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I understand that the national limit for streets in most cities, towns and villages will change from 30mph to 20mph. Can local authorities set exceptions where the speed limit will remain at 30mph? 

The Welsh Government has published its own Frequently Asked Questions, but here we detail some of the most common questions we are asked and our answers.

If you have a particular question that you would like answered then please email [email protected]

Open letter supporting 20mph
Posted by Adrian Berendt · September 25, 2023 12:24 PM · 1 reaction

Critique of the anti-20mph Senedd petition
Posted by Rod King · June 27, 2023 10:44 AM · 1 reaction

Millions of people will benefit from the Welsh 20mph limit from Sept 2023
Posted by Rod King · March 31, 2023 3:56 PM · 2 reactions

New data from Transport for London echoes what 20’s Plenty have been finding in recent 20mph implementations - that speed reductions on major and faster roads are resulting in substantial reductions in speeds and casualties for vulnerable road user casualties. TfL has just published research into the impact of the introduction of 20mph limits across a range of sites on the roads that it controls (typically London's arterial roads - the "Red Routes") which shows that, after speed limits were lowered, collisions involving a vulnerable road user have decreased by 36% (from 453 to 290), while collisions resulting in death or serious injury have decreased by 25% (from 94 to 71). The number of collisions involving people walking have decreased by 63% (from 124 to 46).

Reducing peak road speeds where people are saves energy and significant cash. New research from Future Transport shows fuel efficiency peaks with speed capped at 20mph. This “real life” model factors in stop/start urban traffic. Less acceleration saves precious resources as over twice as much energy is required to get to 30mph. Drivers get up to 10p per mile fuel saving without trips taking longer. That's a 30% saving in urban fuel costs.

Welcome to our web pages about the new national 20mph default speed limit for cities, towns and villages in Wales, which became effective on 17th September 2023.

Wales has joined the many countries where 20mph or 30km/h limits are becoming the norm for urban and village streets. Unlike the street-by-street approach in the rest of the UK, Wales is taking the smart route of setting 20mph as the national urban/village default with exceptions decided by local authorities. It has all the benefits of a national and consistent standard combined with local flexibility.

The Welsh Government have dedicated 20mph pages on their website.

If you have suggestions as to how the information can be improved then please email [email protected].

It’s been a year of great progress through 2022 for 20’s Plenty. That has been not only in campaigning but in new implementations. And the global adoption of 30km/h and 20mph limits is increasing alongside the UK. Please follow the links to more information and inspiration.

20's Plenty for Us celebrates its 15 year anniversary after forming in 2007.

A new report highlights that how implementing 20mph over a small area in Belfast where speeds are already below 20mph is far inferior to the established experience from city-wide schemes that reduce speed and casualties significantly. Hence this report gives little insight into the success of setting 20mph as an urban/village norm other than showing how not to implement it.

The implementation in Belfast was on just 76 streets in the city-centre on which the average vehicle speed was well below 20mph. Of these 76 streets, 27 were already fully or partially pedestrianised. At the same time other travel initiatives included the introduction of a rapid transit system and extension of the city-centre bus lane provision. There was also little community engagement or marketing of the 20mph scheme.

Such an isolated and small implementation which keeps 30mph as a norm on all the other streets in the centre was always going to result in little change and this report confirms this. In fact other reports which compared Belfast with Edinburgh and its city-wide 20mph scheme show just how more effective 20mph schemes are when implemented city-wide.

20’s Plenty 13^th Annual Conference delegates hear how 20mph is becoming the new normal

Over 100 delegates from across the UK heard how 20mph is becoming the new normal where people live, work and play.  Co-hosted by Landor Links and Oxfordshire County Council, the event was chaired by Debra Sims (Past President Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation). Academics, industry experts and campaigners shared news of national progress, local wins and the latest research on how wide area 20mph limits improve quality of life and public health.

During the conference intervals we gave presenters and delegates the opportunity to say a few words on what they thought would be the benefits of 20mph limits as a norm. These provide a great insight into how 20mph as a default urban and village limit is becoming the norm across the UK.

