A few weeks ago, two groups of protesters gathered on the steps of the Senedd in Cardiff Bay. One demonstration was against the war in Gaza; the other, against the Welsh government\u2019s two-year-old default 20mph speed limit in urban areas.<\/p>\n
The change from 30mph was brought in by the Welsh Labour government across about 35% of the country\u2019s roads in September 2023, at a cost of \u00a334m. The reduced speed limit applied to any built-up area, defined as roads where lamp-posts were no more than about 180 metres apart.<\/p>\n
Last week a small study by GoSafe, which monitors road cameras, found the policy had added an average of two minutes to journey times of differing lengths, aggravating an already bitter culture war over legislation designed to save lives.<\/p>\n
Collisions along roads that have changed from 30mph to 20mph decreased by 19% in 2024 compared with 2023, and 100 fewer people a year have been killed or badly hurt in road traffic accidents, according to Welsh government figures.<\/p>\n
Yet according to canvassing Senedd members and local councillors, the issue remains deeply unpopular with voters as the country\u2019s embattled Labour administration<\/a> gears up for elections next May.<\/p>\n The former first minister Mark Drakeford, who spearheaded the policy, has previously said he was surprised at the level of opposition and anger the new limit provoked. The backlash included protests, defacing and knocking down new speed limit signs, and a petition signed by nearly half a million people opposing the policy \u2013 the largest in the Senedd\u2019s history.<\/p>\n Phil Jones, a chartered engineer and transport planning expert who chaired the Welsh government taskforce on establishing the 20mph default, said the policy was working \u201cexactly as intended\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing preventing local authorities from putting the limit back up. We reviewed practices in other places, journey times, economic impact; none of this should be a surprise,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSay all the roads go back up and casualties go up again too. What is an acceptable death toll that justifies getting to work two minutes faster? That\u2019s what people who want to get rid of it need to answer.\u201d<\/p>\n