From September 17, most residential roads in Wales will have a default speed limit of 20mph.
Some areas in Wales have already started to introduce the new speed limits, with the law changes attracting controversy from drivers and residents around the country.
A leaked memo from Mark Travis, assistant chief constable for South Wales Police, claimed that 20mph speed limits could result in slower emergency service response times.
It stated that the speed limit changes would influence the response time of emergency services in how they deploy staff to incidents.
There have been mixed responses to the speed limit changes
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However, emergency services said they supported the 20mph speed limit, saying the email had been taken “out of context”.
On Breakfast with Stephen and Isabel, two campaigners debated the new law changes and assessed whether they would actually improve safety.
Anna Semlyen, national campaign manager for 20’s Plenty, said: “It helps people travel, not just with safety, but with less stress.
“300,000 households who have no car or van and 600,000 people who have got concessionary travel passes, they are walking to the bus or train stop. They want lower speeds.”
Natalie Bowen, Conservative Party representative for the Rhondda Valley, responded to the comments, saying that 20mph speed limit zones would cause more dangerous situations.
Speaking to GB News, she said: “You have to define safety. Is safety emergency services being to get to where they need to in a timely fashion?
“Is safety people with severe physical disabilities being able to drive around in a car which is their sole source of mobility and independence in a comfortable way?
“Is safety having to take a relative to the hospital? Because let's face it they’ve been getting rid of the ambulances in Wales slowly but surely and finding that you have to find the majority of that journey at 20mph. I’m unsure as to how this makes things safer, to be honest.”
There are fears that people will be looking at their dashboards more frequently than paying attention to the roads so they can avoid fines from the police.
In some circumstances, this could lead to more drivers being involved in accidents while they are concentrating on things other than the road.
Anna Semlyen said that there would be “no discernible difference” in the time it will take emergency services to respond to accidents, with it being easier to pass a slower vehicle than a faster one.
It has been estimated that around 12,000 fewer people will be injured in the next 10 years as a result of the incoming speed limit changes.
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There were fears that emergency services would be affected by the speed limit changes
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Concluding the discussion, Natalie Bowen said: “This is going to negatively impact people with disabilities, negatively impact the emergency services, negatively impact small businesses.
“Actually, as is customary with most Welsh Government policies, it will really negatively impact the working class communities in Wales.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Changing the default speed limit on restricted roads in Wales to 20mph does not impact on the legislation that allows police, fire and ambulance services to exceed speed limits in the course of emergency response duties.”
