Drivers have been warned of new speed limits coming in places across a major region to help crack down on dangerous driving.
The changes will impact roads across West Sussex, with drivers urged to follow the lower speeds coming into effect from Monday, March 31.
As part of the changes, the 40mph speed limit along the A23 Brighton Road through Hooley village will be reduced to 30mph in both directions.
Other speed limit changes will be seen heading northbound from M23 Junction 7, being cut to 50mph from 70mph, impacting thousands of drivers.
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The national speed limit on the M23 section will be changed from 70mph to 50mph
PA
The A23 London Road North between M23 Junction 7 and Hooley village will face new speed limitsof 40mph reduced from 50mph.
Meanwhile, the A23 Brighton Road between south of Dean Lane and north of Netherne Drive (northbound and southbound) will be hit with new speed limits of 30mph in both directions, reduced from 40mph.
The need for new speed limits follows concerns that, in the past five years, the number of collisions in Hooley was higher than the national average for this type of road, with speeding vehicles seen as a contributing factor.
National Highways explained: “The safety of the people who use and live near our roads is our priority, and these new, lower speed limits are designed to reduce incidents and encourage safer travel.”
The agency said it is also due to apply a special high-friction road surface treatment on the A23 Brighton Road at the Dean Lane and Netherne Drive junctions to improve vehicle grip, with work scheduled to start later this year.
It added: “We have implemented other measures to further improve road safety in Hooley. This includes new traffic signals at the Star Lane and Netherne Drive junctions and a new red-light camera, which were installed last year.”
The M23 is located in West Sussex and Surrey and runs from Crawley to the M25 near London, which sees 200,000 vehicles use its route daily.
The motorway’s northbound carriageway joins the A23 just south of Hooley village in Surrey, with thousands of speeding cars coming through the region.
The speed limits follow a consultation process which closed in June last year. It provided an opportunity for drivers and residents to comment on the National Highways proposal to reduce the existing speed limits in the area.
It also warned that a change in speed limit would be required to facilitate a “gradual step-down” of speed limits starting at the M23 Junction 7 northbound off-slip road.
The consultation stated: “The speed limit changes proposed are required to safely manage speed limit reductions and achieve a higher level of compliance. The anticipated impact of this step-down of speed limits is that there will be a reduction in road traffic accidents in Hooley.”
As part of the speed limit changes, drivers have been warned they could face hefty fines of £100 as well as three penalty points for failing to slow down.
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The road changes hope to improve safety in the area which has a higher than usual amount of speeding cars
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However, penalties can increase to £1,000 if taken to court or up to £2,500 if caught speeding on a motorway.
Signs have been put in place to warn road users of the new speed limit, with Surrey and Sussex Police given powers to enforce the new traffic measures.