More than 10,500 requests have been received by Welsh councils from residents to reassess roads that saw their limit lowered when the policy was introduced in September last year.
Police point to a drop in road causalities and crashes to suggest Wales’ flagship policy is working, although a recent poll said seven in 10 people still oppose the new limit.
One motoring organisation has said traffic calming measures like speed bumps should be installed to force drivers to do 20mph.
Welsh ministers said a 20mph limit would reduce deaths and noise and encourage people to walk or cycle when it was implemented in September 2023 - but it caused controversy with some drivers.
The limit changed on about 35% of Welsh roads - about 22,000 miles (35,171 km) in total - last year where lamp-posts are no more than 200 yards (183m) apart.
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Statistics show a drop in casualties on 20mph and 30mph roads in Wales in the first three months of 2024, after the default built-up area limit was reduced.The number of serious casualties or fatalities has dropped 23%, and Wales’ largest police force says there have been at least 11 less deaths on the roads in their area.
As someone who drives to and around Wales multiple times a year, it’s a poorly thought out and implemented policy.
Many people speed and break the limit, particularly on main roads, and it’s lack of popular support is an issue in itself.
The policy could work if the speed limits was reverted to 30mph on bigger roads but local councils and the Welsh assembly blame each other for the issues.
There is also little enforcment at present - that is changing and once people start getting fined for breaking the 20mph limit it’s likely to become much more unpopular.
It could have probably been implemented successfully and with popular support with more careful designation of 30mph roads. It’s a failure of politicians rather than the idea itself.
As someone who lives in Wales and drives, cycles and walks around daily, I think this is a great policy, but poorly communicated and has been a target by populist politicians which has fed into the discontent.
Many people speed and break the limit anyway regardless of the speed limit. In my experience about 80% of cars will be sticking to 20 - either abiding by the limit or stuck behind someone keeping to it. The majority of people speeding will only speed up to ~30mph, which will be less than what they’ll be speeding if the limit was at 30 originally.
It may vary by council, but I personally can’t think of any roads near me that could do with reverting back up to 30 (that haven’t already). Some main roads will still be 20, but then there are schools and residential on these roads which doesn’t make sense to revert - but some people will still complain.
Personally I don’t think this policy will ever have national popular support. It is a policy that directly affects someone’s day to day rather than a stat which makes it a perfect candidate for people to complain about (potholes are similar). This is despite polling also saying that the vast majority support 20 outside their own house (but outside other people’s houses should be reverted?).
I am kinda sick of how much this policy is brought up. It seems like every month there is a new article critiquing the limit and it is getting quite repetitive.
I agree. This is an outstanding, evidence-based policy of exactly the sort we should be implementing, albeit one that’s been communicated awfully and failed to be defended against the prideful ignorance of the populist right amidst Welsh Labour’s political turmoil.
I think I’ve accepted in my head that the similarly maligned Sustainable Farming Scheme will have to be watered down due to Gething’s misadventures and our consequent inability to defend even well-constructed, evidence-based policy against populist rhetoric, but I really hope the 20mph speed limit survives this painful, reactionary period at least.
It’s poorly thought out because entitled cagers break the laws?
This is sadly quite common, and I think by design in many places.
Rather than long, open roads having a 30mph speed and smaller residential roads at 20, the opposite is chosen, purely because councils know that they can put speed cameras there to make some money. Making roads safer through design costs money, and many roads where accidents are common are largely ignored.
It’s these tactics that feed into the hysteria that these measures are an attack on motorists. While I largely agree with the rules, many councils really take the piss. I was caught doing 24mph in a 20, but was able to overturn it because the camera was placed in the middle of a hill with a sharp enough decline to not make it legal to police.
They probably made a ton from that camera, all while the top of the hill is a small junction where people regularly crash - which is 30 and is only repaired when someone crashes into the traffic lights (not a rare occurrence).