Tories rev up for motorway speed limit increase

TRANSPORT Secretary Philip Hammond is expected to announce a proposal to increase the motorway speed limit from 70mph to 80mph at the Conservative party conference in Manchester. Hammond says it will boost the economy by speeding up journeys and shortening delivery times, but is it really designed to win over Tory motorists?
 
We drive this speed anyway

Well, every motorist knows 80mph has long been the unspoken limit, with the authorities largely turning a blind eye to infractions, says an editorial in the Independent. Regularising this brings us into line with most of Europe.
 
The move will be presented to Conservatives as "a turbo-charged boon to the economy, offering faster delivery times and commuter journeys". But it will also appeal to "the inner Jeremy Clarkson often found in members of the Tory voter base".
 
Let's go faster

Only 80mph? asks Sean O'Grady, also in the Independent. We should put our foot down for more. There have been a lot of technological advances since the 70mph limit was imposed in 1965. "Virtually any car built in the past decade was designed to go faster than 70mph. It seems silly, almost cruel not to let them."
 
It seems like good news, blogs Tim Pollard for Car Magazine. Increased car safety standards have lowered mortality rates on the roads. But as ever, it is road skills and not the speed limits that matter. Unfortunately, "the general standard of driving on British roads is far from class-leading".
 
A populist move, not a safe one

It beggars belief, says an editorial in the Guardian. Peak oil production is "inescapably closer" and if the scarce resources argument isn't enough, it is redoubled by climate change, since the CO2 released is directly proportional to the fuel consumed. "Ministers first should slow down – and then reconsider".
 
Yes, so much for the "greenest government ever", blogs George Eaton for New Statesman. Aside from environmental concerns, the Parliamentary Advisory Council on Transport Safety suggests the speed limit rise may increase casualties by between five and 10 per cent.
 
The Lib Dems have been placated with an increase in the number of 20mph zones in urban areas. But one expects this move "is the first of a series of populist policies designed to reassure discontented activists that this remains a Conservative-led government". ·