25/08/00 - Motorway speed limits are archaic: Chris writes to The Birmingham Post

Sir, - The Government's insistence that the police must allocate valuable police man hours to prosecuting motorists who exceed our often inappropriate speed limits is a massive misalignment of priorities. Digital speed cameras capable of recognising vehicle registration plates across several lanes are currently being trialled. Yet a fundamental truth is being over-looked; speed alone does not kill. Inappropriate speed kills as does driving beyond ones' capabilities or beyond the capabilities of ones' vehicle (including tyres), the road surface or the weather conditions.

The 70mph speed limit on our motorways was introduced by Barbara Castle in the 1960s - an era of cars like the Ford Anglia with drum brakes and cross-ply tyres. What may have been appropriate nearly 40 years ago is not appropriate in the 21st century. It is time that the advance in automobile technology was recognised by the Government and legislation introduced to increase motorway speed limits to 80mph.

But this must be done in conjunction with a programme of improved driver education. One of the glaring anomalies of our system of educating drivers is that a newly qualified driver can merge onto a motorway without ever having been tested under the unique conditions of motorway driving. This deficiency is demonstrated daily by the dangerous practice of 'middle lane cruising' which causes heavy braking by cars and, even more importantly, by trucks travelling in their wake.

Some fashionable, left-wing transport pressure groups believe that the way to solve this problem is to move freight transport onto the rails. Yet trucks will still be required to transport goods from the producer to the rail terminal and from the rail terminal to the shop and end user, meaning that our road network needs to continually improve. This cannot happen in the current climate of massive under-investment in our transport infrastructure - particularly in the Midlands.

Our roads are literally the veins carrying the life-blood of our economy, society and way of life.

John Prescott's Department of Transport, Environment and the Regions ought to take a long, hard look at the transport infrastructure of this region and this country before it becomes one of the major issues that loses the Government the next election.

CHRIS D KELLY
Tettenhall,
Wolverhampton.