Speed limits could fall

If Government plans to change the way speed limits are assessed get the go ahead, maximum speed limits could be reduced across the country leaving more and more riders at rise from prosecution for speeding.

The speed limit for a road is currently set using the 85th percentile system, which means that they are set so only fifteen percent of people will exceed them. But Whitehall boffins think the system is too easily influenced by speeders so want to change.

The new measure would see authorities use the Mean speed to set the limit, which will always be lower than the 85th percentile. This will reduce the limit to what most drivers would think is unacceptably low and encourage more people to break the law.

And to make matters worse, if drivers slow down to meet the new limit the Mean speed will also decrease allowing authorities to drop the limit even more the next time it is assessed.

According to the Association of British Drivers, research shows that speed limits set using the 85th percentile are obeyed far more than unreasonably slow limits.

ABD road safety spokesman Mark McArthur-Christie said: “The government wants to scrap the existing calculation, devised by police and road safety experts to maximise safety, and replace it with a new calculation, set by politicians to maximise revenue.”