Scottish Conservative MSP Craig Hoy has welcomed the SNP Government’s decision to scrap plans to reduce speed limits on single carriageway roads. The move came alongside the announcement that Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) will now be permitted to travel at 50mph on key trunk roads.
Mr Hoy welcomed the proposal to ditch plans to reduce the speed limit for cars to 50mph and described changes to the HGV speed limit as a “victory for common sense”.
The move came after a consultation which saw 20,000 people and organisations express their views to the Scottish Government.
Mr Hoy said the plans to reduce the speed limit for cars was “madness” and urged Ministers to confirm they would not return to the issue in any future consultation.
He said: “I opposed this proposed reduction in the limit for cars from the start and will do so if it returns. Such a change would be madness, and it is right the plan has been ditched. It would have made journeys on rural roads longer and would have led to increased frustration among drivers.”
Mr Hoy added: “It is high time SNP ministers ended their war on motorists and got on with ditching anti-car policies, fixing potholes and improving roads such as the A75 and A77.”
Mr Hoy also welcomed a change to the HGV limit, which is increased from 40mph to 50mph, and was announced by Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop, who confirmed it would “enhance road safety by reducing driver frustration and improving journey time reliability”.
Mr Hoy said: “This move is a victory for common sense and will make driving on roads such as the A75 quicker and safer. Slow-moving lorries lead to huge frustration for road users, who then take chances to over-take which can prove deadly. This decision is long overdue but welcome.”
Mr Hoy said it was time for the SNP to listen to the Conservatives and invest in areas such as the South West. “This summer alongside colleagues we launched a campaign for the full dualling of the A75. The SNP Government must now urgently commit to the upgrading and dualling of the A75 to make journeys easier and less dangerous. Motorists want to see key routes upgraded and dualled, rather than the SNP wasting time with unpopular and unrealistic policies supported by their friends in the Scottish Greens,” he said.
