Surrey County Council is to pilot new 20mph and 30mph restrictions in around 80 square miles south of the A25 between Guildford and Dorking. Advocates say the 60mph lanes are often plagued by joyriders racing in 4x4s and scrambler bikes, increasing the risk of collisions with other vehicles. However, the AA questioned whether introducing a “total speed limit” would make country roads safer, adding any restriction to 20mph “only makes sense where there is a specific risk”. “Speed limits work in places where it makes sense for drivers, where there is a particular danger that requires drivers to slow down,” said the group’s Luke Bosdet. “The problem is that 20mph zones are popping up everywhere and they’ve lost their meaning.”
Rural roads account for 57% of deaths
Rural roads are more dangerous than urban roads and highways, according to the Department of Transportation, account for 57 percent of deaths, despite accounting for only 43 percent of traffic. Councilor Stuart McLachlan said rural roads in Capel Parish Council in Surrey urgently needed to be made safer. “There are scrambler bikes roaring up and down at 60mph and there’s absolutely nothing we can do about it. We also get joyriders in 4x4s who come at midnight, charging up and down the side streets,” he told the Sunday Times. “They come in the winter, when it’s muddy, and after dark. They buy an old banger for £50, throw it on the ground and just set it on fire.” With Coldharbour pioneering lower speeds on its country lanes, others could follow. Duncan Knox, the council official in charge of the project, was quoted as saying that West Sussex had also expressed an interest in the scheme and others were expected to follow suit.
AA says we have bigger problems to deal with
However, the AA argued that people being driven on country roads in their boats – with no knowledge of the local landscape – and inexperienced drivers were bigger problems. “The government has always said that drivers going along the road should always be able to understand why the speed limit is what it is,” Mr Bosdet said. “If you set general speed limits in areas where drivers see a straight country road with no obvious hazards ahead, they will think ‘I’ll go back to the national speed limit for this type of road.’ The national speed limit of 60mph has been the default on most country roads since 1977.
