20mph speed limit in residential areas to be made law (In Wales)

Stubod

..yes but you have less time to swerve for the pot holes if you drive faster.......

Ibrahim5

There is no point reducing limits without installing cameras. Motorists won't obey the laws of the road unless they are properly enforced.

SonOfPearl

cymruchris said:

There's a dual carriageway near where I live that was 70mph (national speed limit) for years, decades even. Not long ago some bright spark introduced a 50mph limit for several miles in order to 'reduce pollution' (you can probably guess I don't agree with it - as there are many ways we could cut pollution more quickly - but we won't worry about those). Pre-covid times in rush hour you were lucky to get 20-30mph average along this stretch of road - and that certainly doesn't improve pollution - but at 9pm or midday - the traffic flow is very light, the roads are clear in good condition, it's a dual carriageway, and has a central reservation, is lit at night, and yet everyone is dawdling along at 50 (because of the average speed cameras), and the supposed saving in polluting gases doesn't really feel evident (and no data has been released that I can see to show that there's been any material change). And for the record I'm not a speed freak that wants to travel everywhere at 120mph. 

Data has been released, and reported. "Lower speed limits introduced on high-pollution stretches of the Welsh motorway system have cut in half the levels of harmful emissions in local areas.  Figures obtained via Freedom of Information request by Highways magazine found that, on lengths of motorway in Wales limited to 50mph by speed cameras, levels of toxic emissions fell by up to 47%."

https://www.driving.co.uk/news/new-motorway-speed-limits-halved-pollution-areas-wales/

Stubod

Ibrahim5 said:

There is no point reducing limits without installing cameras. Motorists won't obey the laws of the road unless they are properly enforced.

..they could make it mandatory to fit all cars with GPs tracking systems that would either automatically restrict the speed to whatever the current limit is, or automatically fine you for any breach of the speed limit that you make. This would also help offset the cost of covid? 

AdrianC

Stubod said:

Ibrahim5 said:

There is no point reducing limits without installing cameras. Motorists won't obey the laws of the road unless they are properly enforced.

..they could make it mandatory to fit all cars with GPs tracking systems that would either automatically restrict the speed to whatever the current limit is, or automatically fine you for any breach of the speed limit that you make.

How accurate and comprehensive do you think the mapping would need to be?
How accurate do you think it actually is...?

And what happens if the GPS happens to "lose signal"? Accidentally or deliberately?

Mandatory to fit all NEW cars? Or to retrofit to all cars? Even ones with 6v or +ve earth electrics?

Stubod

...I think to make it fair they should be fitted to all vehicles including electric bikes as some of these can also go quite fast.

The other option would be to get the police to use remote control or pre-programmed drones with speed cameras fitted. With these they could cover a much larger area for a relatively small resource?

..anyhow must leave the thread for a bit as it appears my organ of taste has got a little too tightly wedged into my buccal pouch....

AdrianC

Stubod said:

...I think to make it fair they should be fitted to all vehicles including electric bikes as some of these can also go quite fast.

eBikes are legally only allowed to provide max 250w of electrical pedal assistance up to 15.5mph.
https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules

If one's going faster than that, it's either 100% pedal power or it's already illegal.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Driving long distances in Wales isn't enjoyable. 

The people who do a solid 50 are fine by me, I'm not in a race and think it's a reasonable speed despite that I would go faster if the road allows. 

It's those who sit with a needle on 40, only really doing around 35, foot on the brake for everything whilst ignoring the massive line of cars gathering behind them that really grinds me down. You can see the heads turning as they have a good old chat and when they get to a village with great big signs showing 30 they carry on through doing, what they think, is 40. Probably the same people who sit in the middle lane of the motorway because there's a lorry in lane 1 four miles up the road. 

I find it really depressing to turn off a roundabout and see a motorhome, caravan, horsebox or trailer a short way up the road knowing the next major turn is 25 miles away and hardly any of these people will pull in to a layby now and then to let the rest of us go. 

As for 20mph, it makes sense in a lot of places particularly by schools and on high streets, as much I dislike the thought of driving around at 20 people speeding in built up areas and poor driving standards probably means it's a good idea.  

JamoLew

Sadly - motorists are seen as an easy target for most initiatives 

How about more education for pedestrians informing them that it is a bad idea to step out in front of a moving vehicle no matter how fast it is going (usually because you eyes and mind are buried in a mobile device of some description)

There used be loads of public information like that in the 70s - hardly see any nowadays

Ganga

JamoLew said:

Sadly - motorists are seen as an easy target for most initiatives 

How about more education for pedestrians informing them that it is a bad idea to step out in front of a moving vehicle no matter how fast it is going (usually because you eyes and mind are buried in a mobile device of some description)

There used be loads of public information like that in the 70s - hardly see any nowadays

Not all school children walk round with phones in their hands ,it used to be really young kids who ran out into the road near schools ,we used to get Tufty etc give us info at school ( think 1960s ) but i admit i ran straight in front of a car ,luck had it he was braking at the time and i was not hurt ,worst was to come as he was the headmaster and he pulled me up in assembly in front of the whole school and told me off .I am now 71 but still remember it ( he had a Morris 1000 ) and always take extra care near schools.