MSN readers back 80mph limit on UK motorways

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Half of you back an 80mph speed limit on British motorways, according to a poll of more than 40,000 MSN UK readers.

An overwhelming 20,000 of you said the limit should be raised from the current 70mph, while a quarter of respondents preferred to stick with the status quo.

Microsoft poll results

Our poll was published in the week when the government announced plans to reduce the speed limit on a section of the M1 in Derbyshire and Yorkshire in a bid to cut air pollution.

However, only 8% of you agreed with the pilot project, proposed for a 32-mile stretch of the M1 between junctions 28 and 35a.

If approved, motorists would have to drive more slowly between 7am and 7pm when traffic is at its busiest.

Britain's speed limits are among the lowest in Europe. Many of our continental neighbours, including France, Germany and Spain, have a 130km/h (81mph) limit.

Read our original story and poll here.

On Bing: see more photos of British motorways
60mph limit due for sections of the M1
'80mph is already the unofficial limit in Britain, so why change the status quo?'

By Tim Pollard, managing editor, MSN Cars