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Senedd to vote on scrapping 20mph default speed limit

24 Sep 2024 3 minute read
A vandalised 20mph sign – Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service

Emily Price

The Senedd will vote on scrapping Wales’ 20mph default speed limit tomorrow following a debate that marks one year from its roll out.

The motion, brought forward by the Welsh Conservatives, calls for the controversial road regulation to be repealed with support given to local authorities for a targeted approach instead.

The £34m policy was introduced on restricted roads in Wales in September last year.

It saw most roads that were 30mph switch to 20mph – although councils have discretion to impose exemptions.

A record breaking Senedd petition calling for it to be reversed racked up almost half a million signatures following fierce public backlash.

The Welsh Government says that cutting the limit to 20mph will protect lives and save the NHS in Wales £92m a year.

The Tories say it will cost the Welsh economy £9bn.

‘Disastrous ‘

Ahead of the debate on Wednesday (September 25) , Shadow Transport Minister Natasha Asghar said: “One year on from Labour’s disastrous 20mph rollout and the Welsh Government still refuse to listen to the Welsh public.

“The only common-sense approach would be to follow what the Welsh Conservatives have said since day one, scrap the 20mph scheme and only have it in heavily pedestrianised areas.

“In the Senedd this week, I look forward to bringing forward our Welsh Conservative debate calling on the Welsh Government to scrap the 20mph speed limit for good.”

The Welsh Conservatives has made several unsuccessful attempts over the past year to have the 20mph default speed limit reversed.

They also led an unsuccessful no confidence vote in Lee Waters, the minister who led the introduction of the speed limit.

Mr Waters stepped down from the role in March and spent the summer in Australia advising ministers there on transport policy.

Exempted

In May, the new Cabinet Secretary for North Wales and Transport, Ken Skates called for people across Wales to give feedback to local authorities to let them know which roads should be exempted so that 20mph is better targeted.

The Welsh Government also worked with all 22 local authorities to prepare the ground for changes to the guidance on which local roads can be exempted from the limit.

Data on Police reported road collisions published earlier this month showed a reduction in road casualties on 20mph and 30mph roads combined of 19% compared with the previous quarter and 26% lower than the same quarter in 2023.

These are lowest recorded figures apart from during the Covid pandemic.

377 casualties were reported on 20mph and 30mph roads combined between January and March compared with 463 casualties in the previous quarter.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The principal objective of the policy is to save lives and reduce casualties on our roads. We always said that the policy would need refinement to get the right speeds on the right roads and our listening programme alongside the publication of new guidance co-produced with local authorities is helping us do that.

“The latest police road collision data shows that collisions on 20mph and 30mph roads combined are the lowest recorded figures outside of the Covid pandemic with additional data published earlier this year illustrating an average drop in speeds of 4mph – from 28.9mph to 24.8mph. So, we know things are moving in the right direction.”


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Trefor Owen
Trefor Owen
11 days ago

Please stop calling it DEFAULT – it isn’t. Why join in with the anti form of retoric.

David
David
11 days ago
Reply to  Trefor Owen

Or, it could be called brain-washing.

MeGareth
MeGareth
11 days ago
Reply to  Trefor Owen

That’s because it is the default speed limit! I suspect you are thinking of ARTD’s use of the term ‘blanket’.

Paul ap Gareth
Paul ap Gareth
10 days ago
Reply to  Trefor Owen

Default just means the setting that is in place until it has been changed.

Wales has a default 20mph limit, unless it has been changed to 30mph.
England has a default 30mph limit, unless it has been changed to 20mph.

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
11 days ago

Please don’t do that, knee jerk reactions to badly implemented schemes don’t pay any dividends…

Ap Kenneth
Ap Kenneth
11 days ago

There has not been enough thought into how you can reward the majority of drivers for sticking to the revised limits. Roads that are 20, and where drivers stck to 20 should have speed humps removed, maybe progressively, or even one at a time and locally publicisied. Some parking restrictions removed that were in place to allow movement of vehicles at a higher speed that is now the norm. Pull the 20 limits in closer to the actual urban setting. None of these changes has to cost very much and can be spread over a number of years but little… Read more »

Jeff
Jeff
11 days ago

Yeah, Tory gonna put you at risk and cost millions to revert. So, higher costs and real pain is their aim?

Blinedig
Blinedig
11 days ago
Reply to  Jeff

After three separate “near misses” recently where thankfully I was doing 20 when three children and a dog ran out in front of my vehicle, I trust these Tory troublemakers will take full responsibility for the consequent fatalities.

Llyn
Llyn
11 days ago

The Conservatives want to “scrap the 20mph scheme and only have it in heavily pedestrianised areas”. Do they have a definition of a “heavily pedestrianised area”? What I’ve see of the 20mph roads in Wales most appear to be already in “heavily pedestrianised areas”.

Welsh Patriot
Welsh Patriot
11 days ago

If the FM can’t even stick to 30mph, why on earth should she vote for a 20mph limit?

T3DSK1
T3DSK1
11 days ago
Reply to  Welsh Patriot

the First Matelot is baroness the rules don`t apply

John Ellis
John Ellis
10 days ago

Seems to me, from what I hear, that much depends on the local authority in which you live. Some appear to have implemented the speed limit without any obvious specific consideration of the conditions of particular roads – e.g. if the road, or a section of it, has street lamps it should automatically and perforce be subjected to a 20 mph limit. Where I live, in Sir Ddinbych, the council appears to have taken into consideration the specific circumstances of individual roads, with the result that, in Rhuthun for instance, a road skirting the fringe of the town and which… Read more »

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
10 days ago
Reply to  John Ellis

Call me cynical but some routes traveled by senior council execs may be better thought out than others, just saying…

John Ellis
John Ellis
9 days ago
Reply to  Mab Meirion

I might call you cynical – but since the example which I cited is in our county town and only half a mile from the Swyddfa’r Sir, your suspicion might perhaps be plausible!

Charles Coombes
Charles Coombes
10 days ago

Keep the 20 limit. 23% reduction in incidents has to worth it.

Why vote
Why vote
10 days ago

Scrap it.

Barry Pandy
Barry Pandy
10 days ago
Reply to  Why vote

Why?

Cllr Pete Roberts
Cllr Pete Roberts
10 days ago

To those thinking the Tory plan is a panacea please remember that with 20 as a default there is no requirment to implement traffic calming measures to reduce speeds to that level. With it being an exception there is. So if you are cheering on the Tory idea please remember you are shouting for speed humps, chicaines and other measures that will slow your journey further, increase wear and tear on your car, and lead to increased fuel consumption as you constantly accelearate and brake. Far better to engage in the process and ensure that all exemptions that should be… Read more »

T3DSK1
T3DSK1
9 days ago

most modern cars now have a cruise control use it, it`s not rocket surgery

Les Cargot
Les Cargot
9 days ago
Reply to  T3DSK1

Quite right. It’s not rocket surgery, it’s rocket science!

T3DSK1
T3DSK1
9 days ago
Reply to  Les Cargot

Nah rocket surgery Rich Hall said it was, anyway it’s better to keep the poor darlings confused 🤡🙈🙉🙊

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