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Speed limits 'not always lowered to protect safety and car insurance premiums'

28/08/07

Questions are being raised about the implementation of speed limits to keep people safe and help preserve car insurance premiums.

Lincolnshire County Council recently announced plans to lower the speed limit for the A52, which runs between Boston and Skegness. The move has been criticised by the Association of British Drivers (ABD) for being political rather than safety-focused.

The council states that it wants to reduce the amount of traffic using the route - which may in turn lead to fewer car insurance claims.

But the ABD has said that the move is political, with spokesman Nigel Humphries stating: "It is barking mad to suggest that a speed limit on a major road should be reduced to 'discourage traffic' simply because lots of people use the road. Such an opinion is symptomatic of the insane manner in which roads are viewed by councils these days."

Meanwhile, retired policeman Keith Peat, who now works as the ABD's local coordinator for Lincolnshire, said that the proposal was evidence of speed limits not being applied for reasons of safety.

He asked: "The question now is, how many of our speed limits and thus convictions, have been no more than political use of speed limits?"

Currently, the general speed limit in built-up areas is 30 miles per hour (mph), increasing to 60 mph on single carriageways and 70 mph for motorways.

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