There were a lot of headlines over the weekend as Wales introduced 20 mile per hour speed limits across all of its residential streets. It’s prompted a lot of debate, though it is not new to many of us. Twenty is common across London, several counties and cities, and many other places have district or street-by-street limits lower than the official 30. I live on a 20mph street myself.
Residential streets in Wales will now be 20mph by default, though local authorities can apply for an exception to make them 30mph. Trunk roads will remain 30mph, and so overall the new rules will only cover about 35% of Welsh roads. It is a new default, not a blanket lower speed limit everywhere.
There are good reasons for this. Reduced speed limits are safer, with a quantifiable reduction in accidents. That saves lives, and many thousands of injuries every year. That, in turn, saves on healthcare costs.
Lower speeds are also good for the environment. Contrary to popular belief, lower speeds are not inefficient. What makes driving inefficient is speeding up and slowing down. Cars driving at lower speeds do less of both, and it takes more energy to accelerate to 30 than it does to 20. Lower speed limits have been researched and modelled, and were recommended in Wales’ plan for decarbonising transport.
The environmental benefits of lower speeds are amplified by the fact that lower speeds encourage more people to walk and cycle. Speed is well known as an obstacle to active transport, which is why agencies such as Cycling UK have been lobbying for 20mph speed limits for many years. Lower traffic speeds are an important enabler of active transport. It gives people confidence to cycle, or to let their children cycle or walk themselves to school.
Lower speeds support the independence of vulnerable road users, and give the streets back to children. These arguments need to be remembered when Conservative government ministers line up to declare Wales’ policy to be ‘insane‘, and that they ‘punish’ motorists. The status quo is anti-child. But then children don’t vote, do they?
The other thing to remember is that there is a mandate for lower speed limits. There is majority support for them in Wales, tabloid hysterics and vandalism of new street signs notwithstanding. Research by the UK Department for Transport found majority support for 20mph limits wherever it has been trialled, and that support tended to rise after implementation because it doesn’t turn out to be as bad as people thought. When people in 20mph zones are asked it should go back to 30, only 12% agree.
Whether drivers like it or not, the country is headed towards 20mph speed limits. Scotland plans to introduce them by 2025. Beyond the UK, much of Europe has a speed limit of 30km per hour, which is closer to the 20mph limit. It is on its way to becoming an international standard, as recognised by the Stockholm Declaration on road safety.
Even Conservative ministers know this. Wales has a Labour government, and so everything they do is by definition an abomination. But the Conservatives have been supportive of 20 mph zones elsewhere. They commissioned that Department for Transport study, and the transport secretary at the time, Jesse Norman, wrote about how “important benefits of 20 mph schemes include quality of life and community benefits, and encouragement of healthier and more sustainable transport modes such as walking and cycling.”
If they’re protesting about them now, it’s because Welsh Labour did it, and because they think there are votes to be had in playing the ‘war on motorists’ card. But you don’t need to believe them. We’ll all benefit from 20mph residential streets eventually.
The Earthbound Report 