Speed limits in Wales

[Glenn Stevenson]

How are our Welsh friends enjoying the new 20mph limits? Hard to believe that normal folk can be happy.

[J D 8]

We are not happy bunnies [ most of us ] Thing is it is something of a blanket job. Nothing a matter with 20mph by schools, shopping centers, back streets, small villages where folk live and kids play.

 However there are long runs of what are main A and B roads with little pedestrian use subject to this limit slowing up every drivers day. As for saving on pollution that is utter codswollop, as having now have to drive for longer in a lower gear with engine revving higher.

  Plenty of 20mph signs in my county have had the black paint treatment. 

  I asked " Why after nearly 100 years of 30mph and vehicles that now have better stopping ability do we have this imposed on us?"  My wife had the answer "Its because of all the numptys walking about with earphones in and those who are so intent on their phone screen they notice little going on around them.

  I would also say that policing speed limits has gone OTT while other bad driving is not delt with, such as tailgating, undertaking, overtaking on double white lines, getting cut up. All of which I have seen or had done to me recently. [worse since covid]

 

[Eric Robson]

I had the misfortune to go to South Wales the Monday after the day the restriction came into force. After leaving the motorway at Port Talbot there was many areas which could have been 30mph. Some of the villages had narrow roads and only one car could pass due to vehicles parking on one side. This meant a longer wait and due to a gap another vehicle followed before the first  cleared meaning a longer wait, very frustrating. Cars standing still and running in low gears are going to pollute more, unless electric. 

Welsh drivers you have my sympathy. 

[Learner]

Lots of roads in Oxfordsire now 20mph although only a few keep to it, it will be nationwide soon.

 Although I'm not in favour of it,I do wonder why your needing to rev higher to stay at 20?

[Brian Cooper]

There is a petition about the 20mph speed limits in Wales.  . Over 400,000 people has signed it (so far) and still the idiots in authority are ignoring it.

 

I predict there will be a rise in the sale of angle grinders plus a spot of overdue anarchy if the speed limits are not restored to their former levels.  

[Brian Cooper]

[Ace]

"I do wonder why your needing to rev higher to stay at 20?"

When entering a 20mph zone I need to change down into a lower gear than when in a 30mph zone,  otherwise it would damage the mechanicals chugging with too low revs.

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by Ace

[Don Fry]

Now I know the phone zombie is a nuisance, drunks wandering the highway, idiots trying to control dogs without bothering to train the mutt to walk on a lead. Peasants all (word derives from the Latin) “one who walks”.

But the stopping distances are big differences. And bottom line, hit a peasant at 20, some damage, at 30 a 90% survival chance, at 40 a 90% death rate. 
As one of the poor sods who have done the conversation, “are you the Widow Smith”, “ no officer”, “think again, lady”, or scraped the corpses off the track, so the race can resume, I would say the Daily Mail has other things in mind than peoples welfare, or maintaining a civilised and peaceful society. 

[Learner]

6 minutes ago, Ace said:

When entering a 20mph zone I need to be in a lower gear than when in a 30mph zone,  otherwise it would damage the mechanicals with to low revs.

 

What are the revs difference between say 30 in 4th and 20 in 3rd?

[Nigel R]

20mph in busy pedestrian zones is perfectly ok - your average travel speed in this kind of road is usually fairly slow anyway.

 

British Medical Journal (not usually known for lying about stuff) quote research from Imperial College (also not usually known for lying about stuff) stating that emissions are overall improved in busy areas when a 20mph limit is imposed.

 

 

[Learner]

29 minutes ago, Brian Cooper said:

There is a petition about the 20mph speed limits in Wales.  . Over 400,000 people has signed it (so far) and still the idiots in authority are ignoring it.

 

I predict there will be a rise in the sale of angle grinders plus a spot of overdue anarchy if the speed limits are not restored to their former levels.  

 We all know idiots know best!

Edited September 25, 2023 by Learner

[leccyflyer]

Don't have a problem with the reduction to 20mph in built up areas, with the aim of reducing the risk to pedestrians, but this looks to be far more widespread than that, being of dubious benefit and frankly I'm highly sceptical of claims of it being beneficial to emissions or air quality. We seemed to have managed perfectly well with 30mph speed limits for decades. Maybe it's a dastardly plot to reduce the speed of all road traffic to that of the Lycra clad activists riding three abreast?

[Jon H]

I hate 20mph zones under more or less all circumstances as they usually crop up when folk routinely ignore 30mph limits and breeze through at 40. If everyone did 30 in a 30 limit, and used more than one brain cell around schools or other dodgy areas, we would not be stuck in slow motion the rest of the time. 

 

There is also a tendency these days to pander to people complaining about a given issue without actually bothering to see if it is in fact a problem and if their proposed solution is in fact appropriate. 

