Motorway speed limit could rise to 80mph
AN 80mph speed limit on motorways is possible and only social acceptability is preventing it happening, the motorways and A-roads chief has said.
Jim O’sullivan, head of Highways England, said parts of the strategic road network could operate above 70mph but “public opinion” seemed against it.
He also said classic cars could be banned from fully automated motorways and other main roads in 30 years because they would be unable to communicate with autonomous vehicles, making trips “hazardous” to others.
His comments, made during an interview with The Daily Telegraph, are likely to reignite debate over the future of motoring in the UK and whether existing speed limits are appropriate.
Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, launched an official plan to increase the speed limit on motorways in 2011 when he was transport secretary. But it was shelved due to a lack of support within the coalition government.
Mr O’sullivan said some stretches of motorway were capable of handling a higher limit than the 70mph that was introduced in 1965. He said: “We have not done a formal safety analysis but there are parts of the network that could probably operate at 80 miles per hour.”
He said “one would want to reach a consensus” before changing the limit because of the divisive nature of the issue but there was a “very, very low probability” of reaching one.
“I think 70mph is so socially embedded in this country that it is probably not going to change. It’s almost certainly not going to change,” he added.
Mr Hammond said last year that the Government wanted to have fully driverless vehicles on UK roads by 2021.
The roll-out of driverless cars and a future in which vehicles communicate with each other to avoid accidents and reduce traffic jams raises potentially profound questions for the more traditional motoring enthusiast. Non auton- omous cars would eventually have to come off the roads. Mr O’sullivan said: “Ultimately I can see a world in the very distant future where they don’t come out on to the strategic road network.
“Do you know what? Classic cars are not a lot of fun on a motorway, if you have ever driven one.”
Asked how far in the future he envisioned such a change, he said: “I think 30 or 50 years. But then, of course, in 30 or 50 years a fully autonomous vehicle that gets built tomorrow may be a classic car anyway. Does a 1907 vehicle belong out on the motorway network for significant distances?”
Mr O’sullivan confirmed there were plans to increase motorway roadworks speed limits from 50mph to 60mph. Highways England is to start a trial by the end of the year, increasing the limit to 60mph on Sundays. If successful, it will then become the default everyday speed limit for motorway roadworks by the end of 2019.
He said: “We are actively looking at introducing the speed limit in roadworks wherever it’s safe to do so. If we can find a way of effectively doing it overnight, then we will roll it out.
“It creates some enforcement difficulties for the police … but we are in active discussions with them about it. Our intent would be to do it wherever possible. Our default will be 60mph unless there is a reason why it can’t be.”