Closed petition To increase the speed limit on UK motorways to 85 miles per hour.

Closed on 11 November 2018

Many of us drive at around 80 miles per hour on the motorway. It is common to be overtaken by vehicles travelling at much higher speeds. It appears we are all breaking the law: yet only a few of us are caught over-speeding, prosecuted, fined and criminalized; this undermines the law.

Government statistics indicated that almost 50% of vehicles exceeded the speed limit in 2011 on the motorways. Modern vehicles with superior braking systems and a whole raft of safety systems can travel at much higher speeds comfortably. The European Transport Safety Council found that most vehicle accidents in 27 European countries occur on rural and urban roads: not on Motorways. The low UK speed limit on motorways may be responsible for congestion by preventing ‘free flow’ of traffic.