irc wrote:You said anything that reduces speed is welcome. To walking speed? No? Well there is a balance then between speed limits that are too low and those that are too high. I think the current 40mph HGV limit is too low on some roads like the A9 (single carriageway). I think the current 60mph car limit on the A9 is about right. On other roads it may be too high. Lower isn't always better though. Motorways have the highest speeds and the lowest casualty rates. for their function as a national transport link a 70mph limit is better than a 50mph limit.
For a motorway, a 70 mph limit may be better than a 50 mph limit, and in many circumstances, a 50 mph limit is probably too low when it comes to its purpose as a national transport link.
However, national speed limits are lower in some other countries. And countries with better road safety statistics consistently have lower non-motorway speed limits than the UK. In Norway motorway speed limits are no more than 100 kph, and in populous areas, they are typically 70 or 80 kph. In other parts of Scandinavia, motorway speed limits can be higher in rural areas, but vary from 70 to 100 kph in populated areas. Finland also has lower speed limits for winter.
National speed limits on rural roads are either 70 or 80 kph, and 40 or 50 for main roads in cities. Residential areas have speed limits of 20 kph.
While traffic density is much lower in these countries, I am sure that the relatively low speed limits contribute to the good road safety statistics. I am also certain that they contribute to the number of trips made by bicycle (9% in Finland and 4% in Norway) despite Norwegian hills and Finnish winters.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom