Norming 20mph/30kmh: a call for a new default speed limit
Global pressure is mounting on legislators to reset speed limits for #Streetsforlife – designed for flourishing human activities. Whether protecting humans and quality of life in Kent or Kenya, it’s 20mph/30kmh that’s global best practice where people mix with motors. Norming 20mph/30kmh is the sole call of the biennial UNGRSW by the UN and WHO. Local politicians must update policy to #ActOn20mph #Love20 #Love30.
Ask National Government elected representatives for decisive action too. Email your MP
Continue reading
It is smart for national governments to set national urban/village default speed limits of 20mph or 30km/h.
Local governments in towns, cities and villages around the world are rejecting nationally set 30mph or 50km/h speed limits as no longer “fit for purpose” in meeting the needs of citizens and society. 20mph or 30km/h is now seen as the maximum safe speed limit where motor vehicles mix with pedestrians and cyclists unless there are adequate segregated and crossing provisions.
National governments should set 20mph or 30km/h as their national default urban/village speed limit.
Continue reading
20mph Campaigner Amanda Russell from Faversham wins National Award from Brake in Road Safety Week
Star community campaigner Amanda Russell has won a National Award from the charity Brake for 20mph volunteering. She began 20’s Plenty for Faversham and the town now has the first 20mph town-wide scheme in Kent. Bravo!
Continue reading
General Assembly of United Nations say 20’s Plenty
For the second Decade of Action for Road Safety the United Nations has endorsed the setting of 30km/h (20mph) maximum speed limits wherever pedestrians, cyclists or other vulnerable road users mix with motor vehicles.
Continue reading
Welsh Government National 20mph Guide – A Global First
In 2019 the Welsh Government said that 20mph should be the default speed limit for residential areas. The Task Force Group it set up to “identify the practical actions needed to implement this change” has now reported. The Senedd will debate “Introducing 20mph Speed Limits in Wales” in its session on 15th July 2020.
Continue reading
Doctors Demand 20mph as Emergency National Urban Limit
Embargoed till Thursday 9th April
Today, April 9th, sees the launch of a national campaign supported by leading doctors to call upon the UK Government to demand 20mph as an Emergency National Urban Limit. We all want to help the NHS during the Covid-19 crisis. The doctors that we are relying on have called on the UK Government to change the national speed limit to 20mph from 30mph. They are clear that setting a 20mph speed limit will reduce pressure on the NHS now and for the future. 20’s Plenty for Us, the national campaign for 20mph limits with 460 local community campaigns, is supporting our doctors’ calls for the UK Government to act now.
Continue reading
We Support Emergency 20mph Limit to ‘Lower the Baseline’ NHS Load
See our microsite dedicated to to supporting the call by doctors to lower the urban speed limit from 30mph to 20mph at www.20splenty.org/lower_baseline. It includes Voxpops, FAQs, Supporters, etc
The Covid-19 crisis is severely straining our medical services and economy. As well as increasing medical capacity, doctors are calling to “lower the baseline” of NHS demand for preventable reasons like road crashes by rapid introduction of public health policies. Medical experts want emergency measures to reduce speed limits. 20’s Plenty for Us support their urgent requests for 20mph limits in built up areas to help the NHS and economy by saving hospital beds and resources[1].
[1] http://www.20splenty.org/covid-19_and_lower_speeds
Continue reading
20mph and 30km/h limits mandated by Global Ministers
Global Road Safety Experts and Ministers from 130 countries adopted the “Stockholm Declaration” at a road safety conference on 20th February. It requires 30km/h (20mph) limits where vulnerable road users and vehicles mix - for safety, air quality and climate action.
Continue reading
20mph/30kmh limits to be mandated by Global Ministers
Ministers from around the world meet to adopt the “Stockholm Declaration” at a conference[1] in February which includes commitment to 30kmh (20mph) speed limits where vulnerable road users and vehicles mix.
[1] https://www.roadsafetysweden.com/
Continue reading
20’s Plenty for Chester and Richmond Groups Win 20mph Campaign Awards
20’s Plenty for Chester and Richmond groups have both won National 20’s Plenty Campaign Awards for 2019. Each did exceptional voluntary work with perseverance and success.
Continue reading
Attend A Future-Focused 20mph Conference: 31 October 2019 Waltham Forest - 20’s Plenty for the 2020’s
20mph limits are spreading. 21M people in the UK live where wide area 20mph is agreed. Experts will gather on 31st October in Waltham Forest Town Hall, London to consider the future of built up area mobility and how 20mph limits affect accessibility, risk and sustainability. Come and learn about, and contribute to, positive change.
Continue reading
Leading Charities’ Call for 20mph Default Speed Limit
A group of ten leading transport and active travel charities call on the UK Government to introduce a default 20mph speed limit in England. 20mph limits are the foundation for lower road casualties, getting more people walking and cycling and improving social justice but once again are being largely overlooked by the Department for Transport.
