Speed limit to be lowered to 20mph in Wales

[Charlottesquare]

Meanwhile it's safer for kids to get outside and do things that they should

What are the kids doing outside? Frequently things they shouldn't. This evening as I pulled away from the side of the road, I nearly hit a kid doing 30 mph on an electric scooter. No lights, no helmet, dressed in black, doing 30mph downhill in the middle of the highway. If the police can't be bothered to police this type of behaviour, maybe we need 5 mph limits.

Back to the man (or woman) with a flag walking in front.

[88V8]

Of course a good indicator af the actual impact of this on journey times will be vehicles that spend most of their time in the new zones. I wonder if they'll need to revamp all the bus timetables and recruit more drivers to cover extended hours?

Yes, and the changes are allowing those routes that are now uneconomic to be cut.

Ahhh, so that's what it's all about

It will make the horse bus economic again, or perhaps that would be the sheep bus.

V8

[1nvest]

Welsh economy suffers ... made is Wales gearstick knobs aren't selling too well

[DrFfybes]

I gather that Swansea police station is overrun this evening.

Nobody has been caught speeding, but 7483 people have been arrested for Kerb Crawling.

[1nvest]

In years to come you'll be able to easily spot Welsh drivers on the motorway, they'll be the ones in the slow lane in first gear.

Welsh cars sales literature to be modified to describe cars as three speed only, first, stopped, reverse.

[didds]

In years to come you'll be able to easily spot Welsh drivers on the motorway, they'll be the ones in the slow lane in first gear.

there is a motorway in Wales too. In fcat - there are two of course. neither of which will be restricted TO 20MPH
.
As indeed neither will dial carriageways or any road currently designated 40 or above speed limits.

[Lootman]

I wonder if it will lead cash-strapped Welsh municipalities to see this as a great revenue opportunity?

Back when I first drove in America I was warned about so-called "speed traps", mostly in the rural South. You would round a bend or go over the brow of a hill, and there would be a sudden 20 or 25 speed limit sign. And then the local sheriff would appear from nowhere and give you an on-the-spot cash ticket. (Or spend the night in his non-airconditioned jail, presumably).

By all accounts it was/is a nice little earner for those small towns. Although of course enforcement was more vigilant if you were a Yankee, and less so if you were a good ol' boy. The equivalent here would be a de facto tax on any English driver who passes through in third gear or higher?

[didds]

I wonder if it will lead cash-strapped Welsh municipalities to see this as a great revenue opportunity??

why wouldnt they be doing it already with the 30 mph areas?

[airbus330]

So this has been law for a couple of days now and I've done my normal drives through Swansea. I'm really glad to say that the council has not used this change to blanket the city in 20mph signs. Largely, the arterial routes into and out of the city have maintained their existing limits, with odd areas of residential housing along these routes restricted to 20. It seem that all side streets and residential areas are now 20. The main problems observed seems to be working out if you are in a 20/30/40 zone and this is leading drivers to assume the worst and drive at 20 inappropriately. Maybe it will bed in, but speed limit signage is now unnecessarily complex and distracting. The ability of local councils to vary speed limits had already led to complexity, but we now have another layer of it. I fear that when I venture cross country later in the week, even more discrepancies will appear as each county council will apply restrictions as they see fit. On the basis of a long country drive across Wales last week, they seem to have taken the decision to extend the 20mph limit to way outside of village boundaries, at least in terms of buildings.
I'm dead against this law, but even with nearly 200k signatures protesting against it, I fear Drakeford & co will truculently ignore the protesting public.

[didds]

from IIRC the gov uk site, it suggests that the "new 20" will only apply to the "old 30" or more specifically in areas with street lighting ... so while they may be using the 20mph stuff "way outside of village boundaries," presumably this is only where such "outside of village boundaries," was 30 mph before? And wrt the potential confusion over what is now 20, and what remains as 30, maybe such a blanket approach ie what was 30 is now all 20, would be a simpler and easier to fathom solution?

didds

[DrFfybes]

Anyone care to guess what the speed limit is along this road?

https://maps.app.goo.gl/cqarzZwQGApU676D8
compared to this one
https://maps.app.goo.gl/uXzW7xdCf7PBPD4n6

Of course they might have changed the signs since June



Paul

[Lootman]

I wonder if it will lead cash-strapped Welsh municipalities to see this as a great revenue opportunity??

why wouldnt they be doing it already with the 30 mph areas?

They might but anyone doing more than 30 would still be caught, plus now everyone doing 20-30. More tickets = more revenues, unless drivers are intimidated into driving like old women.

