BackLiving Streets welcomes new 20mph guidance, but call for immediate action
Keith Irving, Living Streets Scotland Manager said:
“We welcome the publication of draft guidance for local authorities on speed limits in England and Wales- which make the case for slower speeds to make our streets and rural roads safer. There is now overwhelming evidence on the benefits of 20mph limits where we live, work and play.
"Scotland already has a worse safety record for children on foot than England and Wales. The Scottish Road Safety Strategy encourages local authorities to consider 20 mph speed limits only in residential areas in the medium term. We are concerned that Scotland is falling behind and are calling on the Scottish Government to follow the lead of the UK Government and introduce 20mph on more of our streets to make them safer and more attractive. We remain disappointed though that the draft guidance for England and Wales does not go far enough, and signals that the forthcoming road safety strategy will not change the national framework in favour of 20mph.
“We are all pedestrians at some point during the day, and all of us want to feel safe moving about our streets. Traffic speed is the major factor in serious injuries and deaths, and slower speeds mean safer and more civilised streets for everyone. While good progress has been made on reducing road casualties across the UK, no one should be satisfied when nearly 200 children are still seriously injured or killed on our roads every year.
“Already there is evidence that reducing the default speed limit works, with a reduction in the number of casualties in Portsmouth since its implementation, and strong signals that 20mph limits can have a major impact on roads where average speeds are currently significantly higher than 20mph. We remain concerned that the draft guidance retains an exemption for ‘major through routes’: we see no reason why people living on such streets should be denied the great benefits of 20 mph.
“Reducing motor traffic speeds on our streets is the single biggest measure which will make them safe and vibrant places. There is no doubt that a national default limit of 20mph will save lives, but more than that, slower moving traffic will allow us all to enjoy our streets as social spaces, not just corridors for traffic. We believe there is a clear and urgent need to move quickly to save lives.”
Published on: 16/12/2009
