Error parsing XSLT file: \xslt\FacebookOpenGraph.xslt Mike Waters' Blog: 14 January 2013 - New Year, same old issues
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Mike Waters' Blog: 14 January 2013 - New Year, same old issues

Date: 14 January 2013

Mike Waters is senior insight & consultancy manager at Arval, the leading vehicle leasing and fleet management company.

It may be a new year, but many of the arguments that drivers feel most passionate about haven't changed.

The one that I'm going to single out is the speed limit: a contentious issue that generally polarises opinion.

Those who think we should be allowed to drive faster because modern vehicles are safer than ever before and our roads are large enough to handle it might have a point. While those who believe that there are still too many deaths and injuries on our roads are right.

Based on the current indicators coming out of Government, the momentum seems to be shifting towards the more cautious with an expected increase in low speed limit zones for built up areas.

An increasing number of 20mph speed zones already operate in several major cities including Liverpool, Bristol, York, Newcastle and parts of London and are likely to become more common.

The number of road related fatalities stopped falling last year for the first time in a long time and so its no surprise that we are seeing a reaction.

However, many drivers, and driving goups, will want to have their opinions heard and many will oppose this change.

The Alliance of British Drivers even argues that 20mph zones are counterproductive and actually create accidents because drivers are so busy focusing on the speedometer that they aren't concentrating on the road ahead.

The problem with this argument is that it could be made for a 40mph limit as much as it can for a 20mph zone. The difference is that drivers are travelling at a higher speed increasing the risk.

I am sympathetic to both sides of the argument and a targetted approach is the right one to take.

On the safest, least congested and largest roads, a fair limit should be applied. While accident hotspots, built up areas, and sections of road where drivers need to be tightly controlled should have the appropriate limits which must be effectively enforced.

Of course, the Government has to take a clear position on this, and while it should match the right conditions for the right roads, a blanket framework has to be in place.

So if they are going to take a view, I'm comfortable with them airing on the side of caution.

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