Six out of 10 motorists hate delays as a result of roadworks and believe the 50mph limit should be increased - but maintenance workers disagree.

Of the 143 highway maintenance workers surveyed, eight out of 10 think motorists should “stop complaining” according to Chapter 8 Shop results.

The top four excuses from the 694 motorists surveyed for increasing the 50mph roadwork limit:

  1. Not having to leave earlier to compensate for the extra travel time
  2. The congestion caused is too stressful
  3. Lorries ignore it and end up passing me, which is frustrating
  4. I hardly ever see anyone working

Road worker Les Bramwell was left with serious injuries in April 2016 and believes that if the speed limit was any higher, he could have lost his life.

He said: “I want to highlight the dangers of our job. Something that should have been a routine task had a serious impact on my life, and that’s why it’s so important that we educate motorists about the dangers of the work we do day in, day out.”

Two examples of why highway maintenance workers want to keep the 50mph speed restriction in-place:

  1. A car lost control in poor driving conditions and nearly hit two road workers at approximately 42mph. Luckily, they were able to jump out of the way. If the car was driving any faster, it is likely that the workers would not have had time to move.
  2. In an attempt to beat traffic, an impatient motorist tried driving through a coned off area near an exit slip road. Whilst moving into the restricted area they hit a road worker causing minor injuries.

They were originally travelling with the flow of traffic at 50mph and the official report states they entered the cordoned off area at this speed.

Any faster and it could’ve resulted in more serious injuries for the innocent worker.

Highways England’s regional director for the midlands Catherine Brookes said: “Nobody needs a road so badly that somebody needs to lose their life while maintaining or improving it. It is simply unacceptable that people run the risk of being killed or seriously injured while doing their job.”