80mph speed limit would save £460 million a year

80mph speed limit would save £460 million a year

Raising the motorway speed limit to 80mph would save business and motorists up to £460 million a year, according to a Whitehall study recently released under the Freedom of Information Act.

But at the same time it could increase carbon emissions by 0.3 million tons a year, equivalent to four per cent of the motorway total. The study was carried out in 2001 for the Department for Transport.

The £460 million saving corresponds to estimated time saved on the roads - but only 35 per cent of traffic would travel at a time when it could move any faster.

80mph limit would save £460m a year (Daily Telegraph, 12 June 2006)