Government Considers Raising Speed Limit To 80mph

The proposal by UK Government to raise speed limits to 80mph on Britain's busiest motorways to improve traffic flow is one that should be given careful consideration.

Some of the country's busiest roads could see the new rules introduced as "smart motorways" are rolled out around Britain in a couple of a years' time. But if we support the proposal, should we also be prepared to accept the consequences that go along with it?

The increase would seem to be a no-brainer for those of us who are always in a hurry. The majority of fleet managers polled by Teletrac Navman on the speed limit increase, when it was first discussed four years ago, indicated it would be beneficial to UK businesses, and most drivers admit to breaking the motorway speed limit by more than 10 mph anyway.

Therefore, the argument goes, legalise the de facto limit of 80mph, but in reality, it's not that simple.

There is one argument that increased speed leads to increased roadway fatalities, not to mention serious injuries, but there is another, more compelling, argument around the so-called 'I know better' factor - the irrepressible human instinct for under estimating or, more to the point over estimating.

Of course, most of us who drive intend to follow the spirit of the law, even if we aren't always the best at following the letter of it. Which means that whatever the speed limit happens to be, most of us have the understanding that we may be allowed to push it just a bit.

So with the raising of the speed limit to 80mph, we are looking at actual speeds of well over 85 mph or above, which is the Institute of Advanced Motoring's "most serious concern"  about the proposal.

Every mile faster means a partial second more is needed in response time to avoid a serious accident.

The argument for increasing the speed is straightforward enough. We simply get places faster ??? but with increased risk.

So therein lies the question - do we increase the speed limit to allow ourselves the convenience of shortening longer trip times? Or just leave well enough alone?