New 20mph limit creates ‘confusion, irritation and… apathy’ according to Welsh bikers

The latest blanket 20mph speed limit across Wales has not only sparked an opposition petition with over 463,000 signatories, but it’s also now damaging biking businesses and causing confusion and irritation, according to locals.

New legislation came into force on September 17 which reduced the maximum speed on restricted roads from 30 to 20mph. Restricted roads are classed as ‘roads with streetlights spaced no more than 200 yards apart, usually located in residential and built-up areas.’

Initially, eight pilot areas were chosen to trial the limit in St Dogmaels, Pembrokeshire, Llanelli North, Carmarthenshire, St Brides Major, Vale of Glamorgan, Central North, Cardiff, Cilfrew Village, Neath Port Talbot, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Severnside, Monmouthshire and Buckley, Flintshire.

The intention, according to the Welsh Government, was to reduce the number of collisions, and encourage more people to walk and cycle on local journeys, amongst other aims. But it also prompted an online petition which has now amassed a record 463,872 signatories (at the time of writing) – far in excess of the 10,000 required for it to be debated by Welsh ministers. 

Now local biking cafes and businesses have told MCN that a mood of confusion, irritation and apathy has taken over.

“Confusion’s the biggest thing because the councils don’t seem to know what applies to them,” Ian Marquis, of the Owl’s Nest Tea Room and Diner in Llandovery, told MCN. “Every council has a different policy on what denotes a 20 and that shouldn’t be the case.”

A popular biker haunt, Ian continued: “If [you’re] travelling through The Valleys it’s an extra 25 minutes to come here. If they’re on the open road, it’s fine but in higher populated areas it’s pushing people towards the English border.

“Everybody is saying that next year they’re going to be looking at different roads. Cafes definitely have seen a drop off in trade.”

While Graham Ashby, co-manager, of Woodrow’s M.Cs in Swansea, whose café is a regular bikers’ meeting place, told MCN: “I commute every day and the signage is ridiculous. You don’t know whether you should be doing 20 or 30 or 40. 

“They have totally screwed it up because people are now frightened, they’ll get nicked so it’s causing hold ups. It’s not really affected business; we just hear people grumbling about it all the time – purely down to fact that nobody knows what’s going on…”

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Welsh 20mph opposition petition gains 340k signatures and is still growing

First published 23 September 2023 by Phil West

The 20mph speed limit introduced in built up areas of Wales on 17 September is under scrutiny, with an online petition in opposition attracting a record number of signatories.

Wales became the first country in the UK to impose a blanket 20mph speed limit in urban areas, down from the usual 30mph.

Welsh ministers said a 20mph limit would reduce deaths and noise and encourage people to walk or cycle and has been welcomed by some, including Gareth Parry, whose brother Keith was killed in 1994 after being hit by a car travelling at 30mph.

But it’s also provoked opposition from many. An official online petition in opposition had attracted over 340,000 signatures at time of writing – far in excess of the 10,000 threshold required for the issue to be debated by Welsh ministers.

Some motoring organisations have also spoken out against the move. Policy and Standards Director at IAM Roadsmart, Nicholas Lyes recently spoke to MCN and said: “We don’t oppose 20mph speed limits if they are put in place with the correct road calming features and with effective enforcement in the right places.

“But when you start sticking blanket 20mph limits in areas, you’ll generally find that compliance is dire.”

RAC Head of Policy Simon Williams added: “We believe it makes most sense to reduce limits to 20mph in places where they are most needed, for example in residential areas.

“Coupled with this, we’d like to see better enforcement of existing limits, along with – where budgets allow – well-designed traffic calming schemes.”

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Speed limit reductions spark controversy: Industry bosses and MCN readers criticise blanket 20mph speed limits on residential roads in Wales

First published 30 August 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Wales is set to become the first nation in the UK to introduce a default 20mph limit on residential and built-up roads, with legislation coming into force on September 17, 2023 in a bid to reduce pollution and cut the number of collision casualties.   

But many industry bodies feel that a blanket 20mph limit is not appropriate, favouring better enforcement and driver training. In a poll on MCN’s #Ride5000miles Facebook group, 94% of 435 respondents said they did not think introducing 20mph speed limits was a good idea.

“We believe it makes most sense to reduce limits to 20mph in places where they are most needed, for example in residential areas,” RAC Head of Policy Simon Williams told MCN. “Coupled with this, we’d like to see better enforcement of existing limits, along with – where budgets allow – well-designed traffic calming schemes.”

Following a trial across eight local authorities between 2021 and 2022, the Welsh government say the move will encourage people to choose alternative greener transport solutions and make life safer for vulnerable road users. Some 30mph zones will remain, however.

“We don’t oppose 20mph speed limits if they are put in place with the correct road calming features and with effective enforcement in the right places,” Policy and Standards Director at IAM Roadsmart, Nicholas Lyes told MCN. “But when you start sticking blanket 20mph limits in areas, you’ll generally find that compliance is dire.” 

