20mph speed limits to spread

The government plans to cut road deaths by a third over the next decade by reducing the speed limit on thousands of residential roads to 20mph. It is hoped the measure will save 1,000 lives each year.

Many of the limits will be variable and apply to main roads near schools – digital signs will order drivers to cut their speed to 20mph or less when children are arriving or departing. In addtion, in place of road humps there will be widespread use of cameras that detect a vehicle’s average speed.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association said: “Whether this measure will result in as dramatic a fall in the total number of road deaths as is being predicted remains to be seen, what is certain is that urban areas will become safer and more pleasant places where walking and cycling will have the conditions to thrive.”

Meanwhile, The Times reports that according to residents, the blanket 20mph speed limit imposed on traffic in Portsmouth, one of two cities chosen in a government pilot scheme, is neither effective nor enforceable.

The ETA is a founder member of the Slower Speeds Initiative.

More than 3,000 people die on the roads each year. The target, to be reached by 2020, is expected to be set at about 2,000 deaths.