Highlands Council says region is too big and too remote to cut speed limit for cars but backs raising it for HGVs in official response to Transport Scotland review
Highland councillors have backed the view of officials not to lower the national speed limit for cars but to raise it for HGVs in an official response to Transport Scotland.
At the economy and infrastructure committee, members were invited to endorse or reject the view of officials looking into the issue.
It remains to be seen whether the consultation will take on board that nuance because currently it only offers two options – “Do-Minimum: No change to existing speed limits”.
The second calls for reducing the speed limit on cars by 10 mph on single carriageways AND raising it by 10 mph on single and dual carriageways for HGVs.
Officials looking into the matter determined three main reasons for their reasoning on car and HGV speed limits – the size of the region, driver behaviour and economic impact.
The council said: “Considering the significant length of national speed limit road network and remoteness of the Highland Council area it is felt that a change in speed limit, particularly on our A class single carriageway roads, could have a significant impact on our rural communities. In particular in relation to Driver Behaviour and Local Businesses/Highland Economy.
“In terms of driver behaviour, increased frustration or impatience could potentially lead to more aggressive driving or risky overtaking manoeuvres. Setting inappropriate speed limits can lead to drivers ignoring them which has consequences in terms of wider speed compliance.
“In economic terms, in particular relating of journey times, there is concern re the impact a reduced speed limit will have on local businesses e.g., businesses in time-sensitive sectors, may face challenges with supply chain logistics and increased operational costs. The consultation states journey times would be maintained, evidence of this has been requested in the consultation response for rural areas.
Committee chairman Ken Gowans said: “In our response we do not support a reduction to 50mph.
“We are recommending no change to the existing national speed limit on 60mph single-carriageway roads and we support the proposal to increase speed limits for goods vehicles exceeding 7.5 tonnes on single carriageways from 40mph to 50mph and dual carriageways from 50mph to 60mph.
“Considering the significant road network and the geographic spread of the Highland Council Area, we felt that these proposals to reduce the national speed limit could have a significant impact on the daily lives of people in terms of journey time.
“We note from the consultation covering letter that prior to the consultation issue analysis from the review indicates that these speed limit changes maintain journey times and enhance journey time reliability.
“We would welcome sight of this analysis as it is particularly pertinent to the Highland Region, particular interest would be any analysis undertaken for rural areas.”
He added: “We are also highlighting in our response that any changes in speed limit would have an impact on policing resources and would need to be supported by a national media campaign.”
