Study shows speed limit increase makes roads safer

A study carried out over the course of two years by the Danish Road Directorate, has shown that increasing speed limits makes roads safer. The study was designed to monitor how driver behaviour and accident rates changed when speed limits were raised on single carriageway rural roads and motorways.

 

The speed limit study results

 

After raising the limits on two way rural roads from 50mph to 56mph, one of the key findings was that accident rates fell. This was due to a drop in speed differential between the fastest and slowest drivers, resulting in less overtaking. While the slowest drivers increased speeds, the fastest 15% were found to be driving 1mph slower on average. On sections of the motorway were speed limits were raised from 68mph to 80mph nine years ago, fatalities also fell.

 

Comments on the speed limit study results

 

A spokesperson for the Alliance of British Drivers commented, “The research would seem to suggest that we are going the wrong way in the UK. This has proven that deaths and accidents have fallen despite limits increasing”

 

Meanwhile, a Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) spokesperson said that the research raised interesting questions, “A key element isn’t just the risk of the crash that is proportional to travelling speed for a given road, but the risk of injury should a collision occur.” Going on to say that, “We would be interested to see how the Danish study has handled confounding factors. This would all influence the applicability of this scheme to other countries or road networks.”

 

The Association of Chief Police Officers would not comment.

 

While most manufacturers are focusing on creating technology and vehicles which better protect occupants and increase vehicle safety, a look at UK speed limits could also help with road safety. Yet despite the findings from the Danish study showing that an increase in speed limits can have a positive affect on accident and fatality rates, there are still questions over whether the changes could be implemented in the UK, as just because roads ended up being safer there does not mean that the study will have the same effect on UK roads.