SPEED limits in villages need to be enforced more strictly to stop motorists who flout the law, councillors claimed last night.The option of introducing 40mph “buffer zones” around villages and hamlets in Suffolk is being consid-ered by the county council as a way of reducing the number of drivers who speed on the county's roads.

SPEED limits in villages need to be enforced more strictly to stop motorists who flout the law, councillors claimed last night.

The option of introducing 40mph “buffer zones” around villages and hamlets in Suffolk is being consid-ered by the county council as a way of reducing the number of drivers who speed on the county's roads.

A pilot scheme in mid Suffolk showed that some rural communities would benefit from such zones, but at yesterday's meeting of the council's cabinet, members said that introducing more speed limits would not be enough to cut the number of casualties on the road.

Guy McGregor, the council's portfolio holder for roads and transport, said that when buffer zones were introduced along the A140 they did not reduce the average speed through marked 30mph areas.

He said: “In my experience, they were more of a hindrance than a fusion between sections. The clearer distinction between the 50mph stretches and 30mph in villages seemed more acceptable, so perhaps we should look at extending the starting points for the 30mph zones.”

Jane Storey, portfolio holder for resources, finance and performance, said gates at the side of the road or village signs which mark the necessary speed change were much more effective ways of introducing different speed limits on a long stretch of road. She added that enforcing 30mph limits more strictly in villages would help to stop speeding.

The project, which will re-examine speed limits on all A and B roads in the county by 2011, will cost in excess of £340,000 and be funded by the Department for Transport. An extension of the programme to take in all district and borough councils in Suffolk was approved by the cabinet.