A speedier route to cutting carbon dioxide

25 October 2006

A properly-enforced 70mph speed limit using time-over-distance speed cameras would cut carbon emissions by more than twice as much as the Government has previously claimed, according to new research from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC).
The Limiting speed report claims a strictly-enforced 70mph speed limit would save 1Mt of carbon dioxide a year by 2010, while a 60mph limit would double this to around 1.94Mt a year. These savings represent between 15% (70mph) and 29% (60mph) of the total savings expected from the transport sector by 2010, the report states.
Motorway speed limits are widely ignored, with 53% of drivers exceeding the 70mph limit on weekdays, 63% at weekends, and 19% travelling at more than 80mph. In addition, 86% of HGVs exceed their 50mph limit.
The report proposes a network of motorway speed cameras as the most reliable method to enforce speed limits, citing a separate study revealing that the use of SPECs time-over-distance cameras reduced vehicles exceeding the speed limit by 53%. The report also promotes a variety of ‘in-car’ adaptations, such as intelligent speed adaptation, in-car speed warning systems and in-car fuel management information.
Awareness campaigns, advisory road sign messaging, and communication about enforcement practice are also recommended as ways to enforce the limit.
The Government has previously rejected the idea of speed limit enforcement, maintaining it would result in only around 0.5Mt of carbon dioxide a year being saved.
Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander said in June that the policy was not included in the new Climate Change Programme for fear of ‘popular antagonism’. However, the UKERC report highlights the popularity of the M25 and M42 active traffic management (ATM) systems, which have the support of two-thirds of drivers using them.
Dr Jillian Anable, one of the report’s authors, said enforcing the upper speed limit could close the gap ‘between the original emissions targeted for 2010 and what is currently predicted’.

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