20mph speed limit....for or against?

Against - last Monday we drove from Fishguard to Hampshire in the dead of night.....a stunt we often pull. This time it took 3 hrs to reach Bristol instead of 2.

We faced multiple 20's, the clean air 50's on the motorways, the road works 50's......

Usually when travel to Ireland we use this route. We spend money on the way. Never again because the only people driving were off the ferry! All children were asleep, all schools closed....all pedestrians comatose. Daft!

I would be more likely to visit Wales with the 20mph limit, Salti, so we cancel each other out. Good for Wales, Casdon!

I live in a 20 mph zone, it has been for ages . It’s not a problem., even though I’ve been done for speeding at 24 mph. Can’t understand why people are so incensed about it. It saves lives. But of course cars are more important than people in some peoples minds.

Salti

I will never visit Wales again. It is obviously run by people who do not share my views.

Oh dear Salti, are you going to emigrate if Labour win the next general election - that would be your only option?

I will never visit Wales again. It is obviously run by people who do not share my views.

For
As a pedestrian who regularly has cars roaring a her and has to jump for my life. Definitely for

Yes. I was wondering about the increase in emissions.

Absolutely against, having to watch your Speedo at all times is dangerous. You need to be watching the road and traffic and what’s going on around you. Most accidents resulting in death are from people in excess of the speed limit and not the 20MPH. It’s madness in my view and will increase emissions due to the slow speed and frustration all round. I won’t be going to Wales in the foreseeable and that’s a shame as it’s a lovely country with lovely people. This is not a sensible step at all.

Definitely for. I also live a stone throws from Wales and have found no problem. wales have had a 50 mph restriction on large parts of their motorways for some time and I think it’s the way to go. Remember when they put a restriction 70 mph on the motorways? There was a great deal of opposition to this with people saying it won’t work, it’s unreasonable etc. but it stayed.

My driving instructor, umpteen years ago told me to drive in the gear of the speed zone I was in to avoid speeding, and I’ve always done that - it works fine.

We’ve been driving round parts of Scotland where 20mph speed limits are already in force and it’s really difficult to stick to 20, especially when going downhill. And, living in a village that is basically a long stretch of road, nobody seems to be managing to enforce the necessary 30 mph limit. I’m all for speeding restrictions, especially near schools. Also my partner, who does most of the driving when away from home, says instead of concentrating on what’s going on around him he has one eye glued to the speedometer.

PS I don’t think what people who don’t live in Wales think makes any difference. As with anywhere, when you’re in our country, you follow our rules, just as we do when we are elsewhere.

I live in Wales, and I’m for. There’s been no difference in queuing where I live, it’s easy to drive at 20mph (just change gear!) and it is making people drive more cautiously which will save people’s lives - and also the lives of domestic animals which dart into the road. The only thing that’s annoying me is the idiots who drive right up to your bumper because they want to break the speed limit.

At least one of the 20mph zones I've come across in Scotland has been changed back to 30. I don't have a problem with it in residential areas but people will ignore it on through routes except in the sort of villages where there are cars parked on both sides and you have to keep slowing to get round them anyway.

Another system I've seen in Scotland is better, I think. There are sets of traffic lights that are not connected with junctions or pedestrian crossings. If a vehicle is going too fast, the lights go to red so that traffic has to stop briefly and is therefore travelling more slowly when it moves on.

Against. We have bedlam on major routes because everyone is diverting off of these roads. 🙄

Against,
apart from in the more congested city centres.

I live in Wales and it’s dreadful. Fine by schools and playgrounds but thats it. The costs are extortionate and the money would, I believe save more lives if used in the NHS. We drive along roads which change from 40 to 20, to 30 to 20. A few roads are 20 mph in one direction and 30 mph in the opposite direction. Some signs have been sprayed over or removed- not a clue what speed is correct.
Experiments have showed the reduction in deaths is not proven. Cars are not designed to be driven at 20mph over long distances. The new rules are causing congestion at busy times.
Feel sorry for delivery drivers and community carers trying to do their jobs.

For.

100% against. I an not/have never been a racer but 20 mph is ridiculous.....apart from outside schools or inside built up estates at certain times of day (not night). Any parent who cannot keep their children safe at night should have already been locked up. If a child cannot be trusted to be outdoors without supervision it is the parents responsibility to accompany them.

Some of the areas in Scotland have introduced it already. I have no issues with it. It's only in villages therefore benefits pedestrians and children at schools, helps the environment and overall is a good thing in my opinion.

Also whole chunks of that road are downhill, so driving at 20 is hard as things creep up - and there are lots of speed cameras!

I am not against the limit in principle, but I think the powers that be need to revisit places where it is causing its own safety problems.

It’s ridiculous. Yes to around areas like schools but it just causes frustration elsewhere. They need to deal with drink and drug drivers, and speeding before they implement these questionable limits.

I am all for speed limits that save lives, especially near schools and routes that people walk along.

I live a stone's throw from Wales and my nearest town is in Wales. The problem with the 20 limit on the way in is that there is a row of houses and they have no garages so there are cars parked all along the road - a whole row of them. Only sufficient road left for one car's width. There is also traffic coming towards you and you cannot find a gap in that sufficient to pass the whole row of parked cars at 20mph. You can get by at 30, as there is then time to get past before the next car comes towards you. It creates a real hold-up with the new speed limit. People get very frustrated!

For. If it saves serious injury or death it is worth it.

My daughters best friend when they were 13 years old was killed by a car travelling at 30 miles an hour. It was thought that if the car had been travelling at a slower speed she would have lived.

it's quite hard to drive at under 20mph; have to stay in 2nd gear, with people roaring up behind.
i think changing all 30s to 25mph would be better.