20 MPH Limits - what's your thoughts ?

[figbat]

If it says 20 I do 20. If it annoys the driver behind that's their problem, not mine. If they don't like it they can do whatever they want,mI couldn't care less. Poor psychological control is their cross to bear, not mine.

Same here. I now make extensive use of the speed limiter function in my car - enter a 20 and zap it on so I can’t exceed the limit. I’ve only had one irate follower getting visibly frustrated by my lack of progress - as I exited the 20 to a NSL I made sure to make progress away from him.

 

[Jameshow]

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.

I know an expolice officer and I sometimes wonder what he's done to become an ex police officer!🤔🤣🤔🤣

 

[Ming the Merciless]

In a French village I stayed in they had a speed detector and if a driver was speeding a traffic light further up the road turned red. It was great to watch from a street side bar. Thus speeding just meant it took you longer to get through the village, unless you wanted to run a red light as well.

 

[Alex321]

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.

It is more a contractual obligation - it isn't a legal obligation as such.

They don't have to be part of the "safety camera partnership" schemes, but it is a condition being a part of them should they choose to (which they all do).

The point is hat there is no law obliging them to publish the details, and they are not breaking any law if they don't.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

In a French village I stayed in they had a speed detector and if a driver was speeding a traffic light further up the road turned red. It was great to watch from a street side bar. Thus speeding just meant it took you longer to get through the village, unless you wanted to run a red light as well.

This was mentioned at our local Parish Council last month, the only concern I would have would they obey it, or do they put a camera on the traffic light

 

[Dogtrousers]

In a French village I stayed in they had a speed detector and if a driver was speeding a traffic light further up the road turned red. It was great to watch from a street side bar. Thus speeding just meant it took you longer to get through the village, unless you wanted to run a red light as well.

I'm familiar with one of those in France too. I think they're a great idea.

In Finland, too, they are great at observing 30kmh limits. It seems to be a British thing that an obviously sensible thing like a 20mph limit tends to prompt an outbreak of pant-wetting anxiety. Maybe it's just a social media thing amplifying the contrarians.

 

[mjr]

I think it is absolutely stupid. I agree with 20 mph near hospitals and schools but not all over towns. Cars will be running at a lower gear, causing more pollution and more fuel consumption.

Lower gear yes, possibly slightly less efficient depending on the motor and gearing, but not more fuel consumption because aerodynamic drag reduces so much more quickly than efficiency and the lower speed means higher capacity so less energy lost to braking. Especially as 30 kph limits have been coming so long that most cars since 2007ish have gearing optimised for it.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

I think it is absolutely stupid. I agree with 20 mph near hospitals and schools but not all over towns. Cars will be running at a lower gear, causing more pollution and more fuel consumption.
Of course, a collision at 20 mph will cause less damage than 30 but where do you draw the line? Next time,
are we talking about 10 mph then?
I see it as just another way to raise more money for the government through speed fines.
It is supposed to make it safer for children and pedestrians. May I suggest that parents should also educate their children better by teaching them how to cross roads safely for a start and children and adults alike to stop using their mobile phones whilst walking and take those things out of their ears too so they can hear traffic.
In the 70s and 80s, we had adverts on TV promoting the Highway Code to that effect, ( Not mobile phones obviously) so the government should do a publicity campaign again for that.

Public space is for everyone, not just cars.

The impact of fear of traffic on constraining children's lives is huge, and reducing the speed of that traffic helps enormously.

Children should not be expected to be accountable for preventing cars causing death, or fear of playing outside. We car drivers are accountable, and we should be prepared to give up a few seconds of time to reduce the huge impact we have on everyone else.

Driving at 20 makes an enormous difference to how a road feels to pedestrians compared to driving at 30.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

I see it as just another way to raise more money for the government through speed fines.

Give up the paranoid victimhood.

We motorists are the perpetrators of an environment hostile to pedestrians, we're not the victims.

 

[DogmaStu]

This was mentioned at our local Parish Council last month, the only concern I would have would they obey it, or do they put a camera on the traffic light

They have these in Portugal and when I lived there permanently, I noticed that locals would largely ignore them.

The only one's that were a deterrent had speed cameras attached to them but they were only in Faro itself (for the Algarve region) and all the others relied upon someone running them in plain sight of any nearby GNR.

 

[gavroche]

Public space is for everyone, not just cars.

The impact of fear of traffic on constraining children's lives is huge, and reducing the speed of that traffic helps enormously.

Children should not be expected to be accountable for preventing cars causing death, or fear of playing outside. We car drivers are accountable, and we should be prepared to give up a few seconds of time to reduce the huge impact we have on everyone else.

Driving at 20 makes an enormous difference to how a road feels to pedestrians compared to driving at 30.

We are talking about roads here, not a public place for children and adults to play on. A 30 mph doesn't mean you have to do 30 mph. Any reasonable motorised driver will adjust his / her speed according to the conditions, I certainly do.

 

[Juan Kog]

We are talking about roads here, not a public place for children and adults to play on. A 30 mph doesn't mean you have to do 30 mph. Any reasonable motorised driver will adjust his / her speed according to the conditions, I certainly do.

A lot drivers don’t understand the word limit and see it as a speed target.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

We are talking about roads here, not a public place for children and adults to play on. A 30 mph doesn't mean you have to do 30 mph. Any reasonable motorised driver will adjust his / her speed according to the conditions, I certainly do.

They most certainly don't follow a sensible speed, as evidenced by fear of motor vehicles constraining everyone else's use of space.

And no, roads are NOT just for cars. We all use them on foot. They are space for everyone.

 

[gavroche]

They most certainly don't follow a sensible speed, as evidenced by fear of motor vehicles constraining everyone else's use of space.

And no, roads are NOT just for cars. We all use them on foot. They are space for everyone.

Sorry, but in a town, pavements are for people on foot and roads for any vehicle.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Sorry, but in a town, pavements are for people on foot and roads for any vehicle.

Thats a very poor attitude, shame on you.