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Spain lowers highway speed limits

As of March 7 Spanish drivers will slow down on highways and motorways. In an attempt to save money and cut the Spanish oil bill the highway speed limit has been temporary lowered to 110km/h. This is a temporary measure, established by decree, to absorb the rising price of oil

Opposition and money

According to a survey by Metroscopia for El País news paper, 69% of the Spanish population rejected the lowed speed limit. The lowered speed limit is said to save Spain 2 billion euros on their oil bill.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) supports a speed limit of ten km/h below 120 km/h and says it has undoubted benefits for the environment, but the real fuel savings would be only 2 to 3%. EEA says that in theory, a reduction of speed limit should be a drop in consumption and pollutant emissions, but warns that there is "no easy way" to measure environmental benefits.
The government calculates that the reduction in road speed translates to a 15% saving on fuel and a considerable cut in Spain's energy bill.
Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso said to El Mundo that he believes there are "better measures" to save fuel and pollute less to lower the speed limit on motorways from 120 to 110 kilometers per hour.
Many Spaniards believe the change is a ruse to raise funds through more speeding fines.

Temporary?

The lowered speed limit is supposed to be in effect at least until the end of June. This one part of a series of measures taken to lower the countrys energy bill by 5%. The government is also reducing the price of commuter train tickets in order to persuade more Spaniards to leave their cars at home and use public transport.