Proposal to set speed limit to 90 kph on single-lane highways

SPAIN (Agencies) The head of the DGT (Dirección General de Tráfico, or highways agency), Pere Navarro recently proposed a maximum speed limit of 90 km/h on all regular, single-lane highways, regardless of the width of the shoulder. This type of road is where 75% of the country's fatal traffic accidents take place - of the 1,730 road deaths in 2010, 1,331 occurred on this type of road. Navarro also defended the move on the grounds that it would make the rule simpler for drivers - at present the speed limit on regular highways is either 100km/h or 90km/h if the shoulder is narrower than 1.5 meters, almost impossible to measure from the driver's seat - as well as bringing it into line with the rest of Europe. The DGT hopes to get the measure through before the end of the current legislature. If accepted, it would be passed into law in a similar way to the temporary speed-limit reduction from 120km/h to 110km/h on multi-lane highways, which came into force in March via a reform to Spain's traffic regulations, and was rescinded on July 1.