Britain suffered fewer road accident fatalities during 2010 than ever before on record: without more capacity, raising the speed limit will do little to alleviate congestion, and is likely to lead to more motorway deaths

It was announced last month that the Department for Transport is to launch a consultation on increasing the speed limit for cars and light vans on motorways in England and Wales from 70mph to 80mph. Coupled with the recent M5 crash near Taunton, this has initiated a public debate over motorway speed and safety. Benjamin Heydecker finds that the government’s priorities should lie in raising capacity on motorways and ensuring that any intervention or innovation in how we use our roads should be at least safety-neutral.