Cardiff reverts speed limits on four major roads to 30mph from 20mph

15 comments

1. 20 mph roads are a scourge on driving. Some 30 mph roads are too.

   There’s a literal bypass off shoot they’ve built near me recently which is four lanes of traffic and 30mph for about a half mile. It’s insanity.

2. You mean to say blanketing an entire country with an ideologically arrived at speed limit leads to stupid outcomes? I have never been so surprised.

3. The 20 mile per hour policy has led to fewer serious injuries and fewer deaths. 

   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78w1891z03o

4. Traffic management is an incredibly complicated thing; its not as simple as whacking some speed limits down and thinking job done – even if the KSIs on those roads go down.

   Here is a [worked example of a realistic journey someone might take](https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/53.3187624,-3.4652302/53.3360188,-3.4046536/@53.3239896,-3.4489627,4645m/), from a residential area in Rhyl to the nearest M&S in the town over in Prestatyn. Prior to the blanket 20, the recommended route would have been along the a A548 coast road. Its a great bit of road, 40mph but bookended by 20s, with great active travel infrastructure and wide, safe pavements, all the way along to Prestatyn.

   At the time of writing, the quickest route is via the B5119 – which is a twisty NSL road, with no pavement and popular with walkers, cyclists and equestrian users, and residential roads at either end. These residential roads have poor/no active travel infrastructure, few crossing and lots of parked vehicles.

   Now collisions on the coast road will have reduced since the introduction of the 20limit. But that’s not because of the enhanced safety of the road; it’s because traffic has been displaced onto an unsuitable route-, which is an NSL so not subject to analysis.

   Guess what’s happened.

5. My biggest gripe with those 20mph zones when I’ve traveled into Wales was there’s zero repeaters up for them. So always spend most of my time second guessing if I’ve missed it due to the suspicious amount of time I’ve been in it.

   Getting tailgated by a tractor is a new but seemingly regular occurrence as I seem to be only person who is actually doing 20.

6. I don’t mind 20mph limits, generally speaking.

   Some do seem excessive, but I can tolerate them.

   However, most other road users don’t seem to be able to, and I have encountered so much road rage for simply obeying these new limits.

   There’s a road near me (where I received a fine for doing 23mph) that I now religiously put my car into cruise control at 20mph. And without fail, almost every time, I have dickheads honking and flashing me.

   I once even had a police car tailgating me, clearly frustrated by my legal speed.

   It becomes a nightmare of “do I obey the rules or try not to piss off everyone else”. I often end up having to move up to about 25mph, so not to be attacked!

   I also feel I spend far less time watching the road and end up hyper focused on the speedometer and watching the person behind swearing at me.

7. I’m sure I had read somewhere that this was the plan in Wales. To put all the road from 30 to 20 then put some back up to 30 where it was found to not make sense. I believe it was because it is a lot cheaper and quicker to do it that way that to assess all roads individually.

8. Reddit in shambles.

   Normal people happy.

   Many such cases.

9. They are getting shit for this, but also there has been a reduction in accidents and insurance costs. So not all bad.

10. Hello tfl?
    I want the south circular and the old Kent road to start

11. Meh, google maps/Waze and ignore them tbh. It was fine at 30+ for 60 years and it’s fine now- excluding schools/hospitals etc. Roads are being reduced all over the place and it’s completely unnecessary.

    The War on speed is easy statistics to show they’re doing something, but the problematic drivers don’t abide the law anyway. You think that 20 sign is going to stop chavvy Keith in his 1.2 corsa doing 60 through the school zone?

    58% of people admit to speeding, and that’s only ADMIT to it. Over half the population (probably 75% tbf) speeds and not everyone is in prison for killing children or have killed themselves.

    As someone that spends an ungodly amount of time on the roads, the average speeder is really not the issue. Absolute pure incompetence is. I’d rather be in the car with someone that breaks the rules but has good driving skills and awareness than someone that abides by every rule but shouldn’t be allowed behind the wheel of a video game.

12. The law that reduced the limits included the ability for roads to be set back to 30. The fact that it’s only 4 roads here makes me think this is the law working exactly as intended.

13. 20mph is a pain in the arse in my racecar…. It’s right inbetween gears

14. I wonder how much money has been wasted changing signs etc.

15. we did it peopke, we took on the government and won.

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