Increasing the speed limit won’t get traffic moving faster

http://theconversation.com/increasing-the-speed-limit-wont-get-traffic-moving-faster-104365

October 5, 2018 7.15am EDT

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Higher speeds gives us less time to respond and react to a critical situation.

As such, it’s perhaps unsurprising that a recent OECD study across ten countries has found that increasing road speed, including on motorways, consistently leads to a disproportionate increase in the number and severity of crashes. And more crashes leads to more congestion and longer journey times.

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Government statistics show that 88% of trips on motorways are less than 50 miles in length. Assuming it were possible to drive continuously at 80mph instead of 70mph, the time saving on such a journey would be only five minutes at the very most.

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