UK Government ministers are said to be considering a 50 mph for all single-carriageway roads. It would be up to local authorities to raise the speed limit to 60 mph on roads that they deemed to be suitable.

This fixation with speed limits is getting out of hand.

Government statistics show that – at most – exceeding the speed limit is a factor in only 5% of road accidents. It follows, therefore that 19 out of every 20 accidents is unrelated to speed limits.

If our politicians are really interested (as they should be) in improving safety on what are already some of the safest roads in the world, should they not be prioritising their action?

What is the cause of most accidents?

According to the Government figures, it is nothing more technical than a “failure to look properly”.

This is a factor in around one-third of all accidents. Now, that really is a quite shocking statistic.

So, would encouraging people to look properly and measures to improve visibility not be a more important priority for any politician who really wants to get serious about road safety?

Apparently not!

• Ironically, the fixation with speed limits and enforcement is encouraging us to spend more time with our eyes focussed on the speedometer, rather than the road. Given that the biggest cause of accidents is “failure to look properly”, that must be a concern.

Tags: Speed ,politics