In a first for the UK, Surrey has announced a plan to dramatically reduce speed limits in the county. Currently 60mph, the council will pilot a scheme that will see limits reduced to 20mph or 30mph on its roads.
Surrey believes the existing speed limit is not appropriate for many of its rural roads with the pilot set to cover 80 square miles from Guildford to Dorking.
Dangerous roads
The current speed limit of 60mph for rural roads was introduced in 1977 – but such roads are viewed by experts as the most dangerous in the UK because of:
- Difficult corners
- Lack of passive safety
- Roadside obstacles (think trees)
- Increased risk of high speed head-on collisions.
Currently, 10,000 deaths and serious injuries among drivers, cyclists and walkers occur on our rural roads. Worse still, these roads account for 57% of road deaths, despite only making up 43% of all road traffic.
Importantly, according to the AA, the risk to young drivers on rural roads is 9% higher than the rest of the driving population.
“Rural road risk is highest for the youngest drivers on our roads and decreases with each year of age.”
• Edmund King, director of the AA Charitable Trust
Move now
Explaining the reasoning behind the pilot, Surrey County Council’s Matt Furniss said: “[The current speed limit is] inappropriate for these types of roads."
“Evidence suggests that implementing lower speed limits should reduce the number and severity of road collisions, whilst also helping to support our active travel programme, improve air quality, and address concerns over excessive vehicle noise.”
Surrey has yet to announce when the pilot will actually begin. In the meantime, if you want tips for how best to stay safe while driving on Britain’s rural roads, check out our full guide here.
Learn the Rules of Rural Roads
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