A consultation on plans to cut speed limits for cars and increase them for HGVs has received record-breaking feedback from Scots.
More than 19,000 responses were received to Transport Scotland’s plans to slash the limit for cars on single carriageways from 60mph to 50mph and increase limits for goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes on single carriageways from 40mph to 50mph and dual carriageways from 50mph to 60mph.
The National Speed Management Review consultation closed yesterday (5 March 2025) and Transport Scotland said it will now “carefully analyse” all responses, with findings and recommendations set to be published later this year.
The SNP’s National Speed Management Review seeks to ensure speed limits in Scotland “are appropriate and help reduce injury and death on our roads”.
Evidence indicates that the changes could significantly reduce injury collisions, while maintaining journey times and improving journey time reliability, but some have expressed concerns about congestion and journey times.
Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said: “I want to thank everyone who took the time to engage with this consultation. With over 19,000 responses – the largest-ever consultation response Transport Scotland has received – it is clear that these proposals are of great importance to the public and stakeholders.”
She added: “I want to be clear that road safety remains an absolute priority for the Scottish Government and we are fully committed to working towards our ambitious goal of making Scotland’s roads the safest in the world by 2030.”
Finalised statistics for 2023 – the most recent year for which statistics are available – show that 155 people were killed in reported road collisions in Scotland in 2023, 16 less than in 2022. But the number of people seriously injured rose 9% to 1,944 while the overall number of casualties rose from 5,643 to 5,829.
Hyslop commented: “We must never lose sight of the fact that one death on our roads is one too many. These proposals represent a vital step towards making Scotland roads safer.”
