Highways agency wants 90km/h limit on all single-lane roads

Spain's highways agency, the DGT, is proposing a maximum speed limit of 90 km/h on all regular, single-lane highways, regardless of the width of the shoulder, the organization's director general, Pere Navarro, revealed to EFE on Wednesday.

Single-lane highways are the site of 75 percent of fatal traffic accidents - of the 1,730 road deaths in 2010, 1,331 occurred on this type of road. Navarro also defended the move on the grounds that it would make the rule simpler for drivers - at present the speed limit on regular highways is either 100km/h or 90km/h if the shoulder is narrower than 1.5 meters - as well as bringing it into line with the rest of Europe.

The DGT hopes to pass the change before the end of the current legislature. If accepted, it would be passed in a similar manner to the temporary speed-limit reduction from 120km/h to 110km/h on multi-lane highways, which came into force in March via a reform to Spain's traffic regulations.