When driving, some sections allow 120 km/h while others have a maximum limit of only 100 km/h—have you ever been troubled by “accidentally speeding”? Good news is here! The reporter learned from the Jiangsu Provincial Expressway Administration that next year expressways in Jiangsu with speed limits below 100 km/h are expected to see speed increases over a wide area. The first pilot section—the section of the Suzhou-Shanghai Expressway east of Luzhi—will be the first to raise its speed limit to 120 km/h starting January 1, 2018.

　　According to a joint announcement issued by the Provincial Expressway Transport Law Enforcement Corps and the Traffic Police Corps of the Provincial Public Security Department, in order to improve expressway traffic efficiency, in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, technical standards and specifications, and after traffic engineering demonstration, the two departments decided that starting January 1, 2018, the maximum speed limit of the first lane of the section from Luzhi Interchange to the Jiangsu-Shanghai provincial boundary (K0+000~K19+000) of S58 (Suzhou-Shanghai Expressway) will be adjusted from 100 km/h to 120 km/h, for small passenger vehicles only. As required, the section of the Suzhou-Shanghai Expressway east of Luzhi Interchange will complete the replacement of speed limit signs by December 25, and the speed increase will be officially implemented at 0:00 on January 1, 2018. Drivers are requested to drive in accordance with the speed limit signs and pay attention to driving safety.

　　The reporter learned that within the province's expressway network of more than 4,000 kilometers, many sections have speed limits below 100 km/h, and local areas along the routes and vehicle owners have increasingly strong demands for speed increases. After the first expressway pilot speed increase, when will other low-speed-limit expressways also become faster?

　　According to relevant staff of the Provincial Expressway Administration, since the beginning of this year, the Provincial Expressway Administration has commissioned relevant units to carry out a feasibility study on speed increases for expressways with a speed limit of 100 km/h. Apart from some river-crossing bridges and tunnels that do not meet the conditions for speed increases, most other expressways with a speed limit of 100 km/h may be able to raise their speed limits to 120 km/h after passing traffic engineering demonstration and safety demonstration. Examples include the section from the airport to Gaochun on the Nanjing-Xuancheng Expressway, the Yancheng-Jingjiang Expressway, the Huai'an-Lianyungang section of the Changchun-Shenzhen Expressway, the Xuyi-Suqian section of the Xinyang Expressway, the section from Guangling to Jiuhua Interchange on the Shanghai-Shaanxi Expressway, and the Yangzhou South Ring Expressway.

　　“At present, we have made a preliminary estimate of about 800 kilometers.” The staff member said that this study is planned to be completed before the Spring Festival, and once the final results are available, they will be put into implementation as soon as possible. “The plan is to raise speeds on expressways that meet the conditions within next year. For the majority of small passenger vehicle owners, driving on expressways will be more convenient and smoother in the future.”