In the summer of 1989 the Swedish Government decided upon a temporary reduction of speed on all roads with a speed limit of 110 kilometres per hour. At the end of the summer the reduction to 90 km/h was made permanent on 620 kilometres of motorway. The reason for this reduction was to reduce the amount of accidents and to mitigate the environmental impact of the traffic. This paper deals with the rather heated debate that followed in the newspapers. Some of the main arguments used against the reduction are outlined. The facts underlying the arguments and the use of these facts are carefully examined. A lot of inaccuracies are pointed out. It is concluded that the newspaper's treatment of the subject was rather obscure. The "car lobby" (those against the new reduced speed limit) was the most active part. They put forward a lot of doubtful arguments which were often left uncontradicted.
Abstract