20 MPH Limits - what's your thoughts ?

[cougie uk]

I think it is absolutely stupid. I agree with 20 mph near hospitals and schools but not all over towns.

What is the logic here ?

Kids are only ever near schools ? Sick and elderly people only ever in hospital ?

If you agree that you should slow down near these places - surely you should slow on roads where the kids and elderly live ?

 

[Gunk]

The road beside our house has just dropped last week from a 30 to a 20. Good news is that the yoofs in their decatted BMW 140i’s are now only doing 50 instead of 60

 

[DRM]

20 MPH areas are all over housing estates in Leeds, yet nobody enforces them, my work van is tracked so if the limit is 20 MPH, that’s as fast as it goes, on one road near my house there’s a bend in the road, with a T Junction on the right, a school on the left, and speed bumps, every morning I’m tailgated along there, and even had people overtake on the Bend it’s utter madness, on the bike coming home going the opposite direction I can easily attain 25 mph on the slight downhill gradient, yet still get passed by cars, there’s no hope

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

Lots of 20mph roads round here and they cover the majority of my commute. Most oblig by lowering their speed and I can keep up with wha little traffic there is.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Can be good in most places but they have to be policed. There is a 20mph limit on the street which runs in front of my house and some other streets near here.
It appears most seem to read it upside down and 50 is nearer the norm in some cases.
Nobody has ever been prosecuted for exceeding 20mph here so far as I know.

Same here: plenty of streets with 20 mph sped limit, but none observes it.
Even in my housing scheme one needs to be careful to cross to get to the shops!

 

[Drago]

I think it is absolutely stupid. I agree with 20 mph near hospitals and schools

Are humans beings in or around other buildings any less worthy of a safe, pleasant, less polluted environment? Why should those in or around houses or churches be treated with any less consideration?

 

[classic33]

I know of one ex special, who feels it's his right to go as fast as he wants, when he wants, where he wants.
His police pursuit training has equipped him to deal with any conditions he'll meet on the road.

The local council also put in place undersized speed signs(they were the cheapest option), meaning the 20mph zones now in place can't be enforced by the police.

 

[berty bassett]

To be honest wouldn’t it be easy just to fit a device to a car to regulate speed to the area speed limit - problem solved ! Now just to fit a device to peds as well to do predictable things and life is a good one

 

[Drago]

I know of one ex special, who feels it's his right to go as fast as he wants, when he wants, where he wants.
His police pursuit training has equipped him to deal with any conditions he'll meet on the road.

The local council also put in place undersized speed signs(they were the cheapest option), meaning the 20mph zones now in place can't be enforced by the police.

He's bullpoising you. Of he's a special one almost certainly won't be a response and pursuit trained driver for 2 reasons...

1. There aren't enough courses to train all the full time bobbies. And...

2. It's a 3 1/2 week course of 8 to 10 hour days. Not many employers will give their staff a month off work for that.

I all my years across two farces I only know of one, and he's retired RPU who stayed on as a special when he retired.

Conversely, I am a Class 1 driver (I did my course in 2001, a year before it was renamed advanced) and drive scrupulously to the limit, taking care with my positioning and scrupulously practicing my drills. I'm the bloke doing 30 that you ex special chum feels aggrieved about being stuck behind.

 

[classic33]

He's bullpoising you. Of he's a special one almost certainly won't be a response and pursuit trained driver for 2 reasons...

1. There aren't enough courses to train all the full time bobbies. And...

2. It's a 3 1/2 week course of 8 to 10 hour days. Not many employers will give their staff a month off work for that.

I all my years across two farces I only know of one, and he's retired RPU who stayed on as a special when he retired.

Conversely, I am a Class 1 driver (I did my course in 2001, a year before it was renamed advanced) and drive scrupulously to the limit, taking care with my positioning and scrupulously practicing my drills. I'm the bloke doing 30 that you ex special chum feels aggrieved about being stuck behind.

I don't believe he is pursuit trained.
But, it's his attitude of going as fast as he wants, when and where that's annoying. Falling back on being pursuit trained to justify his needs.

He's not my chum either. Just another danger on the roads, often driving beyond his abilities.

 

[Alex321]

I thought it was a legal requirement & that they still did/do across the whole of the UK, I agree with the 20mph & would like to see it applied AND enforced in our village, my only erk is that currently neither of my cruise controls cannot be enabled under 30mph.

There has never been a legal requirement for them to publish location/times of speed cameras.

What there has been (and still is) is a requirement as part of the rules of the "safety camera partnerships" that they publish them. So if they want to keep the money from fines, they have to publish where & when they will be operating.;

 

[Gwylan]

From 17th September, all 30 mph Welsh roads will become 20 mph limits. Some English authorities have similar schemes. Whilst this is very welcome from a road safety point of view, what are your thoughts ?

One point I noticed from a trip we did to Cardigan last year from North Wales was that progress for the last 30-40 miles was very slow, as most of the villages along the coastal route had 20mph limits already - it took a lot longer than I'd estimated for those last few miles - ah we'll be there in an hour, nope it was two.

My other worry is we, as cyclists, will be mixing it a bit more in traffic, not talking about busy routes, or during the commute for which we are in the traffic or passing, but we'll be catching cars up more and generally mixing it on more open roads (assuming they stick to the speed limit).

I certainly welcome it though.

We have 20 painted on the roads. Doesn't make any difference though. Never seen it being enforced. Unless the breeding potholes are a conscious effort to slow traffic.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

There has never been a legal requirement for them to publish location/times of speed cameras.

What there has been (and still is) is a requirement as part of the rules of the "safety camera partnerships" that they publish them. So if they want to keep the money from fines, they have to publish where & when they will be operating.;

So they have a legal obligation to advertise where they are going to be parked, but it's not illegal for them not to do that, thanks for the clarification.

 

[figbat]

Mrs D's EV makes a noise like a Star Trek transporter.

Only at slow speeds.

 

[DRM]

Meanwhile in France it seems every City, town, or village centre is 30 Km/h, as near as 20 mph as makes no difference, yet they comply with it, perhaps it's the large speed bumps that resemble a plateau that does it, but speed limits in general seem to have reduced seems maximum is now 80 km/h, sometimes down to 70 Km/h, then 50 or 30 Km/h in built up areas, Autoroutes are the same with 130 Km/h in good weather 110/ Km/h in rain, no one seems to need to be going everywhere at 100 Km/h or more