The Association of British Drivers have put out a press release warning against the apparent dangers of providing local councils with more power over how motorists use the road.
In full it reads;
Whilst putting local people in charge sounds good in theory, there are some issues where a national strategy is essential. Nowhere is this more true than in the case of setting speed limits.
ABD spokesman Nigel Humphries explains: "A small minority of people have come to believe they have the right to dictate the speed at which vehicles pass their house – whilst in most cases being quite happy to drive past other people's houses at higher, but still perfectly safe, speeds. This conflict of interests can only be resolved by having national rules on setting of limits in place. We cannot have the situation where a speed limit changes purely because the road enters a different county; such arbitrary changes bring speed limits into disrepute."
Humphries continues: "Local councils have a long history of caving in to local pressure and ignoring the advice of the police and other experts when setting limits. Far from improving road safety this undermines compliance and respect for the law. Instead of handing more powers to non-expert, politically motivated local councils the government should be strictly controlling their actions".