Mandatory 20mph speed limits could be wiped out in Wales
20mph limits are being reversed in Wales
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The mandatory 20mph speed limit currently in place across Wales could be scrapped under plans by the new Welsh Government.
The newly appointed Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan stated under her leadership the country would look to remove the speed limit in areas that weren't considered essential.
20mph limits were put in place across all of Wales in September last year in a bid to improve road safety.
But since then, drivers up and down the country have been protesting the restrictions, so much so that the Welsh Government were forced to change their mind.
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Drivers were issued £1.28million in speeding fines
GETTYSpeaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Morgan said: “I’m very clear that around schools, hospitals, built up areas, playgrounds, it should be 20. I think there needs to be a conversation with the public about what’sappropriate.”
While in force, Welsh drivers were slapped with £1.28million in speeding fines for breaking the 20mph limit on roads.
According to new data from GoSafe, a total of 6,603 people committed a speeding offence on the 20mph roads.
But after mass disapproval of the schemes, Morgan, who is the third Welsh leader this year alone, explained that there needs to be a “conversation with the public” around where the limit should be in place.
From September, highway authorities in Wales will be able to apply for a new framework to assess speed limits on roads which can be changed back from 20mph to the original 30mph.
The framework includes allowing highways authorities to submit bids for funding that will allow them to make speed limit changes.
Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for North Wales and Transport, had previously told the Senedd that he was grateful for all the feedback he received in amending the terms of the 20mph speed limit schemes.
He commented: "The recent collisions data for Wales and the reduction in casualties was encouraging. We have still got a way to go but it shows things are moving in the right direction.”
Skates added that by working together and supporting highways authorities to make changes “I believe we can continue to make 20mph a real success story for Wales".
Despite Wales looking to U-turn its 20mph policy, Scotland is mulling over introducing one.
Mark Ruskell, Green transport spokesperson, detailed how lower speeds save lives and that there are people “alive and well today thanks to Wales’s default 20mph limit”.
The Green MSP had previously tried to introduce lower speeds in 2019 but failed to garner the support needed from fellow Holyrood MPs.
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20mph limits were rolled out across Wales in September last year GETTYDuring that time, Transport Secretary Michael Matheson stated that councils were “best placed” to use their local knowledge to decide where 20mph limits should be brought in, rather than through legislation.
According to Welsh stats, in the past 11 months, the drop from 30mph to 20mph on residential roads has helped save lives.
The number of cases where people have been killed or seriously injured on roads in Wales fell to 78 in the first three months of 2024 compared to 101 incidents recorded in the first three months of 2023.