A new report by the Road Safety Foundation says England's motorways do not currently provide enough protection to car drivers and occupants to consider raising the speed limit to 80 mph.
‘Unfit for 80’ argues that although cars provide 4-star or 5-star crash protection, too many motorways rate only 3-star and there is a major weakness in run-off protection.
The costs associated with the 800 serious motorway road crashes annually is £0.4 bn – double that if traffic delays at crash sites are counted.
The report calls for motorways to be brought up to a minimum 4-star standard by 2020.
