Speed limits on some country roads in Surrey could be reduced from 60mph to 20mph as part of plans to tackle dangerous driving in rural areas.
Surrey County Council to conduct a pilot new 20 mph and 30 mph limits about 80 square miles south of the A25 between Guildford and Dorking.
Proponents say lanes with a legal limit of 60 mph are often plagued by joyriders racing 4x4s and scrambler motorcycles, increasing the risk of collisions with other vehicles.
But the AA questioned whether introducing a “general speed limit” would make country roads safer, adding a 20 mph restriction “only makes sense if there is a specific hazard.”
“Speed limits work in places where they make sense to drivers, where there is a particular danger that forces drivers to slow down,” said the group’s Luke Bosdet.
“The problem is that 20 mph zones are popping up everywhere and they’ve lost their meaning.”
Rural roads account for 57 percent of fatalities
Rural roads are more dangerous than urban roads and highways, according to the Department of Transportation, accounting for 57 percent of fatalities, though they account for only 43 percent of traffic.
Councilor Stuart McLachlan said rural roads in his Capel parish council in Surrey urgently need to be made safer.
“There are scrambler bikes that go up and down at 60 mph and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. We also get joyriders in 4x4s going up and down at midnight,” he told The Sunday Times.
“They come in the winter, when it’s all muddy, and when it’s dark. They buy an old firecracker for £50, throw it in the ground and just set it on fire.”
With Coldharbour pioneering slower speeds on its country roads, others could follow suit.
Duncan Knox, the council official responsible for the project, has reportedly said West Sussex had also expressed an interest in the plan and that others were expected to follow suit.
AA says it can solve bigger problems
But the AA argued that people diverted by their navigation systems on country roads – with no knowledge of the local landscape – and inexperienced drivers were bigger problems.
“The government has always said that motorists driving on the road should always be able to understand why the speed limit is the way it is,” Bosdet said.
“If you use general speed limits in areas where motorists see a straight country road with no obvious hazards in front, they will think ‘I’m going back to the national speed limit for this type of road’.”
The national speed limit of 60 mph has been the standard on most country roads since 1977.