Warning as 20mph speed limits rolled out in Wales

Wales has become the first country in the UK to reduce maximum speed limits in residential areas to 20mph.

Restricted roads, many by homes and schools, saw the speed limit drop from 30mph to 20mph yesterday.

The limit on hundreds of stretches of asphalt comes after Senedd, Wales’ parliament, passed laws to bring the national speed limit down in July 2022.

Mark Drakeford, Wales’ first minister, said the policy will ‘keep people from losing their lives’.

‘It’s going to take you a minute longer to make your journey, and we will save 10 people’s lives in Wales every year as a result of that one-minute contribution, it doesn’t seem an unfair bargain,’ he said.

Motorists caught driving over 20mph by under 30mph will receive advice from police rather than a ticket.

The RAC has said motorists should follow road signs rather than relying on Sat Nav.

The Welsh government says the cap is a no-brainer. Road casualties are on the up compared to last year and the £32,500,000 plan will protect lives and save the Welsh NHS £92,000,000 a year.

‘The evidence from around the world is very clear,’ transport officials said in a September 15 guidance sheet.

‘Decreasing speeds will reduce collisions, save lives and reduce injuries – helping to improve quality of life and make our streets and local communities safer for all.’

Capping how much motorists can hit the gas will also help encourage people to walk and cycle, they added.

Not all roads will be affected, however. About 3% of roads will keep the 30mph limit, according to DataMapWales, with local councils having leeway to impose exceptions.

Ministers stressed it is not a ‘blanket speed limit on all roads’ but rather notches the default speed limit down in ‘residential and built-up areas where there are lots of people’.

Restricted roads are classed as ‘roads with streetlights spaced no more than 200 yards apart, usually located in residential and built-up areas’.

Lee Waters, deputy minister for climate change, told the PA news agency it’ll take motorists time to get used to not being able to zip around at 30mph anymore.

Trials earlier this year across eight communities showed the lower 20mph limit led to a typical delay of just one minute.

‘Most delay doesn’t occur because of speed, it could be because of delays at junctions and traffic lights,’ he said.

‘We’ve all been overtaken by an idiot only to find them one space in front of us at the lights.’

But the Welsh Conservatives say more ‘targeted measures’ are needed and their motion to halt the rollout was defeated in the Senedd.

Welsh Tory party leader Andrew RT Davies said: ‘Whilst I agree that 20mph is sensible outside heavily pedestrianised areas, such as schools, hospitals and care homes, the Labour Government’s blanket 20mph speed limit rollout across Wales is simply ludicrous.’

Shadow transport minister Natasha Asghar added: ‘Labour and Plaid Cymru have refused to listen to public opinion and are continuing to wage their anti-worker, anti-road and anti-motorist agenda.’

A petition called, ‘We want the Welsh Government to rescind and remove the disastrous 20mph law,’ has more than 55,000 signatures.

In 2022 there were 4,442 road casualties reported by police forces in Wales, per official figures.

Of them, more than 1,000 drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, and pedestrians, among others, lost their lives or were seriously injured in collisions.

It is estimated that a lower speed limit will save up to 100 lives and 20,000 casualties in the next decade.

Asked by the government as part of a 2020 survey, four in five Welsh adults said they would support a 20mph speed limit in their local neighbourhood.

Pedestrian safety, reducing pollution and making streets more ‘pleasant to live in’ were among the reasons why people supported the 20mph speed limit.

For those against the cap, six in 10 doubted drivers would actually follow it while four in 10 said it would likely ‘annoy’ motorists.

In the UK, local traffic authorities set speed limits using a raft of ‘evidence-led’ methods and reasons but the needs of the local community come on top.

Living Streets CEO Stephen Edwards says what many locals want is to get around their neighbourhoods knowing they are safe.

If someone is struck by a vehicle driving at 20mph, their chance of survival increases by 93%, he said last week.

‘Despite some opposition, 80% of adults surveyed said they would support the new legislation,’ Edwards added, ‘which shows that most of us want to live in communities where it is safer to walk or cycle for everyday journeys.’

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