Motorway speed limit to be cut: Flow on m25 to be eased in pounds 10m scheme
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Your support makes all the difference.TRAFFIC on one of the busiest sections of the M25 will be made to go slower in order to increase the flow under a scheme being introduced by the Department of Transport.
Officials hope that by imposing a speed limit of 50mph once traffic levels reach a certain point, bunching will be prevented and congestion reduced.
The pounds 10m scheme will be introduced in two years' time on the four-lane stretch of the M25 between junction 11, near Chertsey, Surrey, and junction 15, near Denham in Buckinghamshire. Signs showing the different speed limits will be installed on gantries.
There is normally a 70mph limit on motorways, but sensors will monitor the traffic allowing a 60mph limit to be imposed when the flow reaches 4,800 vehicles per hour and 50mph when it reaches 6,000.
Kenneth Carlisle, the Minister for Roads and Traffic, said: 'If this pilot scheme on the M25 is successful, we will consider extending the use of the control systems to other heavily congested parts of the motorway network.'
Similar schemes already exist in Germany and the Netherlands and they have been found to increase the traffic flow at peak times by between 5 per cent and 10 per cent.
'Research from overseas suggests this kind of scheme can stabilise the traffic flow and helps prevent stop-start conditions from developing,' Mr Carlisle said. He also expects that there will be a reduction in 'congestion-related' accidents.
Motoring organisations generally welcomed the move. But Edmund King, of the RAC, said that it could have been done when it was first suggested in a consultants' report in 1989.
He also expressed concern that the move was aimed at appeasing Tory MPs opposed to plans to widen the motorway.
The AA said the trial limit was welcome, but only during rush-hour periods. Bert Morris, its public policy manager, said: 'Motorists will want to see positive results before they accept a permanent 50mph limit.'
He stressed that the limit needed to be properly enforced and lifted outside peak times. 'It's ridiculous to expect people to stick to 50mph at 3am and equally ridiculous for them to try to drive at 70mph when the motorway is heavily congested.'
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