Clocks go back Sunday 25 October meaning darker nights. Sunset will be from 4.45pm and nightfall from 6pm.  20mph limits widen drivers’ fields of vision. This helps see hazards and take avoiding action earlier. Drivers can stop in half the distance compared to 30mph. 20mph reduces the kinetic energy with fewer deaths or life changing injuries.

School banners measure 2m * 0.6m and come with eyelets. They are made from 210gsm polyester fabric which can be washed and recycled.  They can be used anywhere. but designed specifically for use outside your school, highlighting how driver can enable children to be able to walk or cycle to school safely.

Banners cost £45 each plus £10 p&p. To purchase 1, 2 or 3 banners, click on the £55, £90 or £135 buttons and allow 5 working days for us to send them to you. If you want more than 3 banners, or you need delivery outside the UK please contact us.

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.

Children used to roam further than now. There’s COVID yes, but they still need to go places alone. Traffic fear is key.  Wide 20mph limits enable kids to get out - to relatives, friends, parks, shops, play, walk, scoot and cycle.  Confident, sociable, independent, healthy, active travel habits form on safer streets. Obesity, anxiety and loneliness reduce.  Families lead better lives. They say “it takes a village to raise a child” – and that’s so much better with a 20mph limit.

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 15^th July 2020.

Organising a 20mph campaign at county council level has many advantages. Our new email a decision maker facility will  work best when communities across an authority work together. There’s power in numbers and especially in focussing on updating policy rather than competing to be a 20mph exception in an otherwise 30mph county.

With less traffic on our roads recently, local authorities have been instructed by the Department for Transport to re-allocate road space for walking and cycling – but it’s unclear how long these schemes will last. Worryingly, there is also evidence to suggest that speeding is on the increase on less congested roads. Many local authorities are considering implementing 20mph limits to enable citizens to use streets, roads and public space safely.

There are also calls for a national default 20mph limit from doctors and many local authorities. The Welsh Government has announced a plan to change its national default urban limit to 20mph. The UK government recently signed the Stockholm Declaration resolving to set 30km/h (20mph) limits as a default where cyclists and pedestrians mix with motors.

This free webinar was held on Thursday 25th June, organised by Landor Links, and explored:

• How national 20mph limits could be implemented
• Health perspectives: road casualties and understanding the load on the NHS
• How to actively consider roads for 30mph suitability
• Setting default 20mph limits across cities and regions
• Communication, information and enforcement
• Consultation and feedback: community views of 20mph limits
• Current and future funding opportunities: signing, lining and traffic calming measures
• Motorists’ behaviour change opportunities
• What’s happening across the world
• The role of Intelligent Speed Assistance (speed limiters), mandatory on all new car models from 2022

Watch the webinar

Since launching our campaign on April 9th in support of doctors calling for an emergency default 20mph urban speed limit we have had a number of communications with MPs. ministers and DfT officials. This provides a useful insight into the thinking of the government and its attitude to speed limits. The emails and letters are provided along with our responses.

UK and global progress in adopting 20mph limits is evident in transport recovery responses to social distancing pressures. Politicians are increasingly aware of the scarcity of space to move safely. Slower roads help keep people apart as business reopens.

Our moral compass and true direction is set by our values. An urban/village 20mph default limit aligns with what’s truly valuable – assisting the reduction of COVID-19 infection rates, lower emissions, fairness, social justice, protecting the vulnerable, health equality, child development and independence for the elderly and disabled. A national 20mph limit is a smart way to promote key, universally agreed aspirations for a better society long term, especially now road space is scarce.

It is important that our communities get that correct 20mph limit on our residential streets, our  shopping streets, around our schools, and anywhere that we expect pedestrians and cyclists to mix with motor vehicles. Your authority can already set 20mph limits on most of your urban and village roads.

Remind the decision makers in your local authority that our communities need to join the many in the UK where the consensus is that 20's Plenty where people are, and have authority-wide default 20mph limits.

The Covid-19 Crisis is putting a huge load on our health and transport systems. As lock-down eases we can expect to see a massive increase in driving, cycling and walking. At the same time social distancing demands that people keep further apart when walking and cycling. Whilst local authorities can make some highway changes the government can take emergency action to reduce the national urban speed limit to 20mph to give everyone more time to avoid collisions and casualties. It has changed national speed limits in times of crisis before. Add your voice to asking MPs to do so again.

Keeping 2m from others reduces COVID-19 spread. 20mph limits help. Lower speeds provide greater safety when passing cyclists and pedestrians and enables ‘pop up’ pavement or cycle lane widenings to work better. 20mph limits raise cycling and walking rates and reduce car use very cost effectively, population-wide across an urban network.

Elected county or city councillors (in Unitary Local Authorities) have powers to set speed limits. Not MPs, district or parish councillors. Campaign targets are mainly the top (cabinet level) councillors. They have budget control/money. Officers eg highways employees do not set or update policy. Aim to update policy through councillors.

So You Want …Social Distance?
Posted by Rod King · May 09, 2020 12:00 PM · 1 reaction

Space Reallocation & Lower Speed Responses to Covid-19
Posted by Rod King · April 24, 2020 7:29 PM · 1 reaction

We all need more space – 2m for safe social distancing during Covid-19. Leading cities are now delivering more room for access on feet and slower speeds for reasons of public health, fewer casualties, to help us breathe, exercise and mitigate car use. If people begin to avoid public transport in our cities then, unless walking or cycling is chosen rather than driving, urban areas may grind to a halt in a polluted traffic jam as travel bans begin to be lifted. 20mph and 30km/h limits are valuable, key tools for accessibility, lung health and economic recovery.

