
This might not be the usual place for a this sort of blog, but it's something that's been causing me a bit of stress recently, and I feel the need to write about it. The default 20 mph speed limit across many areas is something most of you will have encountered. It's prevalent in many English towns and cities, and I was pleased to see it becoming the norm in Cornwall. The evidence suggests it's the right thing to do: it reduces emissions, lowers fuel use, keeps traffic moving, and is significantly safer.
There is already evidence from Wales that injuries have been reduced due to the 20 mph zones. Another benefit we've noticed recently is that our insurance premium has dropped by over £100, which is due for renewal this month. The evidence is clear: the sheer volume of traffic necessitates a 20 mph speed limit in most of our cities, regardless of the actual limit. In fact, where you have moving, then stationary traffic, traffic flows can be improved by reducing speeds. On motorways, reducing speeds can prevent the stop-start pattern, leading to smoother traffic flow.
What's stressing me out is that the proposal for the 20 mph to become default across Manchester, has pushed out the bizarre arguments we’ve been subject to in Wales again. Arguments like “You use more fuel." You don't. You use less fuel at 20 mph than at 30 mph. The point is that you use fuel when you accelerate, not when you're cruising along in third gear without pushing the accelerator. Suggesting that you use more fuel or produce more emissions because you're in third gear and not accelerating is nonsense.

One of the myths is that it takes longer to get everywhere. It really doesn't. If you're adding a minute or two to a journey, that's the absolute maximum. Because you keep moving, you actually arrive less stressed too. I'm frustrated that these myths are perpetuated by what I believe must be bots. These populist and unintelligent headlines are strewn across social media by bots, and many of us don't see them. We just see people repeating that rubbish on threads that might have caught our eye.
Walking through our village is a lot more pleasant when most people are doing 20 mph rather than 30 mph. But the thing is, many people don't walk anywhere at all now because of the way housing estates have been designed. They can only leave the house in a car, using it for school, work, shopping, and leisure. They have no experience of what it's like to be a pedestrian, leading to a lack of empathy. There's also an irrational hatred of cyclists. Why would you hate someone on a bike? It's of no relevance to you whatsoever. It's just another human being who's chosen to ride a bike. They have no impact on the planet. You might have to slow down or wait a moment to get past, but we're talking seconds here. Rarely will it be more than a minute before you can get past a bike. So just leave them be.
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20 mph makes perfect sense where people live, work and play. It is of course necessary past school and hospitals, though it can be frustrating when schools are closed at the weekend! The biggest area of concern to me are past homes and shops. Take the crowded pavements of Betws y Coed for example. Driving past those people at more then 20 is not only potentially dangerous, it’s downright rude!
I'm confident that the case for a 20 mph speed limit is a strong one. Consider this: when the limit is 30 mph, most people tend to drive between 30 and 40. But when the limit is 20 mph, most drivers stay between 20 and 30. Clearly, lowering speed limits is safer, greener, and simply more considerate of others.
I may be at one end of the spectrum here, but I believe the national speed limit should be reduced on rural roads. When driving on B-roads and main rural routes, it seems sensible to have a maximum speed of 40 mph - not as a guideline, but as the default. What’s the compelling case for needing to drive faster than 40 mph on our rural roads? These roads are shared spaces, after all.

Even on motorways, traffic seems to flow more smoothly at 50 mph than in the "stop-start" cycle of 7/80 mph traffic. Maybe we should consider lowering motorway speed limits to 50 mph - not only to prepare for more environmentally friendly electric vehicles but also to reduce emissions from internal combustion engine cars. It could make travel safer, cleaner, and more pleasant for everyone.
I realise this last idea might be a bridge too far for some, but with the sheer number of vehicles on our roads today, we need to learn to coexist. That means slowing down and sharing the space. Rural roads must accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, and horse riders, just as urban roads must do the similar
I’d also love to see significant investment in safe cycleways, improved footpaths, and, of course, better public transport. I know I'm not the only one advocating for these changes, but it can feel lonely at times - especially when faced with aggressive drivers. Thanks for letting me sound off here; I just needed to get this off my chest!
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I'm with you. I have seen reports elsewhere of the reductions of incidents in Wales. I have often pondered the hate on cyclists. I think a lot of it is that cyclists are more difficult to pass now, but that's not because of the cyclist. We have a lot more traffic management - islands in the middle of roads for example but mainly that cars have got a LOT bigger, and there are a LOT more of them. I remember learning to drive in the early 80s. On many roads, one car adopting a position near the white line for a right turn allowed traffic to pass to the left. I was looking at a ford Focus struggling round a car park…
I can remember a time when if you suggested that mobile phones had become too small to read, you’d have been laughed at. It’s all about paradigms. Our working world is spinning ever faster, stress related diseases and injuries are a pandemic, and yet people complain about driving slow enough that human and animal pedestrians might actually survive a collision. We are still in denial about the carbon chain, but the time will come when energy guzzlers will be first socially unacceptable and eventually illegal. Of course by that time the billionaires will have colonised a new planet, leaving their wreckage behind. Wil it happen in our lifetimes? I hope not, but there are various new administrations and wannabe leaders…