Newslink November

News
The debate on the wisdom of the 20mph speed limits in Wales rumbles on. Here, in an opinion piece
originally published on the Road Safety GB website, Gary Digva, founder of Road Angel, says it is
disappointing to see “such a pushback on life-saving policies such as 20mph speed limits”, in an
impassioned defence of the new policy. Read on to learn why he is such a supporter of the new limits
This policy will make a
difference – and where
Wales leads, the rest of
the UK should follow
With the mounting evidence that the
transition to 20mph limits will improve road
safety and save lives, it is a shame there is so
much uproar in the motoring community.
The latest Government figures show that
for the year ending June 2022, 29,742 people
were reported killed or seriously injured on
Britain’s roads, an increase of more than
2,000 from the previous year.
There were also 1,711 fatalities deaths on
British roads last year, which was an increase
from the year previous.
Road fatalities and casualties are on the
rise, and the introduction of 20mph roads
across the UK could save hundreds of lives a
year. Road safety should be the top priority
with the high rate of deaths and serious
injuries on Britain’s roads.
Pedestrians are also proven to have a much
higher chance of survival if hit at 20mph with
a 2.5% chance of death, compared to 20%
when travelling at 30mph.
In 2021, Spain rolled out a national 30km/h
(18mph) speed limit on most urban streets
after the percentage of vulnerable road traffic
“Spain saw a 20 per cent
mortality rate decrease after
implementing the lower speed
policies, so there is substantial
evidence that this will work to
make our roads safer, and
potentially save hundreds of
lives a year...”
victims exceeded the percentage of people
killed while in vehicles.
Spain saw a 20 per cent mortality rate
decrease after implementing the lower speed
policies, so there is substantial evidence that
this will work to make our roads safer, and
potentially save hundreds of lives a year.
The World Health Organisation and the UN
General Assembly also support the transition
to 20mph streets, calling on policymakers to
act for low-speed streets worldwide,
agreeing it is the right speed limit for people
and traffic to mix safely.
Despite this, there is growing opposition
against the introduction of 20mph speed
limits. The Welsh implementation has
sparked a lot of debate across the UK, and a
petition opposing the new 20mph default
speed limit has had a record-breaking
number of signatures.
It’s important that drivers understand the
new 20mph policies are not anti- motorists,
they are anti-death.
Introducing the default speed limit on
residential roads and busy pedestrian roads
will reduce collisions between vehicles and
vulnerable road users, and make them safer
for playing, walking and cycling.
Ultimately, the higher the speed, the
higher the chance of being involved in an
accident due to increased braking distances
and shorter reaction times.
Not only does lowering the speed limit
reduce the impact force of a collision but it
also dictates if a driver is able to stop in time
to avoid a crash.
It is disappointing to see that there is such
a pushback on life-saving policies when they
could save hundreds of lives each year.
Although the changes may seem
inconvenient to people in a rush, these
policies will ultimately save lives and should
be considered more seriously across the
whole of Britain.
16 NEWSLINK n NOVEMBER 2023