Presenters

Delegates

Spain's Minister of the Interior has presented the consolidated data on road accidents for 2021 in Toledo to value the work carried out by municipalities in terms of road safety

In 2021, 417 people died on urban roads, 102 fewer fatalities than in 2019, a reduction in mortality of 20 percent in a single year unprecedented in the historical series

Grande-Marlaska: “When explaining this significant reduction in road mortality in our cities last year, I want to remember that on May 11, 2021, the speed limit of only 30 kilometers per hour on city streets came into effect. one lane in each direction of travel

The decrease in deaths in cities has been reflected in vulnerable users with a 34% reduction in cyclists, 31% in deaths over 64 years of age, 26% in pedestrians and 17% in motorcyclists

The Restricted Roads (20 mph Speed Limit) (Wales) Order 2022 - Questions and Answers

What is it?

This order requires approval by Senedd Cymru (Welsh Government) and changes the speed limit for restricted roads (those with lighting at intervals of not more than 200yds) from 30mph to 20mph. This order would become effective 17^th September 2023. It was debated in Senedd on 12^th July 2022 and passed 39 votes to 15.

The presidency of the ITF[0] rotates amongst its 64 member countries and is being transferred to UK near the start of the UN Decade of Action on Road Safety 2021-2030. This is a unique opportunity for UK Secretary of State, Grant Shapps to provide leadership and #CommitToAct by reducing the national urban speed limit to 20mph, a proven road safety initiative that could save millions of lives if adopted worldwide. This is a key call of the ITF and others to set 30km/h and 20mph limits wherever motors mix with people.

Europe Call to Action from the Global Alliance of Road Safety NGOs

An Urgent Call to Action for Europe

Rationale

Each year, the world suffers 1.3 million preventable deaths and an estimated 50 million injuries from road crashes^[1]. Without serious action, road crashes will cause an estimated 13–17 million more deaths and 500 million more injuries in the current decade^[2].

UN Member States have adopted a resolution 74/299 Improving Global Road Safety^[3] and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (target 3.6)^[4] and are therefore mandated to reduce road deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030. We know what works to achieve this target: the actions needed are set out in the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030^[5].

Frameworks and targets have been set: it is time to act now.

Regional Context

Although the European region has the lowest regional rates of road traffic deaths (9.3 deaths per 100,000 people) in the world, people are still dying every year on the region’s roads. Across the region, road crashes kill more children and young people aged 5–29 than any other cause^[6]. In the European Union (EU), which accounts for 27 of the 53 countries in the region, progress toward reducing road deaths between 2011–2020 fell short of the 50% target^[7]. Even if we reach the updated target to reduce road deaths by 50% by 2030, this still means over 9.5 million road deaths over ten years.

Many countries in Europe are working toward their road safety targets with a variety of management systems, such as the Safe System approach and Vision Zero by 2050.The recent EU Mission Climate Neutral & Smart Cities^[8] target for 100 carbon neutral cities by 2030 adds further impetus for safe active mobility and public transportation to reduce our carbon footprint and make roads safer.

We must seize this window of opportunity to scale up action on road safety. By doing so, we will not only save lives and empower others to save lives, but also improve public health, stimulate economic growth, and promote environmental sustainability.

Regional systems and policies provide a framework to address road safety; European countries must fully commit to them and turn commitments into concrete actions.

Call to Action

We call on all governments in Europe to commit to act for people’s right to safe mobility and a 50% reduction in road deaths and injuries by 2030 through implementation of evidence-based interventions that put people at the center, protect our children and their right to life and education, safeguard the environment, and promote equality and inclusion.

Safe mobility is our right.

We demand:

