Raising speed limit for HGVs in Scotland will boost efficiency and improve road safety, says Logistics UK

Thursday 05 December 2024

Transport Scotland’s National Speed Management Review Consultation could see the speed limit for HGVs on single track roads raised to 50 mph: Logistics UK’s Senior Policy Manager Alexandra Herdman says that the move, which will bring Scotland into line with England and Wales, will boost efficiency and reduce C02 without compromising road safety. 

Mrs Herdman explains: 

“We have been pressing for this consultation since it was first promised in ‘Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030’ published in 2021 and hopefully it will pave the way for Scotland’s HGV operators to have parity with Wales and England.

“Next year will mark ten years since the law change in England and Wales, which raised the speed limit for HGVs on single carriage roads to 50 mph, yet the speed limit in Scotland has remained at 40mph all that time.  

“Any changes to the speed limit need to be evidence-based and the evidence from Wales and England is clear: safety has not been compromised by an increased speed limit, HGVs are able to travel for longer periods closer to the optimum speeds for reducing carbon emissions and driver stress and frustration, among HGV drivers and general traffic, has reduced as HGVs can now travel at higher speeds. 

“And Scotland’s own experience is that when the speed limits for HGVs on the single carriageway sections of the A9 were increased to 50mph and Average Speed Cameras were installed, there was a ‘step change’ in driver behaviour and a 31% reduction in the number of people being killed and seriously injured. 

“This consultation gives us the opportunity to make the case for increasing the speed limit to ensure that the voice of the industry is heard, particularly in relation to the efficiency benefits that an increased speed limit could bring.” 

Logistics UK is one of the UK’s leading business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods. With decarbonisation, Brexit, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc. Logistics UK supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, sea and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods. For more information about the organisation and its work, please visit logistics.org.uk