Country roads 'still too fast'

Country roads 'still too fast'

The prime minister said 30 mph should be the norm in villages

Countryside campaigners are urging people in Lincolnshire to write to their local MPs to press for action on speeding on country roads.

The Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) claims government action to reduce speed limits for country lanes is taking too long.

There has been a steep rise in the number of people killed on the county's road this year, the council says.

And many more people have been killed on roads than in rail accidents in recent years.

Government bill

It says many villages in Lincolnshire remain blighted by speeding traffic despite government promises to tackle the problem in its Road Safety Strategy.

Three years ago, Prime Minister Tony Blair said that 30 mph speed limits should be the norm for villages and promised action for country lanes.

The CPRE says it is concerned that a new government bill on safety does not include tackling speeding traffic on rural roads.

It adds that in the last six years, 136 people have been killed in rail accidents while more than 1,600 people were killed on rural roads in 2001 alone.