• Evidence-based actions, with particular focus on the safety of those at greatest risk of harm on our roads, including children, pedestrians, and cyclists
  1. Prioritize the interventions that will achieve the 2030 target most quickly and effectively by:
     1. Implementing national laws mandating 30 km/h speed limits where people walk, live, and play;
     2. Encouraging and enforcing compliance to these speed limits, demonstrating the benefit of low-speed streets for people and planet;
     3. Addressing other key causes of road deaths and injuries in Europe, by reviewing legislation, such as blood-alcohol limits, aligned to WHO recommendations or better, and encouraging and enforcing compliance to existing regulations.
  2. Encourage people to choose walking, cycling, and public transportation by:
     1. Changing the way our roads, urban spaces, and public transport systems are designed and built, based on the needs of the children and adults that use them and making it safe, affordable, and accessible to shift from private motorized vehicles to active, sustainable modes of transport, including walking, cycling, and public transport;
     2. Reviewing and introducing regulation, based on international best practice, for safe use of new and emerging transport modes, such as e-scooters, that have potential to contribute beneficially to a shift to active and sustainable transport but must be safely integrated to protect users of these new transport modes and all other road users that they interact with;
     3. Harmonizing national legislation to regional mandates, such as EU Directives, and pushing for regional guidance where none currently exists, including use of e-scooters and other emerging modes of transport.
  3. Improve data collection and sharing system to improve policy implementation by:
     1. Establishing unified, comprehensive data systems that produce timely, reliable, accurate, well-categorized road safety data and the causes contributing to crash fatalities and serious injuries;
     2. Introducing key performance indicators (KPIs) for road safety data, defining a data collection program for this purpose, and making KPIs part of periodical monitoring activities.
  4. Provide comprehensive support systems for road crash victims and their families and guarantee their protection by:
     1. Ensuring crash victims’ and families’ rights to information and support through the post-crash period, as well as medical, rehabilitative, psychological, social, and judicial support, and, where appropriate, financial support and fair compensation;
     2. Mandating thorough investigations for crashes that result in serious and fatal injuries, including determining cause and detecting culpability. The data should be used to inform prevention strategies and ensure an effective judicial response for victims and their families;
     3. Ensuring effective deterrents, rigorous enforcement, and prosecution and sentencing of offenders as appropriate.

• Investment in road safety
  1. Allocate comprehensive funding for the full implementation of the above-mentioned actions and report on it annually;
  2. Create and report on innovative schemes to finance road safety interventions.

• NGO involvement in decision-making processes
  1. Establish clear mechanisms at national, regional, and city levels that include civil society organizations and facilitate NGOs to share their knowledge and expertise, in order to complement government’s work.

Our role and commitment

We, as civil society, have a role defined in the Global Plan. We commit to play our part in advocating for and enabling people’s rights to safe mobility and achieve a 50% reduction in road deaths and injuries by 2030.

We commit to:

• Stand up for people’s right to be safe on the roads

We empower people and communities. We show the reality of the roads they use and highlight the experiences of road victims and their loved ones who have been affected by crashes. We speak up on decisions that affect road safety.

• Use data and evidence to show what needs to be done

We amplify data, evidence, and best practices from around the world and we collect ground-level evidence that show the impact of safe and unsafe roads on people and communities.

• Hold our governments accountable for people’s right to be safe on the road and for the 2030 target

We keep road safety on the agenda until every person is guaranteed — through commitment and action — their right to safe mobility. We monitor progress and put a spotlight on action and inaction.

• Leverage regional platforms

We will leverage regional platforms to advocate for region-wide mandates, targets, and KPIs in both EU and non-EU European countries.

^[1] WHO. (2018). Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018. Geneva: World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241565684

^[2] WHO & UN Regional Commissions. (2021). Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/global-plan-for-the-decade-of-action-for-road-safety-2021-2030; Job, RFS. (2019). Development of a Safe System Approach, Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, 13 January 2019, Washington DC.

^[3] United Nations General Assembly. (2020). Resolution A/74/L86 Improving Global Road Safety. https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N20/226/30/PDF/N2022630.pdf?OpenElement   

^[4] United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2015). 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://sdgs.un.org/goals

^[5]WHO & UN Regional Commissions. (2021). Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/global-plan-for-the-decade-of-action-for-road-safety-2021-2030

^[6]WHO Regional Office for Europe. (Accessed 2022). Health topics>Environment and health>Transport and health>Data and statistics Injuries. https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/Transport-and-health/data-and-statistics/injuries2

^[7]European Commission. (2021). Road safety: 4,000 fewer people lost their lives on EU roads in 2020 as death rate falls to all-time low  https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_21_1767

^[8]European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. (2021). EU missions: 100 climate-neutral and smart cities, 2021, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/197915

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