20mph in Wales

rosie1959

We have 20mph zones in our town but only around the side streets near schools. You have to go at that speed anyway to avoid the huge potholes.

You have to go at that speed anyway to avoid the huge potholes.
Yes, and to avoid drivers coming from the other direction swerving round them.

Whitewavemark2

If someone tailgates me , I slow down and put on my hazard lights.

That is usually sufficient to get them to pull back.

They soon get the message.

Yes, I do that. DH looks for a safe place to pull over and lets them zoom past.

We have 20mph zones in our town but only around the side streets near schools. You have to go at that speed anyway to avoid the huge potholes.

I don’t object to 20mph on accident-prone roads. I feel safer as a driver, too, that I have more time to keep a look out (when I’m not checking the speedo, of course).

I can’t help thinking some are designed to be money-spinners, though. A roughly two mile stretch of town road near me has 40, 30 and 20mph zones, not each in one block, but changing frequently especially between 20 and 30mph. One bizarre stretch was 20mph going north but 30mph going south!! Just make sure if you’re planning to be hit by a vehicle, it’s on the 20mph side. . I’d rather the whole lot was 20mph, to be honest, especially as there are no repeater signs to tell you which zone you’re in.

My daughters friend was killed by a car travelling at 25 mph.

The less speed the more chance of survival.

So it is not about how comfortable you feel it is about looking after our children.

If you can’t comfortably drive at 20mph - I think that you have to ask yourself if you should be driving.

If someone tailgates me , I slow down and put on my hazard lights.

That is usually sufficient to get them to pull back.

They soon get the message.

Yes, speed kills, but I wouldn't want to be driving around at 20mph, 30mph is a comfortable speed to be driving around town. I find the manner of driving (including learner drivers) to be a big problem - not indicating, indicating incorrectly, not giving way when they should, overtaking when there is oncoming traffic. Driving is becoming less of a pleasure nowadays, it can be very stressful, but I do a lot of it, mainly ferrying grandchildren about and mother-in-law, so it's out of necessity. When I'm sitting at the T-junction near my home and a car comes along from the right, indicating left, but not turning, instead driving past my junction to turn the next left (just as well I didn't pull out), I'm reminded of my driving instructor's advice over 40 years ago - "treat all road users like idiots!" Wise words 😉

Oreo

You could run faster than the cars!

Speak for yourself 😂

You could run faster than the cars!

Casdon

Three’s still been a 22% reduction in accidents though Allira, even though there are some very stupid drivers out there.

Someone tailgated us for miles yesterday evening, in the end DH, who was sticking to the speed limit, was able to pull in and off the other driver zoomed at speed in the 40mph zone.

Three’s still been a 22% reduction in accidents though Allira, even though there are some very stupid drivers out there.

20mph in Wales is mostly, through villages and around schools. People always speed up when the limit changes to 30+
We have just come on the bus from the county town, mostly50 We have all got used to it now, even if there are a few
anomalies..and they say the death toll has decreased

Fallingstar

If reducing the speed limit and using more speed cameras saves just one life I am all for it. Casdon has spelled out the overall benefits of this.
Where we live in London cars speed up our road regularly and have been two fatalities caused by collisions in the past couple of years. One was a 12 year old girl.
If there are drivers who use their cars like lethal weapons am all in favour of giving everyone else a little more irritation.

The problem is that some drivers get so irate at the 20mph limit that they overtake at high speed dangerously or tail gate. I've noticed it far more since lower speed limits were introduced.

Did you not notice that some motorways in Wales are 50mph too TSRITE? 😀

If we go along at 50mph, which we do, everything overtakes us.

A winding country A road near here, which we use a lot, is now 40mph and is popular with cyclists. It has double white lines for miles and, if a cyclist is doing 10mph, we are not allowed to overtake them.

You just have to start out the day before now.

If reducing the speed limit and using more speed cameras saves just one life I am all for it. Casdon has spelled out the overall benefits of this.
Where we live in London cars speed up our road regularly and have been two fatalities caused by collisions in the past couple of years. One was a 12 year old girl.
If there are drivers who use their cars like lethal weapons am all in favour of giving everyone else a little more irritation.

The 20mph figures speak for themselves.

AI overview:
Following the September 2023 introduction of a default 20mph limit in Wales, data as of March 2026 shows a 33% reduction in road collisions, with 1,270 fewer casualties reported over two years. The policy is estimated to save 6–10 lives annually, prevent up to 2,000 injuries, and reduce serious injuries by 14.2%.
Bolt Burdon Kemp

Key 20mph Impact Data (2023–2026)
Safety Gains: In the first year, collisions on restricted roads fell by 22%, compared to a 4% drop in England, indicating significantly improved safety.

Casualty Reduction: Over 18 months, reports indicate nearly 900 fewer injuries and roughly 100 fewer people killed or seriously injured.

Traffic Speed: Data from GoSafe indicates 97% of vehicles monitored since January 2026 were traveling under the 26mph enforcement threshold.

Economic Impact: The reduction in accidents is estimated to bring up to £92m in annual savings to the NHS and emergency services.

Political Context: Despite the recorded safety improvements, opposition parties in the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) have pledged to scrap the policy, citing a costly and inconsistent rollout.
BBC

I was on a 30mph road, just giving the 20mph a go, the cyclist probably had a grumble to himself that I was driving so slow!

A lot of roads, particularly suburb roads are 20mph around here.

I don’t know what the fuss is about quite honestly.

And if you were on an actual 20mph road the cyclist could not legally have overtaken you if you were travelling at 20 mph.

The radio piece was telling of a motorist keeping to the 20mph speed limit and being the victim of road rage, where an impatient, irate driver stopped at a junction, got out of his car and punched the driver 😲😱

A lot of places around here (England) are 20 mph. (though nothing like half of the roads - that is ridiculous).

I always think if we'd all stuck strictly to the 30mph speed limits, 20mph might not have been introduced - I would say people tend to drive 23-25 miles an hour through them on average as from my observation people used to drive 33-35 in a 30mph zone.

I appreciate the purpose of them, but I do find it's harder to keep my attention on the road for a long stretch of 20mph.

The 20 mph in Wales is generally only on vulnerable roads In England many road are that congested 20 mph would be a luxury

Sorry, this probably should have gone on 'chat', it's my first time starting a thread and I'm not actually asking a gran, just chatting!

A lot of places are 20mph in Scotland and it seems to work really well. You do get used to it.