Over 10,000 requests to have Welsh 20mph limits axed

About 1,500 stretches of Welsh roads could be considered to have speed limits put back to 30mph a year after they were reduced to 20mph, BBC research shows

More than 10,500 requests have been received by Welsh councils from residents to reassess roads that saw their limit lowered when the policy was introduced in September last year.

Police point to a drop in road causalities and crashes to suggest Wales’ flagship policy is working, although a recent poll said seven in 10 people still oppose the new limit.

One motoring organisation has said traffic calming measures like speed bumps should be installed to force drivers to do 20mph.

Welsh ministers said a 20mph limit would reduce deaths and noise and encourage people to walk or cycle when it was implemented in September 2023 – but it caused controversy with some drivers.

The limit changed on about 35% of Welsh roads – about 22,000 miles (35,171 km) in total – last year where lamp-posts are no more than 200 yards (183m) apart.

There was a huge backlash to the £34m policy as almost half a million people signed a Senedd petition opposing 20mph and demonstrations were held. Road signs were also defaced.

Wales’ new transport minister rolled back on parts of the controversial law earlier this year in response to “consistent” concerns and later gave councils an extra £5m to reassess speed limits on 20mph roads from this month.

The Welsh government said it expected most changes to be on main A and B roads “which are typically main or strategic roads” and “away from places that attract frequent pedestrians”.

Newport had by far the most requests, external to raise speed limits from 20mph with 3,500 appeals from local residents for 334 locations to go back to 30mph.

In other parts of Wales, 257 stretches of 20mph road in Carmarthenshire will be considered to revert back to 30mph, while 207 will be reviewed in Cardiff and 202 in Denbighshire. Three of Wales’ 22 councils were unable to provide data.

Official statistics show 39,123 drivers have been caught doing more than 20mph since enforcement began in January, with 15,284 facing enforcement action last month, the highest monthly total yet.

The average speed for those caught was just over 28mph.

Police have said enforcement is a last resort, with the speed enforcement threshold higher in Wales than England.

“Our preferred outcome is drivers are not fined, not getting points on their licence and seeing the benefits of lower speeds in the right areas,” said Ch Insp Gareth Morgan of South Wales Police.

Speed thresholds in the UK are usually 10 percent higher than the speed limit, plus 2mph – so in England, the prosecution threshold for 20mph is 24mph.

But in Wales, the tolerance for 20mph is up to 26mph during a “transition period” for motorists in Wales.

“We’ve got to make allowances for people who are trying to do the right thing and were fractionally over the limit,” added Ch Insp Morgan.

The 26mph threshold has been reviewed by GoSafe – a body made up of Wales’ 22 councils, four police forces and the Welsh Government – this month and will remain until at least March.

“We’ll see how traffic is behaving, and if we see there’s an argument to bring it and those speeds down further in March, we will,” said Teresa Ciano of GoSafe.

Motoring lawyer Jonathan Wilkins says the difference in tolerance levels between Wales and England can “cause real confusion”.

But Ch Insp Morgan said: “The law is still 20mph regardless of whether it’s a 4mph or 6mph allowance.”

Statistics estimate 95 percent of those 28,272 drivers monitored in August on 20mph roads were complying with the enforcement threshold.

That data is drivers doing 26mph or under in Wales but one road safety and driving standards charity is calling on authorities to introduce traffic calming measures.

“The drop in the average speed is welcome, but you tend not to see people going 20mph,” said Nicholas Lyes IAM RoadSmart.

“If the limit is 20mph, people should be going no faster than 20mph. When we look at compliance levels, a significant proportion are going faster. It’s a slight concern.

“You need proper funding to implement safer infrastructure, including traffic calming measures such as speed humps and chicanes. Ultimately that’ll be a huge influence on driver behaviour.

“We have to make sure that pedestrians and cyclists are safe as well so that would include things like protected cycle lanes.”

Statistics show a drop in casualties on 20mph and 30mph roads in Wales in the first three months of 2024, after the default built-up area limit was reduced.

The number of serious casualties or fatalities has dropped 23 percent, and Wales’ largest police force says there have been at least 11 fewer deaths on the roads in their area.

“There were nearly 100 deaths on Welsh roads every year, which is far too many,” said Ch Insp Morgan.

“We needed to change something to bring that number down.

“It’s early days but the number of collisions has reduced and where there were 35 fatalities in the South Wales Police force area last year, we’re roughly a third down year-on-year.

“That’s 11 or 12 less bereavements, 11 or 12 fewer families who haven’t had to go through the trauma of losing a loved one.

“There’s a significant change and shows slower speeds are safer. It’s a positive impact.”

The UK’s first 20mph zone was introduced in Tinsley in Sheffield in 1991 now many areas of England – including Birmingham, Manchester and most London boroughs – have 20mph limits in built-up areas.

Most of Scotland’s urban roads are due to drop to 20mph limits by 2025 while Northern Ireland has part-time 20mph speed limits outside more than 100 schools.

A recent YouGov poll, external claimed seven in ten people in Wales still oppose the new default limit in built-up areas with four in ten drivers saying they regularly break it.

The opposition Conservative party want to reverse Wales’ 20mph speed limit policy and Wales’ new First Minister Eluned Morgan has admitted the rollout created problems.

But the Welsh Labour government say they have no intention of scrapping it although they did update their guidance for local highways teams.

See more here bbc.co.uk

Header image: Getty Images

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