These comments are backed up by vehicle speed compliance data for 2022 released by the Department for Transport last week. According to the figures, under free-flowing conditions, 56% of bikers and 50% of car drivers exceed 30mph limits.

Furthermore, at a number of 20mph sites (which the DfT point out aren’t representative of all of these zones) the average speeds were above the limit for all vehicle types, with figures ranging between 22mph and 28mph.

“It begs the question of why authorities are directing resources into putting signs up everywhere, when they’re clearly not having the desired impact,” Lyes added. “If they’re put in the right areas, drivers will buy into them. 

“They will understand why they’re there and they’ll understand why they’re outside schools and they’ll understand why they’re in heavily pedestrianised town centres, because they make a difference and slow vehicles down.”

Nationwide measures

To prepare riders and drivers for the changes, the Welsh government will be working with the police, fire service, community groups, local authorities, and Go Safe – the nation’s road safety partnership.

Together, they will be pulling over speeders in the zones and giving them the opportunity to watch an educational film warning of the dangers of flouting the law, or face prosecution.

“Engagement, education, and enforcement plays a huge part in the rollout,” said Superintendent Leanne Brustad of Gwent Police. “We will continue to work closely with our partners to educate drivers as the new limit comes into force.”

In January 2023, the Scottish Borders Council announced that a permanent 20mph limit would come into effect across the area, including 32 ‘hybrid’ zones where a blanket limit was deemed: “Unrealistic, unjustified, and generally uncomfortable.”

There are plans to expand this nationally by 2025. London is also chock-full of these zones in a bid to get more people to walk, cycle, or use public transport.

“Lowering speeds is one of the most important things we can do to reduce road danger,” London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner Will Norman, said.

“We’ll continue to work with TfL, the Met Police and London’s boroughs to make it easier and safer for people to walk, cycle and use public transport, creating a safer, greener London for everyone.”

Much like in Wales, this move isn’t welcomed by all though, with city mayoral candidate, Howard Cox, telling MCN: “I drove to London this morning and I was going through very nicely. I was doing 19mph looking at my speedo when I should be looking at the road. I was being overtaken by scooters, electric scooters, electric bicycles. It’s bloody dangerous.”

‘War on cars’

Enforcement of new 20mph zones has been thrown into doubt by reports that the Prime Minister doesn’t want to be seen as ‘anti-car’ – sparking criticism from some quarters.

Gary Digva, founder of dashcam firm Road Angel, commented: “Lowering the speed limit in areas where there are a lot of vulnerable road users, such as cyclists and pedestrians, makes sense as it reduces the risk of fatalities should there be a collision.

“Not only does lowering the speed limit reduce the force and impact of a vehicle, but it also dictates if a driver is able to stop in time to avoid a crash. 

“It is disappointing to see that the Prime Minster deems life-saving policies as ‘anti-motorist’ when they are in fact anti-death and could save hundreds of lives if introduced across the whole of Britain.”

Internationally, Spain introduced a 30km/h (18.6mph) default speed limit for all urban areas in 2021. From January 2024, Bologna will become the first city in Italy to adopt this policy, reducing large areas from 50km/h whilst retaining some key routes at this pace.

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Welsh blanket 20mph zones to be introduced next month

First published 10 August 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Wales will be one of the first countries in the world, and the first nation in the UK, to enact legislation to introduce a default 20mph speed limit on roads where motorcycles and cars mix with pedestrians and cyclists. 

Eight communities have been selected to first introduce 20mph speed limits which will come into effect on September 17. They are; St Dogmaels, Pembrokeshire, Llanelli North, Carmarthenshire, St Brides Major, Vale of Glamorgan, Central North, Cardiff, Cilfrew Village, Neath Port Talbot, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Severnside, Monmouthshire and Buckley, Flintshire.

The Welsh Government have acted on recommendations of the ‘Welsh 20mph Task Force Group Final Report’ issued in July 2020 and worked with Local Authorities to implement the scheme.

The reduction in speed limits from 30mph to 20mph has been introduced, say the Government, to increase social interaction within communities, improved physical and mental health outcomes and therefore reduce NHS workload as a result of fewer collisions and reduced severity of injuries and trauma, strengthen local economies, as result of increased footfall and contribute to the aims and objectives of the Well-Being of Future Generations Act (2015), in particular to ‘enable places to support the health and well-being of people and communities’ within the ‘healthier Wales’ goal.

However not all current 30mph zones will fall under the scheme as the Government recognise that not all roads will be suitable to change to 20mph. Those roads outside the scope of the initiative will be known as exceptions. Local Authorities will consider with their communities which roads should remain at 30mph and there will be 30mph signs indicating this. 

A monitoring report on the scheme will be published six months after the final zone has been introduced and will focus on the efficacy of the project by analysing several factors including the percentage of drivers sticking to the new limit, reduction of pedestrian and cyclist injuries and the change in vehicle/pedestrian yield behaviours. For more information visit the Welsh Government website.