Minister says 5mph is appropriate on some roads in Wales
Welsh Government Minister, Jane Hutt was asked to rule out the further reduction in roads speeds in a Senedd discussion following the publication of a new report by the Road Safety Foundation and widespread unhappiness over the Welsh Government’s 20mph default speed limit rollout.
The minister defended the rollout of 20mph and was “very proud of the Government’s road safety policy”, saying it has been “welcomed by the people of Wales”, saving lives and cutting insurance bills.
She went on to refuse to rule out further speed limit reductions, saying that road safety was just that, and that 5mph was an appropriate speed in some areas.
The statement has been criticised by the Welsh Conservatives, with Sam Rowlands MS describing it as a “war on motorists” that is “slowing Wales down”, with fellow Conservative, Laura Anne Jones MS adding that “the 20mph speed limit has already been a disaster, and reducing the limit to 10mph would be an attack on motorists that would see runners and mobility scooters overtaking cars.”
A recent YouGov poll found that 52% of people across the UK were opposed to 10mph speed limits, with that figure increasing to 62% of people who live in Wales who have more experience of life with default 20mph limits.
Speaking about the proposals to reduce limits further to 10mph, Dr Suzy Charman from the Road Safety Foundation, said: “We are not saying that all speeds or speed limits should be set to these speeds.
“Rather, that infrastructure needs to be improved, or speeds reduced to ensure travel speeds are better aligned with human tolerances to crash forces.”
Hugh Bladon from The Alliance of British Drivers responded saying: “If you ban all motorised transport, you might reduce deaths and injury a bit.
“We should remember that more people were being killed and injured in the days before motorised transport, by horses and their carriages.”
New data from the Department of Transport shows that 83% of people ignore 20mph limits during weekdays, with that figure rising to 86% of drivers on weekends, raising the question of the effectiveness of lower limits.
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