Quartix Ltd, the telematics system, software and analysis company has carried out research that suggests that the speed limit on some rural roads across the country are too high. This research is the first of its kind to be carried out by Quartix, and involves Quartix Vehicle Tracking systems in comparison to contextual speed scoring.
The Department of Transport released figures in June 2015 which showed that four out of every five young driver deaths take place on rural roads. Despite this, it has also been shown that very few drivers actually break the 60 mph speed limit on these kinds of roads. Looking at these two statistics, Quartix feel that it is clear that more education if required for younger drivers in regards to driving on these rural roads which are often narrower than other types of roads as well as suffering from a reduced level of visibility. The Vehicle Tracking business feel that more education about the dangers of rural roads is needed in order to cut the number of deaths that take place on these types of roads.
Quartix’s research found that more experienced drivers appear to set their own speed limit on some of the most deadliest roads around the UK. This limit is significantly lower than the official speed limit, usually 60mph. On these roads more deaths and serious injuries take place than any other roads. Showing that more experienced drivers learn to understand that it isn’t always safe to drive on or near the limit.
Of the ten roads that Quartix has released figures for, the A40 in Buckinghamshire had the fastest average speed figures at 49 mph, with the Speed Limit for the road being 60mph. At the other end of the spectrum, the A44 in West Wales, the average speed of motorists in free flow conditions was 40 mph. The A3121 in Plymouth, the A32 in Hampshire and the A588 in Lancashire all had average speeds of 42 mph. The A529 in Shropshire and A361 in Oxfordshire recorded average speeds of 45 mph. With young driver taught to drive up to the speed limit, these roads are dangerous, if not deadly.
