Speed limit plan for danger roads
A bid to cut accidents in the area
SPEED limits along three roads in Charnwood could be reduced in a bid to cut accidents in the area.
Leicestershire County Council is proposing to reduce the speed limit from 60mph to 50mph on some stretches of country roads in Leicestershire.
The move follows a study carried out by the authority which found that around 60 per cent of collisions which caused injury on rural routes involved motorists exceeding the 60mph speed limit or driving at inappropriate speeds.
Among the routes being looked at are the B591 from Ingleberry Road to the A511, Copt Oak; Oaks Road, Whitwick; and Abbey Road, Whitwick.
The study showed that on more than half of the 272km of rural routes, there were a higher number of collisions resulting in injury compared to other roads.
Coun Blake Pain, cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “We’re fully committed to reducing risks on our road network and the study does show that the number of collisions resulting in injuries remains high where the speed limit is 60mph.
“Reducing the speed limit will, hopefully, make a positive change to drivers’ behaviour and improve
safety.”
The council has now identified 11 rural roads across the county where action will be taken to reduce the speed limit, while other routes will also be monitored closely to see if they would benefit from speed reduction measures in the future.
The proposed speed limit reductions will also incorporate reviews of the existing road markings and signs to ensure that they provide adequate warnings of the road conditions that users are likely to face, such as severe
bends and junctions.
The next stage of the process will see detailed designs of the schemes put forward for public consultation, required as part of the legal process to reduce the speed limit.
There is a 272km network of rural roads, subject to the national speed limit, within the Leicestershire County Council area; 188km of which suffer from an injury collision rate that is above the national average of 197 injury collisions per billion vehicle kilometres travelled.