Should the Speed Limit Be 20mph?

The 20mph speed limit is for the benefit of those not in/on moaner vehicles rather than any trivial inconvenience drivers think it will cause them.

It already is but I find it far too slow. There is nothing wrong with 30. It might do all those things but it puts drivers off to go elsewhere. Therefore your high street dies. Doesn’t put me off driving. Just puts me off shopping in that place.

This is being introduced across Wales in September and most people are unhappy about it. It will cost an estimated 32.5 million just to change signage. road marking and to advertise the changes , as well as ongoing costs to businesses operating in the area , slower emergency response times for the emergency services , and longer journeys with higher levels of congestion for everyone. Top this off with the very poor public transport system in Wales and the harsh weather and poor terrain of the area that makes cycling or walking impractical and cars chugging along in low gears adding more pollution to the areas. How is this a good thing, around schools and , play areas etc yes but wide spread introduction no.

We've loads of 20mph where I am. It just causes more traffic jams and people to get annoyed

It is far to slow especially when it is in force 24 hours a day. We have one near a college which I get in term time although you generally queue at the beginning and end of day and there’s not a chance of going over 5mph let alone 20mph. If you’re driving along there at midnight is ridiculous there is no one around at all and no houses front the road so it is pointless. There also has never been an accident on the road even when it was a 30mph so have no idea why it was implemented

Lower speed limits also mean more pollution (there are scenific reports that support this) so in built up areas it is making air quality worse so I don’t really see what 20mph is actually achieving

We are the most anti-motorist country in the world. Speed bumps which kill your suspension, pot holes everywhere, terrible road quality, 'smart' motorways which cause more accidents and congestion than they prevent and only serve to milk drivers for revenue, clean air zone and congestion charges which arbitrarily differ in requirements from city to city (my car qualifies for exemption to the CAZ charge in Bath, but I get charged if I want to enter Bristol), ludicrous tolls, basically all privately owned car parks hand out utterly ridiculous fines for minor violations with total impunity, pointless 20mph zones.

Councils are now blocking off existing roads entirely, or turning them into one way systems to prevent drivers taking shortcuts, forcing them to sit in traffic, increase congestion, increase pollution, increase fuel consumption. This notion is backed up by a bunch of selfish morons who want less through-traffic in their estates, but are perfectly happy for people living near the main roads to suffer from worse congestion and poorer air quality.

Most of this in the name of carbon neutrality, or so they tell us. If you want us to stop driving, how about enforcing regulations which make public transport affordable, accessible, and viable for average people. How about letting us use alternative, greener modes of transportation, like E-scooters or electric bikes with throttle assist.

They don't care about carbon neutrality, they only care about the contents of your wallet.

Have you tried driving at 20mph (+/- 32kmh)? It's painfully slow, forces drivers to pay more (e.g. petrol/diesel) as they're driving at a forced low speed, and it helps no one.

This is just a con to scam people.

Today we got stuck behind someone driving at 20mph when we were in a 30 zone. It was painfully slow and I actually felt unsafer as that driver was braking unnecessarily and the traffic wasn’t flowing.

It's 20 in our village and the next and It's ridiculous. Wish they would spend the money they have waisted on signs and road paint and actually fixed our roads !

20mph could be appropriate I'm sure in some urban areas but as ever it may create some new problems as well as solve others. You also have to factor in efficiency of people moving about and getting to places. Slowing cars down obviously adds to commuting time and can lead to more traffic congestion. If you create bottlenecks everywhere that will have a knock on effect to journey times and could mean cars become less efficient and produce more emissions. My car seems most efficient at around 50mph with 50mpg thats where I get the best mpg. At 20mph I could be down to 25mpg which is half the efficiency. Seems like something that is better brought in when we have electric cars which can be much more efficient at lower speeds.

Our small town has a 20 mph limit around it. It’s difficult keeping your speed so low. It really hasn’t made any impact so not worth doing.

