A fleet of cars and lorries used by a Lancashire council are to be fitted with speed restrictors in a bid to beef up road safety and help tackle climate change.
Wyre Council says almost all of its vehicles will be speed limited to 56mph as part of its plans to help the environment.
The authority says the move – one of the first of its kind in the country – will help the council become more "eco-conscious".
But one driving group today criticised the plans, saying fitting vehicles with speed limiters could cause more accidents.
Wyre Council has around 50 cars and HGVs which are used by employees including community wardens, parks and seaside workers, street scene officers and dog wardens.
Some of the council's fleet have already been fitted with speed restrictors.
A spokesman for the council said: "We aim to have 90% of all vehicles fitted in the future in our bid to become more eco-conscious and combat climate change.
"The decision to put speed restrictions in council vehicles was to primarily reduce Wyre's carbon footprint but also for fuel economy and road safety reasons.
"We also believe that there is no need to drive at high speeds on the borough's roads."
But Hugh Bladon, of the Association of British Drivers (ABD), said: "It is absolutely crackpot. What happens if one of the vehicles needs to go on the motorway and it can only go 56mph?
"We believe that people should be made to drive properly and not have control of the car taken over by someone else."
Russell Forsyth, leader of Wyre Council, said council vehicles did not use the motorways.
"All of our vehicles are used on roads which are predominantly 30mph and I can't think of any roads where they go which are over 50mph," he added.
In May, Lancashire County Council transport chiefs said technology being trialled in London to stop taxis, buses and council vehicles going above the speed limit was being "watched with interest".
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