The Coronavirus pandemic has seen unprecedented changes to London streets and roads with a huge reduction in the number of journeys that people make as Londoners stick to the instruction to stay at home. While the largest falls have come in the use of public transport (tube use is down by 95% and bus use by more than 90% to 13^th April), falls of more than 75% have been recorded in traffic volumes and the emptier and quieter streets (and even birdsong!) are instantly recognisable to anyone living in the capital at the moment.

Here are some of the other NGOs and organisations that are joining our support for the doctors in their call for an emergency national 20mph urban limit. If you would like to add a comment in support then please email us  at [email protected] 

	Rachel White, Head of Public Affairs “We strongly support this campaign to reduce the default speed limit to 20mph in urban areas during the Covid-19 crisis. The majority of pedestrian and cycling injuries occur in built-up areas as a result of collisions with motor vehicles. And higher speed limits increase the chance of incidents and the severity of injuries from a collision."“Implementing a 20mph Emergency National Urban Limit will take pressure off the NHS during this time of crisis by preventing avoidable collisions, and will improve road safety for those who need to make essential journeys. We're hopeful that the benefits of lower speed limits will be realised during this time, and 20mph will remain the default long after this crisis is over."
	Alice Roberts, Head of Green Space Campaigns "20mph speed limits are vital alongside measures to reduce traffic and car dominance to make sure people can live safe, pollution-free, active lives"
	David Harrison, Vice Chair London Living Streets "London's streets are very different places from just a few weeks ago. We have fewer vehicles, some travelling much faster than before, and many more people either heading to the shops every day often on foot or cycling or taking their daily exercise and trying to stay carefully distanced from others. Often this means they have to step into the road to avoid others or they are walking and cycling in the road sometimes with children many of whom are scooting or cycling. In this environment it is vital that drivers play their part by moving slowly so as to keep others safe and free from intimidation.London Living Streets wholeheartedy supports our doctors' calls for an emergency urban speed limit of 20mph to keep everyone using the roads as safe as possible at this time."
	Emma Griffin, Founder Action Vision Zero" Action Vision Zero has been appalled at the way a minority of drivers have taken advantage of the emptier streets to drive at high speed. There are numerous reports of high speeds recorded not only on arterial roads but also in busy urban streets where people are increasingly reliant on walking and cycling to get shopping and for daily exercise. It is vital that we do not increase the burden on the NHS with preventable road crashes and doctors are right to point out that lowering the urban speed limit to 20mph is one action that the UK Government can take immediately. Please listen to the medics' calls and take this action as a matter of urgency."
	Victoria Lebrec, Campaign Coordinator for RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims "Increased speed makes a crash more likely to happen, and also increases the severity of a crash. Whilst less vehicles are on the  roads, traffic police in urban areas have reported seeing a significant increase in speeds. This comes at a time when key workers are walking and cycling as an alternative to public transport, and the NHS is already stretched as it readies itself to deal with the COVID-19 peak. Lowering the speed limit is crucial in order to minimise death and serious injury. Not only to prevent the tragedies they inherently are, but also so that no extra pressure is added to the health service at this time of crisis. Being seriously injured at this time inevitably means care will not be as it normally would, resources are detracted from dealing with the pandemic, and the victim runs the risk of contracting COVID-19."
	Josh Harris, Director of Campaigns “Alongside our friends at 20’s Plenty, Brake has long called for the national default urban limit to be reduced to 20mph – it’s the only safe speed for places where people are in close proximity to motor traffic. COVID-19 has altered the landscape of our communities and we’re seeing less motor traffic and more people walking and cycling on roads, getting daily exercise and adhering to social distancing. These are positive developments, giving us a glimpse of a safer and healthier future, but with disturbing reports of increased speeding, and a renewed impetus to ease the burden on our stretched emergency services and NHS, we need to do more to reduce road collisions. 20mph limits are a simple way to make our communities safer and healthier and so we support the emergency 20mph national urban limit but believe safe limits should be for life, not just for lockdown.”
	Jenni Wiggle, Interim CEO, Living Streets "Social distancing is an essential part of the COVID-19 response. However, keeping two metres apart on narrow and obstructed footpaths isn't easy and inevitably leads to people walking on the carriageway. There are fewer vehicles on our roads now that people are being encouraged to only take vital journeys. However, this has resulted in a minority of drivers taking advantage of lighter traffic to speed. A move to a national limit of 20mph would not only increase road safety, but would make it easier for drivers to anticipate and respond to people in the road."
	Tom Bogdanowicz, Senior Policy and Development Officer, London Cycling Campaign "20mph has long been recommended by public health bodies for urban areas, as such a limit reduces air pollution and dangerous driving. We join the call to urgently implement a default 20mph urban speed limit during this crisis, particularly because so many keyworkers are now cycling to work, and many people are forced to keep their distance from others by using the carriageway, yet, sadly, some drivers are clocking up dangerous speeds resulting in unnecessary road anger to others. Reducing road danger and unnecessary driving are vital all the time, but particularly during this pandemic."
	Alice Ferguson, Co-Director, Playing Out "Playing Out supports the call for a default 20mph limit on residential streets. Children need to be able to play out where they live, for their health and wellbeing and to feel part of their community. The main barrier to this is danger from traffic - we know that where streets are safe, children can and do play out freely. A 20mph default limit - ideally accompanied by physical measures and enforcement - is a good baseline for creating safe, liveable streets for children and communities."

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.

Councillors set local road speed limits whereas MPs set them nationally. Please write urgently to your Councillors calling for 20’s Plenty for the NHS.  Health services face their greatest ever challenge from this pandemic.  Every crash victim fewer frees up capacity for Covid-19.  Empower local politicians. Example letter below. Circulate it to your elists and social media.