Raising the motorway speed limit to 80mph won't help the economy, but it will lead to more violent deaths and life-changing serious injuries, says Ellen Booth, senior campaigns officer at Brake, the road safety charity.
When the Transport Select Committee looked at this issue in 2002, they concluded that raising the motorway limit to 80mph would increase casualties on motorways by 5 - 10% [1]. Brake believes that ignoring this evidence is shameful.
The tragedies on Britain's motorways, often in treacherous weather conditions and due to all sorts of causes, ranging from driver fatigue, to vehicle technical problems, to dangerous driving, are real and more inevitable the faster the speeds. Higher speeds equal less time to react and avoid a collision in an emergency.
The minister, Phillip Hammond, is partially arguing that this move is a good idea because a proportion of drivers break the 70mph limit and that their law breaking needs to be made 'legitimate'. Surely, if we follow this path to its logical conclusion, we could end up legalising domestic violence because many people do it. Let's remember that both crimes have victims.
Instead of raising the motorway limit to suit some individual's criminal behaviour, Brake believes we should invest in education for drivers to bring their actions within the law and enable drivers to avoid collisions. It's important to remember that behind every road death statistic there is a family going through the unspeakable agony of losing a loved one to a sudden, violent death on the road.
Brake is also concerned that the governments' other stated motivations for increasing the limit, are without a sound evidential base. It seems unlikely that increasing the limit will reduce congestion and be good for the economy. In fact, it could do the opposite.
Most large trucks are limited to 56mph, so increasing the upper limit will lead to greater differentials between the fastest and slowest road users. Speed differentials can lead to 'bunching' and that this is a major cause of congestion on motorways [2]. This would only be increased if the limit is raised.
It's also worth considering that crashes themselves are a major cause of congestion on our motorways. Rescue and clean up after crashes can cause giant tail-backs, delaying drivers by hours. More crashes mean more delays for drivers.
More crashes also mean a greater burden on the UK economy. Only yesterday, the Department for Transport released statistics that estimated the cost of road crashes and casualties in Great Britain in 2010 was up to £32 billion, with each death costing our economy £1.6 million [3]. But of course the cost to the economy is nothing compared to the cost to affected families across the UK who endure the unspeakable pain of losing a loved one on the road.
Brake thinks the proposal to increase motorways speed limits is shameful because it will directly lead to more needless deaths and serious injuries. If you agree that it is wrong to introduce this policy which both lacks sound evidential basis and will directly lead to deaths and injuries among innocent members of the public, we urge you to respond to the consultation, voicing your objection. You can also write to your MP asking them to stand up for your right, as a road user, not to be put at greater risk of being killed or seriously injured on our motorways.
For further guidance on the science of speed and the contribution speed makes to deaths and injuries on roads, visit the road safety facts section of the Brake website.
[1] Road Traffic Speed, ninth report, Transport Select Committee, 2002
[2] Road Traffic Speed, ninth report, Transport Select Committee, 2002
[3] Reported Road Casualties Great Britain 2010 annual report, Department for Transport, 2011