20 mph replacing 30 mph

You’d never bloody get anywhere or get anything done. They tried a lower speed limit in areas here in Playa Blanca, didn’t last months.
 
Surely anything that discourages people from driving in busy city centres is a good thing? Where there is usually very good public transport.

And no I’m not saying no one should ever drive in city centres, or that every city centre has good public transport, but in the majority of cases it should be discouraged.

In fact driving in general should be discouraged to a large extent, if we’re actually serious about the climate problem.
 
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atypical_boro said:
Surely anything that discourages people from driving in busy city centres is a good thing? Where there is usually very good public transport.

And no I’m not saying no one should ever drive in city centres, or that every city centre has good public transport, but in the majority of cases it should be discouraged.

In fact driving in general should be discouraged to a large extent.
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City centres where cars are completely banned or significantly reduced are significantly nicer and places to live and spend time.
Any city with a decent public transport network shouldn’t allow cars minus a few exceptions
Only issue is we live in a society where people are too lazy to walk more than 2 minutes, so nothing will ever change
 
20 mph is tricky on some of my motorbikes. Much easier to go round corners at 30mph as they are more stable at speed. Also engines arent designed for low revs and fouls the plugs, this can cause more pollution. Also the acceleration in a low gear is phenomenal, the potential for wheelies when the speed limit rises increases dramatically.
 
JM14 said:
On the plus side, pedestrians especially children are far more likely to survive a road traffic accident at 20 instead of 30. Not sure delaying your day by an extra 10 minutes maximum is really that important
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It’s a fair point but accidents don’t happen at 20 or 30 they happen when people drive far too fast. And that happened here earlier this year, but a daft speed limit wouldn’t have changed it.
 
Boro in Devon said:
20 mph is tricky on some of my motorbikes. Much easier to go round corners at 30mph as they are more stable at speed. Also engines arent designed for low revs and fouls the plugs, this can cause more pollution. Also the acceleration in a low gear is phenomenal, the potential for wheelies when the speed limit rises increases dramatically.
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Blipping the throttle, clutch in a bit, increases stability due to the centrifugal force of the engine, but then you look like a tw@t but that is genuinely the solution.
 
Juninhoburger said:
I didn't say it was hard, I said it was a nightmare
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Just add that, it’s a nightmare ‘because I’ve got no patience’

I’m similar if I’m being honest…but being forced to do it might be good for us all….🤷‍♂️

It’s like all things, a balance needs to be struck
 
newusername said:
I'd be surprised if Wales got rid of the default 20mph at the moment. In June they released the collision data for 2023 which included the first three months of the default 20mph limit from October to December 2023, which was the lowest quarterly figure on record outside of Covid lockdowns and meant that there were around 1/3 less collisions in 20 & 30 mph zones in 2023 than 2022.
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This is the reason it was lowered.

If the data is correct then it works.

But it's not popular
 
Just like everything there is a time and a place.

In Acklam the whole of Trimdom Avenue is 20 including all the surrounding roads. Good idea as a lot of schools and homes. Only problem is that it’s impossible to enforce unless you have a speed camera on every road… so guess what? Most people ignore it.

Main issue for me is the dramatic reduction in driving knowledge and skill. I walk the kids to and from school every day and use a zebra crossing outside st Clare’s school…. I am involved in or witness near misses every day without fail due to drivers not paying attention. One day someone is going to get knocked down
 
Certainly on some of the roads it makes a lot of sense, particularly around housing areas where cars are parked at the kerbside, 30 mph is way over the top there. Also in busy areas such as schools, shops etc.

In such areas I find most motorists are already slowing down but there's always the minority that don't care about the safety of others so making 20 mph mandatory rather than advisory makes sense.
 
Boro in Devon said:
20 mph is tricky on some of my motorbikes. Much easier to go round corners at 30mph as they are more stable at speed. Also engines arent designed for low revs and fouls the plugs, this can cause more pollution. Also the acceleration in a low gear is phenomenal, the potential for wheelies when the speed limit rises increases dramatically.
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Potential for wheelies? When the speed limit changes "dramatically" as you put it, it doesn't mean you have to accelerate to that speed as fast as your car/bike will allow. And similar to the "it's hard for me to drive at 20mph" argument, if you can't accelerate on a bike without doing a wheelie then you probably shouldn't be riding a bike
 
Not sure they're it's much of an argument for 20 mph speed limits away from where children gather.

If you make it 20,why not 15 or 10mph?

As adults we all have to learn to live with risk. The argument that if you can't drive at 20 you shouldn't be driving could easily be turned around too. If you can't cross the road safely in a 30 you probably shouldn't be a pedestrian.

All that said I would much rather a20 mph limit and no speed bumps.
 
I don’t mind during the day, as said above in London you rarely get up to 30 anyway. I find it frustrating at night when I’m driving home from work at 11pm or later and I’m the only one on the road. I think in London the reason is emissions so it won’t change
 
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