Continue reading
Lacking National Vision: Scottish Parliament 20mph Vote
Mark Ruskell’s ground-breaking private members bill to set a 20mph limit for most residential roads today gained support from Scottish Greens and Labour but was vetoed by SNP, Scottish Tories and LibDem SMPs. Responding to this regressive vote, campaigners are renewing urgent calls to set 20mph limits as the standard in Scottish communities!
Continue reading
TfL Consulting on 20mph Limits for Central London
Transport for London’s (TfL) current consultation on 20mph limits[1] heralds a concerted bid to reduce speeds across the capital. It includes a range of measures to increase driver compliance. Support the consultation by 10 July.
[1] https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/streets/20/consultation/
Continue reading
20’s Plenty for Us response to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee (RECC) stage 1 report on the Restricted Roads (20 mph speed limit) (Scotland) Bill
20’s Plenty are dismayed with the RECC report[1]. The views are illogical, innumerate and deeply flawed. They show a shocking disregard for protecting the lives of vulnerable road users and promoting active travel.
[1] https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/Committees/Report/REC/2019/5/31/Stage-1-Report-on-the-Restricted-Roads--20-mph-Speed-Limit---Scotland--Bill
Continue reading
Bristol’s 20mph Limits: Massive Success Confirmed by Review
Bristol’s review on the future of its 20mph limits shows huge public approval and cost savings, confirming its massive success. 20mph works.
Continue reading
First Minister of Wales makes historic announcement of plans to implement default 20mph limits for residential areas in Wales
First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, today made a historic announcement that “The Welsh government believes that 20mph zones should be the default speed limit for residential areas. The Deputy Transport Minister, together with the Welsh Local Government Association, is taking forward work to identify the practical actions needed to implement 20mph speed limits in residential areas across Wales”[1].
[1] https://vimeo.com/334682259
Continue reading
20's Plenty Submission to Parliamentary Transport Committee
The UK's Parliamentary Transport Committee has launched an inquiry into road safety. The scope of the inquiry is :-
"The Transport Committee is concerned that progress increasing levels of road safety has levelled off and is launching an inquiry to scrutinise the Government’s approach to road safety, last set out in its 2015 road safety statement. The inquiry will investigate which changes would be most effective at reducing the number and severity of road traffic accidents."
We submitted evidence to the committee on how a default 20mph urban and village speed limit would have a considerable positive effect on road safety. Our submission follows.
Continue reading
Scotland’s aspiration for more liveable communities via 20mph limits is ideally timed to benefit from new speed limited vehicles
Recent changes to vehicle specifications applicable from 2022 have ramped up expected returns and effectiveness from the Safer Streets 20mph Scotland Bill being considered by MSPs. Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) have already heard that a national limit is extremely cost-effective. At £10m for 2 years – (only 0.75% of Government transport funds), it pays back in year one. New speed limiting laws make it even more cost beneficial.
Continue reading
Speed Limiters Mandatory for New Cars: 20mph Self Enforced
In-car speed limiters stop drivers speeding. Whilst some vehicles have them as an optional extra, the EU plans to make in-car fail safes compulsory on all new vehicles from 2022[1]. Crashes will fall. Though they can be overridden, once widely used, limiters could largely replace education, engineering and enforcement further reducing societal costs. Wide-area 20mph and limiters revolutionise road safety.
[1] https://etsc.eu/meps-back-life-saving-vehicle-safety-standards-in-key-vote/
Continue reading
Scottish leaders should prioritise local streets
20mph Scotland Poll 72% Support. Policy costs 0.75% of transport budget for 2 years. Leaders should prioritise local streets.
Public opinion is for 20mph - 72% and rising. Scotland’s elected leader– Nicola Sturgeon should back a national change to 20mph. The cost is £10m for 2 years – only 0.75% of the total transport budget. Reducing road danger is like seatbelt and smoking ban laws. On 20mph we need leaders who will lead and make national changes!
Continue reading
How the DfT report enables Local Authorities to implement Wide Area 20mph Limits
Jesse Norman MP, the Minister for Transport has written to Councils saying the “WS Atkins report confirms public support for 20mph”. Many Local Authorities are now reviewing 20mph policies and re-interpreting DfT guidance.
Continue reading
DfT 20mph Evaluation – Liveable streets road block or foundation for a national 20mph limit
Back in 2014 the question for the government and DfT was whether 20mph limits were popular, are they the correct limit and should there be more of them. But the more we look at how the whole 20mph movement has developed we see that these questions have already been answered for us.
