With public opinion not shifting on the Labour Welsh Government’s unpopular 20mph default speed limit, Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies has written the newly appointed First Minister, Vaughan Gething, calling on his government to scrap it.
Last September, the default speed limit of roads with street lights in Wales, including arterial routes, changed from 30mph to 20mph. The change prompted public outcry and almost 500,000 signed a petition to rescind the policy.
In his letter to the First Minister, James said that despite the policy having now been in force for over six months, public opposition remains strong, with him still receiving regular correspondence on the matter from constituents.
He is therefore urging the Welsh Government to take this into consideration and to “cease its perceived war on the (ever more environmentally friendly and ever safer) motorist”.
His letter to the First Minister states:
“I am writing to you as it has now been over six months since the Welsh Government chose to reduce the default speed limit in built up areas of Wales to 20mph.
“I spoke out against the concept of this policy as early as several years ago, when it was first mooted. It is an impractical approach in many respects, with many unintended yet foreseeable consequences. It reflects an out-of-touch mentality which fails to look at the bigger picture and, in my view, will lead to an increase in road traffic accidents, contrary to its aims.
“Since the introduction of 20mph default speed limit, I have carried out a survey of constituents and received over 4,500 responses, the vast majority of whom are against the change. Similarly, as you know, almost 500,000 people have signed a petition to rescind the policy. Public opinion is not shifting with time and I hear almost daily from unhappy and extremely frustrated constituents.
“Locally, bus services have reduced and stops have been removed to accommodate the increased time it takes for the same route now to be completed. This includes a village now being cut off by the removal of their service, a popular shopping centre now being out of bounds for those who are reliant on the bus, and constituents unable to reach the High Street in their own village.
“In addition, the safety around schools has been compromised as pre-existing 20mph signs which alerted the driver to an upcoming hazard have been removed, to reflect the default nature of the speed limit.
“There are now discussions over the need for the reassessment of individual roads for a return to a 30mph limit, with consultation followed by the installation of entry and repeater speed limit exception signage. This sounds like a recipe for the expenditure of very much time and money. I firmly believe that we should simply cut our losses and sensibly return to a UK-wide national speed limit regime. Then councils should be encouraged to select appropriate stretches of roads for marked 20mph zones – something that had previously been done to a lesser extent in Wales than in other parts of the UK.
“No reduction in road fatalities would come close to the number of avoidable deaths currently occurring within the NHS in North Wales.
"With this in mind, I ask that the Welsh Government ceases its perceived war on the (ever more environmentally friendly and ever safer) motorist and instead focusses on the bread and butter issues – particularly health, education, the economy, agriculture and housing.”
