Should the motorway speed limit be raised to 80mph?

According to a recent article in The Independent, the Transport Secretary is considering changing the motorway speed limit.

Having been in place since 1965, motorway speed limits could be raised to 80mph and those on city and town roads be reduced, with the decision on restrictions being made as much on cost as on safety. The Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond, said that decisive factors could include the economic benefits of faster travel as well as environmental concerns.

Britain's 70mph motorway speed limit has been in force since 1965 when it represented the top speed of most cars on the roads at the time. In France and Italy the maximum speed is 81mph while in Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Belgium it is 75mph. Parts of the German autobahn network have no speed limit at all.

Mr Hammond said: "We need to do this on a pretty rigorous cost-benefit analysis basis ... at the moment there are a clear set of criteria for making these decisions. Perhaps we ought to ask if we are using the right set of criteria." He suggested that in some towns speed limits could be reduced from 30mph to 20mph, on both environmental and safety grounds.

This might be a good idea but, as most people travel at 90+ on the motorway anyway, will this just up the ante even more?  Are we on the threshold of 100mph cruising on UK motorways?  Let us know what you think: comment@themover.co.uk.