A further 33% said the limit should be reduced to 60mph following rainfall, while 7% favour 65mph and an additional 14% agreed they would like to see speeds cut in wet weather, but were not sure by how much.

“Statistically, the UK has some of the safest motorways in Europe but it’s also the case that there hasn’t been a reduction in casualties of all severities on these roads since 2012, so perhaps there’s an argument for looking at different measures to help bring the number of casualties down,” said RAC data insight spokesman Rod Dennis.

Government figures show that of the 806 people killed or seriously injured on British motorways in 2019, around 30% of these casualties occurred when the road surface was damp, wet or flooded.

In addition, ‘driving too fast for the conditions’ and ‘slippery roads’ are among the top 10 reasons for motorway collisions. Meanwhile the Highway Code states that stopping distances in wet weather are at least double those required on dry roads.

Rod Dennis added: “It’s worth remembering that an increasing number of stretches of motorway no longer have permanent 70mph limits, as all smart motorways feature speed limits which are automatically adjusted to ease congestion based on traffic flow.

“With digital signs now so commonplace, arguably the means exist to conduct a trial to see whether there are safety benefits of setting different speed limits in inclement weather.”

Of the respondents to the RAC poll who oppose the idea, the majority said this is because most drivers already adjust their speed to match the conditions, or because of difficulty in defining when the lower limits should apply.

Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety executive director David Davies said the principle of cutting speed limits in adverse weather conditions to improve safety could have merit and said: “It is encouraging that drivers would actually welcome it.”

A general review of national speed limits may be needed, he suggested, to consider the proposition as well as the extent to which reducing speeds at certain times and in certain locations on motorways could improve traffic flow, emissions and fuel consumption.

(Photograph: Jarek Kilian - Shutterstock)