30 mph is fine and slow enough to react to any emergency Bikes on the road go faster than 20 mph

Don't be silly

No, it's ridiculous. At 20mph you'll have bicycles passing you, where's the sense in that? Not only that, but people will be paying more attention to their speedometer than the road.

There’s village here in Northern Ireland “Royal Hillsborough” where the speed limit is 20mph. The only problem is it’s built on quite a steep hill and trying to drive up it at 20mph is next to near impossible and not very good for your car. Maybe near schools etc is a good idea but not for full speed around a full town

Those with petrol/ diesel vehicles will be adding more pollution as they will be travelling in a lower gear.

Gez a break, if we are not hammered wae Lez they are now looking for ways to stop us driving in towns. We pay enough to drive and stay on the roads

Soon we wont have any freedom

Absolutely ridiculous.. your getting over taken by cyclists... its dangerous!

20 MPH speed limit won't stop the young racers, they will still exceed the limits no matter how low they are.

Using a vehicle and trying to keep it doing 20M.P.H is very difficult, necessitates using a lower gear, causing more pollution and more fuel.

I think they should keep speed limit to 30 mph and learn kids to cross the road correctly. We were taught this in school. Also adults looking at their phones, talking on their phones and those wearing earphones should also not step out into the road without looking first. It is always the motorist that gets the blame.

20mph zones outside schools I can understand. But this is a money making scheme. Really bad idea.

Why does everyone think that a personal vehicle is necessary? I’m 66, I have never ridden a bike, I have never sat behind a steering wheel (apart from cleaning a car), yet I have always been able to get from A to Z and back on time.

And before anyone asks, I spent 30 years in Hotels up and down the country, and always arrived on time!

I currently live in a remote area of N/E Scotland, we have 5 buses a day, 6 days a week, and it works like a dream!

Walking pace is fast enough. Ban the Wheel !!

20mph is too slow. The queues it would create would be endless. More lighting at night would improve drivers ability to see pedestrians as more and more people wear dark clothes and are very difficult to see when crossing roads at night.more zebra crossings. More police patrolling the streets at night. There are people racing cars every night near to where I live. It is clear that there are no police checking these areas. They must have been informed by residents but nothing is being done.

Why not, let’s sit in traffic even longer and take longer to get places.

I must admit this would annoy me if it was on my local commute, however if it's what the people of the town want then it's their home and I would respect that.

Common sense must prevail in circumstances that require a lower speed limit.

However, why are vehicle manufacturers STILL churning out vehicles that they emphasise will reach speeds in excess of 150Mph, with some vehicles capable of speeds in excess of 180Mph and the top few that will go on to speeds nearer the 200Mph.

Why are these vehicles required to be able to reach such high speeds when the majority of the U.K. roads are 30Mph and the maximum U.K. road speed is 70Mph.

No wonder that pollution is so high when most vehicles are operating at around 30/40% efficiency.

It would be more 'pro planet and pro life' if ALL VEHICLES were fitted, as a factory fitment, with a 'speed restricter'.

With all of the modern technology this would be a very SIMPLE fitment, and could be linked to the in built GPS systems and an added cameras that detects speed signs etc. This would then reduce ALL of the issues relating to SPEEDING ON U.K. roads and LIMIT the number of INAPPROPRIATE SPEED RESTRICTIONS.

Instead of GOING BACK to the age of having someone with a 'red flag' walking in front of every vehicle, let's implement current and future technology into making roads safer.

The alternative will lead to ALL VEHICLES being completely BANNED from ALL TOWN AND CITY CENTRES.

UNFORTUNATELY, the council's who make these decisions do not have the correct intelligence or forward thinking to plan ahead.

So NEVER LOOK TOWARDS the FUTURE, BUT LOOK BACK at THE PAST.

That's why most town centres are already stagnating and it wont be long before the city centres go the same way.

I live in a village and we have the normal speed limits but every day cars are speeding through, even overtaking which is so dangerous. We definitely need speed cameras. Slowing the speed with signs will do nothing.