselves.
She replied with a simple answer ‘we need to be prepared to look at that. I cant give you a precise answer’.
Looking at other countries
Germany is the only other country that is a like – on like with the UK and its extensive and well-engineered motorway networks. However, Germany’s situation isn’t as simple as just a full network of unrestricted motorways.
Not all of Germany’s motorways are derestricted. Limitless roads aren’t as popular as they once were due to concerns with environmental and noise pollution issues. 70% of Germany’s motorway network has no speed limits although they do have a recommended speed limit of 81mph (130km/h). In Germany, you can be issued penalties if you cause a crash by exceeding the suggested limit.
To scrap or not to scrap
Truss may have made her remarks about the scrapping of speed limits. However previously the Conservatives put forward a plan to increase the speed limit to 80mph in 2011 and this was declined due to fears over environmental issues it would cause.
Only time will tell if Truss will get the backing to scrap the current speed limit.
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