SPEED limits on some of Worcestershire’s roads could be increased – in a bid to make them safer.

A review into the possibility of speed limits being lowered or raised on some of the county’s A and B roads has been met with approval by road safety experts. But Worcestershire County Council, which is responsible for roads and is currently undertaking a speed management review, said it would only ever increase road speeds after extensive investigations and a full consultation with local communities in affected areas.

Katy Jenkins, of West Mercia’s Safer Roads Partnership, said: “The speed limit for any road should be the most appropriate for that road, whether higher or lower.”

Neil Greig, director of policy and research at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, welcomed the review but said any changes would have to be monitored closely.

“Towns change, houses and businesses move, roads are improved and the environment of the road no longer matches the posted speed limit,” he said.

“The design regulation for speed limits are well known by engineers and they would not be able to raise a limit unless the traffic flow, average speeds and crash record on the route allowed it.

“The IAM strongly supports regular review of limits and accepts that some may go up and some may go down.

“Many drivers take their road speed clues from the roadside environment around them and if the speed limit does not match those then problems can occur.”

Councillor Derek Prodger, Worcestershire County Council’s cabinet member for transport and safe environment, said: “The speed limit review in Worcestershire is part of a nationwide exercise which ultimately aims to ensure appropriate speed limits are in place to continue to reduce accidents and encourage compliance from road users.

“The review has been ordered by the Department for Transport and the guidance states that achieving more appropriate speed limits may require reducing or increasing the current speed limits in places where conditions dictate.

“The guidance also says that in a small number of areas, the speed limit may already be inappropriately set or too low and in such cases increasing the limit should be considered.

“However, any changes to speed limits on any of the county's A and B roads will only be implemented if it is right for the area and no changes will be considered if it will compromise the safety of road users.

“Also, any changes will only be made after extensive analysis of the findings and after a full consultation and we are committed to working with the community to make sure changes deemed necessary are right for that area.”

• Are there any roads in the area which you regard as being too slow? Let us know which ones in the comment box below.