Transport Scotland consultation on proposal to cut national speed limit draws to an end
A public consultation on Scotland’s proposed speed limit changes is drawing to a close.
The Scottish Government and Transport Scotland’s National Speed Management Review consultation, which proposes slashing the national speed limit, comes to an end today.
It began on November 27, 2024, to gather feedback on plans to adjust speed limits across the country.
The proposed changes aim to improve road safety as part of Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030.
This includes reducing the national speed limit on single carriageway roads from 60mph to 50mph for cars and vans and increasing speed limits for HGVs over 7.5 tonnes from 40mph to 50mph on single carriageways and from 50mph to 60mph on dual carriageways.
To ensure the public had their voices heard, Transport Scotland held engagement events in key locations, including Elgin and Keith, where residents had the opportunity to discuss the proposed changes.
Individuals, businesses, and stakeholders were urged to submit their views before the consultation closes and provide feedback through the official consultation website here.
This is the final opportunity to influence potential changes to Scotland’s speed limits before a decision is made.
Ian Donaldson, a member of the Highland Group of Advanced Motorists, a road safety group based in Inverness, affiliated to IAM RoadSmart, confirmed his group has made a formal submission in response to the proposal.
They “strongly oppose” the proposal, and in a submission sent to the Scottish Government, they gave particular reference to the Highlands.
The submission reads: “The lack of motorways and dual carriageways means that (apart from the short dual carriageway sections of the A9) all longer journeys are carried out on the single carriageway trunk roads, many of which are of high quality and can easily sustain a 60mph speed when traffic is light.
“Reducing the speed limit to 50mph on these roads would be unnecessary, impracticable, lead to greatly increased journey times, and would lead to greatly increased driver frustration.
"The proposal to reduce the national speed limit to 50mph has been formulated primarily by people in the Central Belt of Scotland where motorways and dual carriageways are commonplace."
Members go on to explain that they feel visitors to the Highlands from south of the border or from Europe could find it “very confusing” that the national speed limit in Scotland was lower than the rest of the UK.
They added: “We believe that a reduction in the national speed limit to 50mph would be hugely unpopular and resented within the Highland area, and would be widely ignored."
Instead they suggest “the government should bring forward its dualling programme for roads in this area, as modern dual carriageways are inherently safer than single carriageway roads”.
The road safety group concluded: “In the Highlands, the current 60mph limit is a sensible, practicable and workable compromise between safety and practicality and it enjoys widespread public support and adherence.
“We therefore feel that from a road safety perspective the proposal to increase the HGV limit to 50mph is sensible and we support this proposal."
What do you think of the proposals? Send your views to newsdesk@hnmedia.co.uk
