European City Leaders call for the right to set speed limits

ETSC reports that mayors and deputy mayors from cities across Europe have defended the right of local authorities to set appropriate speed limits in a letter published in the Financial Times newspaper.   

The letter follows central government initiatives in England and Italy that could hamper the power of cities and towns to implement road safety measures such as lower speed limits and traffic enforcement cameras.  Meanwhile in Germany, more than 1000 cities are calling for the right to set local speed limits, a policy that is currently heavily restricted by national rules and only permitted on a case-by-case basis for individual roads.  A similar initiative in Austria was successful, with cities able to set their own speed limits and run enforcement operations from later this year.