9
June 2009
TO SLOW OR NOT TO SLOW
83% of Brits oppose Government plans to
reduce speed limit says MSN Cars
The British public has
voted overwhelmingly against government proposals to reduce the national speed
limit from 60 to 50mph on single-carriageway roads, according to a poll from
MSN Cars which saw 83% of the 40,554 voters rejecting the idea.
The plan to
reduce the speed limit from 60 to 50mph in rural areas and from 30 to 20mph in urban
areas could be imposed as early as next year, would
impact up to two thirds of Britain’s roads and would be the most dramatic cut since 1978, when the national speed limit
was reduced from 70 to 60mph.
This week the Shadow
Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers told the Commons that a petition on the
Number 10 website calling for the prime minister not to reduce the national
speed limit to 50mph was in the top three public petitions.
The new proposed speed
limits will be monitored by a series of speed cameras designed to monitor a
car’s average speed between distances of up to six miles, however there are no plans
to make alteration to rural road signs showing the drop in speed limit, leaving
unaware motorists at risk of a fine.
According
to Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick the current government consultation is
designed produce guidance for local authorities rather than stipulating a
blanket ban.
In support of the proposed
changes The National Audit Office recently unveiled a report claiming 20mph
zones enforced by road humps reduced collisions involving pedestrians by 29%
and cyclists by 63%.
Tom Evans, Content Manager of MSN Cars comments, “This is
a very emotive subject for all road users and is sure to be debated for some
time. There are strong arguments on both sides but as drastic measures are
being considered the most essential thing is that UK motorists are constantly
kept abreast of any developments.”
For all the latest information on motoring as well as news, research
and photo galleries go to http://www.msn.co.uk/cars
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Ends -
For further info
please contact:
Andrew Burton/ Rhian Lewis @ 3 Monkeys
Communications
Tel
(020) 7009 1112
Notes to Editors:
About the Research
About the poll
40,554 people were surveyed
in an online poll at MSN Cars
http://www.msn.co.uk/cars
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