65 m.p.h Motorway Limit Favoured

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31765, 23 August 1968, Page 14

65 m.p.h Motorway Limit Favoured

The speed limit on motorways should be 65 miles an hour and limited speed zones should be replaced by graded speed limits—3o, 40 or 55 miles an hour, whichever was appropriate, the council of the Automobile Association (Canterbury) decided last evening.

A letter from the Transport Department asked for views on the replacement of the limited speed zones, and on the raising of the motorway speed limit to 60 miles an hour. The letter commented that when some limited speed zones had bean changed to 40 miles an hour accidents had decreased. The suggested speed limit for motorways wss not generous enough, Mr T. D. Craig said. On many ordinary roads the limit could be 60 miles an hour, and on motorways the limit could be 70. Mr J. W. Lincoln agreed with this. Mr A I. R. Jamieson said he would support the increase as a “half-adoaf” measure. Mr E. C. Champion said that

a limit of M milts an hour oh motorways would not be observed, and moved that the council suggest the limit be raised to 65 miles an hour. The council also decided to support three proposed new regulations for multi-lane roads. They are that drivers must give notice of their intention to change lanes, that the minimum folowing distance between cars should be two feet for every mile an hour of speed, and that by 1970 all vehicles must be fitted with direction indicators for both left and right turns