Skip advert
Advertisement

Speed limit increase makes roads safer

Danish study over two years finds that raising limits helps to cut accidents and fatalities

Increased speed limits help to cut accidents

Motoring groups have backed a Danish report which claims that increasing speed limits is safer – but there are question marks over whether it could be easily implemented in the UK.

The study, carried out over two years by the Danish Road Directorate, looked at how driver behaviour and accident rates changed when speed limits 
were raised on single-carriageway rural roads and motorways.

Advertisement - Article continues below

One of the key findings was that after raising limits on two-way rural roads from 50mph to 56mph, accidents fell, due to a drop in the speed differential between the fastest and the slowest drivers, resulting in less overtaking.

While the slowest drivers increased speeds, the fastest 15 per cent were found to be driving 1mph slower on average.

On sections of motorways where the limit was raised from 68mph to 80mph nine years ago, fatalaties also fell.

A spokesman for the Alliance of British Drivers told us: “The research would seem to suggest that we are going the wrong way in the UK. This has proven that deaths and accidents have fallen despite limits increasing.”

A Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) spokesman said the research raised interesting questions. “A key element isn’t just the risk of the crash that is proportional to travelling speed for a given road, but the risk of injury should a collision occur.”

“We would be interested to see how the Danish study has handled confounding factors. This would all influence the applicability of this scheme to other countries or road networks," he added.

The Association of Chief Police Officers would not comment.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

New Peugeot 208 GTi aiming to be the next legendary French hot hatch
Peugeot 208 GTi render (watermarked) - front

New Peugeot 208 GTi aiming to be the next legendary French hot hatch

Stellantis’s UK boss Eurig Druce says Peugeot may go back to hot-hatch roots with sporty 208
News
9 Jan 2025
Dacia Bigster to hit UK streets fast as brand signals high hopes for the new SUV
Dacia Bigster - reveal front

Dacia Bigster to hit UK streets fast as brand signals high hopes for the new SUV

UK brand director says buyers will not be left waiting for Bigster deliveries as they have been for Mk3 Duster
News
9 Jan 2025
Plug-in hybrid cars are essentially pointless and in 2025 it’s high time we all accepted that
Opinion - PHEVs

Plug-in hybrid cars are essentially pointless and in 2025 it’s high time we all accepted that

Alex Ingram explains why he believes that PHEVs aren't all they're cracked up to be
Opinion
7 Jan 2025