Plans to cut traffic speed limits

[Baltimore Spokes: For comparison Britain's traffic fatality rate is 48/M Maryland's is 109/M]
Proposals to bring down speed limits in areas of Britain where there is a higher risk of accidents have been announced by the government.

Reductions from 30mph to 20mph in urban locations and 60mph to 50mph in the countryside are being considered.

Road safety minister Jim Fitzpatrick said the way people learn to drive and are tested is also set for reform.

The plans are part of a new strategy to reduce road deaths in England, Scotland and Wales by one-third by 2020.

Safety research

Mr Fitzpatrick said in a statement: "We've already made real improvements to the safety of our roads - there are now almost 17,000 fewer deaths or serious injuries in a year than there were in the mid-1990s. But it is intolerable that eight people are still dying on our roads each day.

...
Road safety researchers say only one in 40 people who are hit by a vehicle at 20mph dies, compared with one in five at 30mph.

Robert Gifford, of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said: "The 20mph zones are proven to save lives and that is especially important when thinking about children and the elderly."

Responding to the government's consultation announcement shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said what was needed were "targeted plans aimed at specific problem groups or specific areas".

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