Continue reading
DfT 20mph Evaluation - Reviewed by 20's Plenty
20’s Plenty for Us welcomes the publication of the long-awaited DfT Evaluation of 20mph limits. It confirms the public support and acceptance of 20mph limits but has failed to meet the original DfT objectives or provide increased evidence on how to make our streets safer.
Continue reading
Government publishes 20mph evaluation report
Today the government published its long awaited report evaluating 20mph limit implementations. We welcome the report. It has been a long time coming since 2014 when it was commissioned.
And in that time there have been nearly half a million casualties on streets with a 30mph limit.
The report only evaluated a small number of case studies which in themselves only covered part of an authority. There are some useful indicators in the report, particularly around the negative aspects of police failing to routinely enforce 20mph limits and the need for national engagement and awareness on the benefits of reducing speeds below 30mph in residential and other roads.
However, we have major reservations about the primary data used in the report around speed reductions and the complete failure of the study to look at sufficient casualty figures to be able to draw any conclusions that would be statistically credible. These were key reasons for the commissioning of the report and we are amazed at the choice of data measured which appears to be based on measuring what is available rather than what is meaningful.
Continue reading
Call for 20mph Limits This Halloween As Fast Drivers are Scary!
20’s Plenty for Us calls for 20mph default speed limits for built up areas. It’s Halloween and children and parents say fast traffic is what scares them! Road death is the number one killer of our children so reduce the danger with slower speeds.
Continue reading
Kent Campaigner Adrian Berendt Wins National 20mph Award
Adrian Berendt from Tunbridge Wells has won the National 20’s Plenty Campaigner of the Year Award for his outstanding voluntary work and commitment to bringing 20mph limits to Kent.
Continue reading
Wales Conference Voxpops
Here are the 60 second videos we recorded at our 20's Plenty for Wales Conference from presenters and delegates.
Note that this page may take a while to load.
Continue reading
20’s Plenty for Wales – 20mph Conference Report: #20Wales
A sell out conference of 100 delegates met in Cardiff to share best practice on how to make streets healthier in Wales by reducing road risk at source through 20mph limits with a focus on 20mph as a national urban default.
Click on each presenter to open their presentation or 60 second voxpop
Continue reading
20mph for Wales as a National Speed Limit
People want 20mph streets. Fortunately, 20mph limits are affordable and do-able. What’s the best method? The Welsh Government can lead with a 20mph default for built up areas. This is a cost-effective win-win all round – eg for the legal process, consultation, signage, engagement, higher compliance and enforcement.
Continue reading
Institute of Welsh Affairs calls for national 20mph urban default
The Institute of Welsh Affairs in its recent report on “Decarbonising Transport in Wales”[1] has called for a default 20mph urban limit as a key recommendation to enable Wales to meet its projected energy demands entirely by 2035.
[1] http://www.iwa.wales/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/IWA_Decarbonising_Transport-1.pdf
Continue reading
400th 20's Plenty Local Campaign Group forms in Strathblane
20’s Plenty for Us is now 400 campaign branches strong and UK-wide. Strathblane, Stirlingshire is the latest place where volunteers are being supported by the national 20mph campaign group lobbying for safer, better streets.
Continue reading
20’s Plenty for Wales as annual conference comes to Cardiff
The 9th annual 20’s Plenty conference is to be held in Cardiff on October 2nd 2018 with a Welsh perspective on 20mph limits. Hosted by Cardiff City Council and 20’s Plenty for Us it focuses on how 20mph limits support health and well-being.
Continue reading
Focus on 20mph as TfL launches its Vision Zero action plan for London
A much wider use of 20mph limits and a raft of measures to increase compliance are at the heart of a bold plan from Transport for London to reduce serious and fatal casualties in London to zero by 2041. The vital role that lower vehicle speeds can play is underscored as TfL calls on the UK government to amend the standard urban speed limit to 20mph.
Continue reading
Local Authorities could enforce 20mph limits
By collaborating with their police force, local authorities could institute public prosecutions for non-compliance with 20mph limits to transform community streets.
Continue reading
Calderdale’s Transport and Public Health Initiative for 20mph Streets Saw 30% Fewer Casualties
51 fewer people suffered road trauma after Calderdale’s highly successful wide area 20mph limit project was implemented. A popular and well-coordinated wide area 20mph limit implementation will have prevented 30-40% of casualties over three years. 20’s Plenty congratulate this triumph of safer community streets.
Continue reading
Leeds Agrees and Fast Tracks its 20mph Roll-Out
Leeds City Council have agreed that 20’s Plenty with signed 20mph. Campaigners are celebrating this win to civilise home streets. 20’s Plenty for Leeds call for driver engagement for behavior change. Also for city centre 20mph limits near shops.
Continue reading
OECD calls for 20mph limits in built-up areas
The International Transport Forum group of the OECD has just published its report on “Speed and Crash Risk” and has called for 30km/h (20mph) speed limits in built up areas where there is a mix of vulnerable road users and motor vehicles.