[ReformedCharacter]

Anyone care to guess what the speed limit is along this road?

https://maps.app.goo.gl/cqarzZwQGApU676D8
compared to this one
https://maps.app.goo.gl/uXzW7xdCf7PBPD4n6

Of course they might have changed the signs since June



Paul

No, but nice old-fashioned Armco barriers, even if the lay byes are a bit short.

RC

[airbus330]

from IIRC the gov uk site, it suggests that the "new 20" will only apply to the "old 30" or more specifically in areas with street lighting ... so while they may be using the 20mph stuff "way outside of village boundaries," presumably this is only where such "outside of village boundaries," was 30 mph before? And wrt the potential confusion over what is now 20, and what remains as 30, maybe such a blanket approach ie what was 30 is now all 20, would be a simpler and easier to fathom solution?

didds

Nope. The road was previously 50mph on the approach to one particular village and had been for some years. Many main rural roads have been speed limited down from the National Speed limit of 60 to 50, which is within the power of each local council, while, of course, the tiddly roads off of them revert to 60mph. It is particularly prevalent in Carmarthenshire for some reason. A couple of years ago there was a 30 speed limit introduced in roughly the same position, which caused a lot of complaints and was removed. So now the council has had its revenge! Honestly, it is such a hot-potch of rules that I found that in one road position I would have been doing 3x the speed limit under the new regime! But perfectly legal last week.

Anti 20mph legislation petition now at 325000 signatures. More than half the driving licences in Wales.
Might be an idea to add your name, as when Starmer gets in next year, they are coming for you,..... https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245548

[didds]

Nope. The road was previously 50mph on the approach to one particular village and had been for some years.

OK - thanks for that.

So this gov.wales website is lieing ? I am merely checking, not calling Airbus330 out!

https://datamap.gov.wales/maps/roads-af ... mit-on-re/

".. to lower the default national speed limit on residential roads and busy pedestrian streets from 30mph to 20mph.
....
The new legislation is not a blanket speed limit on all roads, it simply changes the default speed limit on restricted roads from 30mph to 20mph."

cheers

didds

[CliffEdge]

They're Welsh.

[dionaeamuscipula]

Nope. The road was previously 50mph on the approach to one particular village and had been for some years.

OK - thanks for that.

So this gov.wales website is lieing ? I am merely checking, not calling Airbus330 out!

https://datamap.gov.wales/maps/roads-af ... mit-on-re/

".. to lower the default national speed limit on residential roads and busy pedestrian streets from 30mph to 20mph.
....
The new legislation is not a blanket speed limit on all roads, it simply changes the default speed limit on restricted roads from 30mph to 20mph."

cheers

didds

There have been some other changes brought through at the same time, eg there is a road I use frequently which was previously 40 and is now 30.

The signage situation has been a complete mess but is now getting slowly sorted out. It will take a while for people to get used to it, but generally my experience is that compliance is probably a bit better than the compliance against the previous limit.

Drakeford has already said he is standing down, and Labour/Plaid are highly unlikely to lose power over this, so the Welsh Government are in a perfect position to push through unpopular legislation, and then stick with it.

DM

[didds]

so possibly then while 30->20 is being implemented there are other speed changes happening which are not part of THIS legislation, but are totally separate actions, using the obfuscation of THIS new law to hide them? In which case its nothing to do with Drakeford and everything to do with the transport/highways etc departments of local authorities?

[Redmires]

Went into Abergavenny today on a usual shopping trip. Last week, the road from the A40 roundabout to the Railway station was 30mph, and from the station to the centre was 20mph (as it has been for a while). This week, the same 30mph and then 20mph. But is it a case that the 30 is now 20 ? Has the speed changed but the signs haven't gone up ? Has anybody got a clue what is happening ?

So I've been on the interactive map and clicked on said road

https://datamap.gov.wales/maps/roads-af ... -re/view#/

and it says ....

This is an Exception by Order road. Orders for this road are the responsibility of Monmouthshire County Council. Please contact them to find out when the draft order is to be published for this section of road.

So now I have to ring the council to find out what speed I should be doing on that stretch of road. Madness.

[Lootman]

Went into Abergavenny today on a usual shopping trip. Last week, the road from the A40 roundabout to the Railway station was 30mph, and from the station to the centre was 20mph (as it has been for a while). This week, the same 30mph and then 20mph. But is it a case that the 30 is now 20 ? Has the speed changed but the signs haven't gone up ? Has anybody got a clue what is happening ?

So I've been on the interactive map and clicked on said road

https://datamap.gov.wales/maps/roads-af ... -re/view#/

and it says ....

This is an Exception by Order road. Orders for this road are the responsibility of Monmouthshire County Council. Please contact them to find out when the draft order is to be published for this section of road.

So now I have to ring the council to find out what speed I should be doing on that stretch of road. Madness.

I love Wales and go there a lot, but this whole mess is seriously putting me off ever venturing there again.