[Learner]

 

6 minutes ago, Jon - Laser Engines said:

I hate 20mph zones under more or less all circumstances as they usually crop up when folk routinely ignore 30mph limits and breeze through at 40. If everyone did 30 in a 30 limit, and used more than one brain cell around schools or other dodgy areas, we would not be stuck in slow motion the rest of the time. 

 

There is also a tendency these days to pander to people complaining about a given issue without actually bothering to see if it is in fact a problem and if their proposed solution is in fact appropriate. 

Unfortunately they now do 40 in the 20 as brain cells arent in abundance nowadays and  the mummies dropping their kids at school in their tanks are the worst culprits!

Edited September 25, 2023 by Learner

[Graham Bowers]

18 minutes ago, leccyflyer said:

Don't have a problem with the reduction to 20mph in built up areas, with the aim of reducing the risk to pedestrians, but this looks to be far more widespread than that, being of dubious benefit and frankly I'm highly sceptical of claims of it being beneficial to emissions or air quality. We seemed to have managed perfectly well with 30mph speed limits for decades. Maybe it's a dastardly plot to reduce the speed of all road traffic to that of the Lycra clad activists riding three abreast?

Ooh, ouch 😉 One of the declared reasons is to encourage cycling!

Total hogwash of course, in my opinion, as it doesn't address the root causes of why so many clog the roads on short car journeys.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

51 minutes ago, Learner said:

What are the revs difference between say 30 in 4th and 20 in 3rd?

Should I assume that you’re suggesting that there won’t be much difference?

 

What about the longer time spent at those rpm to travel the same distance?

[Don Fry]

1 hour ago, Learner said:

 

Unfortunately they now do 40 in the 20 as brain cells arent in abundance nowadays and  the mummies dropping their kids at school in their tanks are the worst culprits!

Perhaps if the average speed cameras got installed, mummy might join the peasants walking, after the visit to see the beak, and ceremonial burning of driving licence, and we might just get back to our youth when it was reckoned it was safe to venture out not encased in a tank.

[EvilC57]

2 hours ago, Brian Cooper said:

[Learner]

1 hour ago, Martin Harris - Moderator said:

Should I assume that you’re suggesting that there won’t be much difference?

 

What about the longer time spent at those rpm to travel the same distance?

No there probably isnt much difference now cars have closer spaced and more gears. If your refering to economy it wasnt mentioned "chugging" was my reference.

[Phil Green]

Bikes tend to have 160-180mph speedos and often start at 10.  I find it hard enough to keep to 30 which is a tiny segment of the speedo display. 

Since 20 is even smaller, it will need such concentration on the throttle, brakes and speedo that there simply wont be enough time left to watch out for peasants  🙂

And while we're at it, speed bumps that take all your concentration when you should be watching those kids at the bus stop and are often placed outside schools to distract you from those pesky kids crossing the road.  You cant just ignore bumps on a bike.  Its all well-intentioned but traffic management is so crudely implemented, surely there must be a better way than leaving rocks in the road  🙂

 

 

[Brian Cooper]

[Graham Bowers]

40 minutes ago, Phil Green said:

Bikes tend to have 160-180mph speedos and often start at 10.  I find it hard enough to keep to 30 which is a tiny segment of the speedo display. 

Since 20 is even smaller, it will need such concentration on the throttle, brakes and speedo that there simply wont be enough time left to watch out for peasants  🙂

And while we're at it, speed bumps that take all your concentration when you should be watching those kids at the bus stop and are often placed outside schools to distract you from those pesky kids crossing the road.  You cant just ignore bumps on a bike.  Its all well-intentioned but traffic management is so crudely implemented, surely there must be a better way than leaving rocks in the road  🙂

 

 

It'll probably boil down to knowing the engine rpm at 20 mph in the gear one uses for 20 mph. Probably second on mine.

 

[Cuban8]

Visited the north side of Colchester a couple of weeks ago and lo and behold........a permanent 20mph limit in a wide thoroughfare, not overly busy, no schools nearby and as far as I know has never been a particularly dangerous area for pedestrians or anyone else.

Yet more "don't we look good" posturing from the useless council or Essex HIghways or whoever oversees the busted up road system in my area.

I was surprised to read that there is no specific UK law to prevent pedestrians from 'Jay Walking' - essentially one can do as one likes when on foot with the exception of motorways etc. Maybe that could be addressed, particularly the fairly recent trend for pedestrians to throw themselves 'lemming like' and without warning on to zebra crossings. Whatever happened to 'kerb drill' that once applied equally to zebra crossings as well as crossing any other part of the road?

Simply enforce the 30mph limit, it's a good compromise of safety versus practicality.

 

[Philip Lewis 3]

It will be interesting to see whether the Welsh tourism industry suffers as a result of this.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Overtly party political comment removed. 
 

One or two previous ones are dangerously close to contravening the CoC

 

Please bear this in mind folks.