SPEED limits could be cut to 10mph on many roads if the Liberal Democrats are back in government after the general election.
Nick Clegg’s party has proposed introducing the new limit outside schools as part of plans for green transport laws aimed at reducing air and noise pollution.
Limits of 20mph are already in place around many schools. The Lib Dems will debate a 10mph restriction at their spring conference in Liverpool next weekend.
The measure is part of five green laws promised by the party on the front page of its election manifesto that will be key priorities in any coalition negotiations.
A Lib Dem spokesman said: “It’s no exaggeration to say our future, and that of our children, depends upon us tackling climate change head on. The more we delay, the more we are at threat from this ticking timebomb.”
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Motoring campaigners, however, warned that the change would do nothing to improve safety while increasing car emissions.
An AA spokesman said that traffic was so slow in roads outside schools when pupils were arriving and leaving that the new limit would make no difference to the fact that most accidents happened in nearby side streets.