§ Mr. Lordasked the Secretary of State for Transport if his Department has carried out any estimate of the effect on the number of road accidents from lowering the speed limit to 60 mph on all roads in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. ChalkerOnly 5 per cent. of accidents occur on roads with a speed limit of more than 60 mph. If the limit on these roads were reduced to 60 mph and all drivers observed the limit, one might expect a reduction in the number of accidents. No estimate of the extent of the reductions is possible because it is not clear how far, without a massive enforcement effort, drivers would voluntarily comply with the limit.
§ Mr. Lordasked the Secretary of State for Transport if his Department has carried out any estimate of the savings 416W in fuel costs which could result from a lowering of the speed limit to 60 mph on all roads in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. ChalkerWe estimate that the lowering of the speed limit on motorways and dual carriageways from 70 mph to 60 mph—if reflected in a reduction in actual speeds of cars—would result in a reduction of about 2 per cent. in total petrol consumed by cars using all roads.