Continue reading
Bristol’s 20mph limits have led to valuable reductions in speed and casualties, and benefit active travel
The University of the West of England (UWE) has analysed the impact of 20mph roll-outs for Bristol City Council. It finds reductions of 2.7mph in average traffic speeds and an estimated cost saving of over £15m per year from fatal, serious and slight injuries avoided.
Continue reading
Global 'Light of Hope' Award for 20's Plenty founder from Irish Road Victims Assocaition
Rod King MBE, Founder of 20’s Plenty for Us has been recognized by the Irish Road Victims Association (IRVA)[1]. He won the IRVA’s Global ‘Light of Hope’ Award 2017 in Mullingar, Ireland on 19th November, the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. Rod King has voluntarily campaigned for 20mph/30km/h road speed limits since 2005.
Picture: via IRVA - Donna Price, Founder and Chairperson, presenting award. www.irva.ie
[1] http://www.irva.ie/world-day-of-remembrance
Continue reading
UK needs a new "national" speed limit
Far from having a “national” urban speed limit of 30mph, this has been rejected by local authorities for a quarter of the UK population. All but two Inner London Boroughs and over half of the UK’s largest urban authorities now have a 20mph limit for most roads. Rather than just “recommending” 20mph limits the government should set a national 20mph limit and permit local authorities to justify any higher limits.
Continue reading
20mph Win in Sheffield
Sheffield city centre limits are to go 20mph. 20’s Plenty for Sheffield are celebrating another win. 30mph has been rejected in favour of 20mph as best practice. Campaigners are calling for a full driver engagement plan for behaviour change for safer streets.
Continue reading
NICE Recommends 20mph limits Without Traffic Calming to Improve Air Quality
NICE recommends urban speed reduction for better air quality. NICE guidance says 20mph limits without physical measures in urban areas help “avoid unnecessary acceleration and deceleration”.
Continue reading
IAM are not so RoadSmart in their interpretation of the latest DFT report on speed limit compliance on 20mph roads
The annual report on speed limit compliance from the DfT has been seized upon by IAM RoadSmart as evidence of the public being “confused” about 20mph limits. In fact the roads in the report are atypical of most 20mph roads and even then show increasing compliance on these roads.
Continue reading
WHO adds its voice to evidence that 20mph limits are required for authorities to meet “duty of care” responsibilities
The World Health Organization’s call for 30km/h (20mph) limits as best practice where motorised traffic mixes with pedestrians and cyclists confirms the evidence that a 30mph limit permits speeds which are not consistent with the Common Law duty of councils to protect people when creating, designing or maintaining highways.
Continue reading
Scottish 20mph Default Limit Could Save £56M pa
£56M pa is the estimated value of preventing casualties on Scottish 30mph urban roads by lowering the limit to 20mph. 20’s Plenty for Us calculate that a 20mph default limit on Scottish roads would prevent 7 deaths, 123 serious and 812 slight casualties pa.
Continue reading
Public Health Research Shows a 20mph Default Speed Limit Could Save £58-£94M in Wales
“Road traffic injuries, air pollution and obesity are an inter-related, interdependent triad. The challenge facing public health is identifying robust interventions with positive effects on all three”[1]. Public Health Wales researchers have quantified the benefits of default 20 mph limits and say it is “the solution”1 to increasing public health problems.
[1] Reproduced from The Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, Twenty miles per hour speed limits: a sustainable solution to public health problems in Wales, Sarah J Jones, Huw Brunt, Mar 23, 2017, with permission from BMJ Publishing Group Ltd http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2017/03/23/jech-2016-208859.full
Continue reading
Norwich and West Dunbartonshire Councils vote for Default 20mph
Norwich and West Dunbartonshire Councils have voted for a 20mph default speed limit. 20’s Plenty for Us is delighted to add them to the growing list of 50+ places adopting 20mph. 20mph protects everyone from avoidable harm by reducing road risk and increasing air quality and exercise levels. 17m people live in places committed to 20mph.
Continue reading
Manchester Found Casualties Falling in its 20mph Areas
Manchester reported on their first 20mph limits. It resolved to complete Phase 2 of the 20 mph programme, continue supporting phases 1 and 2 of the 20mph scheme and monitor and review data to increase its understanding. It incorrectly compared % falls for small number samples in already safer than average areas versus citywide.
Continue reading
World Health Organization Choose 20’s Plenty for Us to Work on a Slow Down Day Toolkit
The World Health Organization (WHO) have chosen 20’s Plenty for Us to write an action toolkit for the United Nations’ (UN) call for slower road speeds. Slow Down Days will run in mid May globally. This is a world class recognition of 20’s Plenty’s expertise in helping community volunteers with speed management activism.
Continue reading