During peak times when there is a lot of traffic the maximum speed on Swiss motorways will soon be reduced to 80km/h on some stretches so that trucks and cars travel at the same speed. The lower speed limit aims to reduce traffic jams and improve flow, reported SRF.
On Swiss motorways speeds of 80 km/h could be introduced across the board during rush hour traffic within the next two years, wrote the newspaper Tages-Anzeiger.
Thomas Rohrbach, a spokesperson for the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) said that the new 80 km/h limit would be used flexibly. If traffic begins to flow again the limit can be removed. The new motorway limit is aimed at allowing greater flexibility rather than a new lower standard speed limit. In addition, the new limit only affect very specific highway sections at specific times, said Rohrbach.
Analyses have shown that traffic flows more smoothly when vehicles travel at the same speed. There are fewer overtaking manoeuvres and less braking. Cutting speeds from 120 km/h to 80 km/h reduces speed differences, particularly between cars and trucks. At the same time there are limits. There are no flow benefits to be gained by cutting speeds from 80 km/h to 60 km/h, said Thomas Rohrbach.
However, the new motorway limit is no substitute for expanded road capacity. There needs to be a targeted adaptation of the road infrastructure as recently decided by the Federal Council and Parliament, said Jonas Montani from the Touring Club TCS. An 80 km/h speed limit alone doesn’t solve the problem.
More on this:
SRF article (in German)
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