Category: Traffic

Department for Transport Guidelines on setting local speed limits Main points Speed limits should be evidence-led and self-explaining and seek toreinforce people’s assessment of what is a safe speed to travel. Theyshould encourage self-compliance. Speed limits should be seen bydrivers as the maximum rather than a target speed. Traffic authorities set local speed limits in situations where local needsand conditions suggest a speed limit that is lower than the nationalspeed limit. This guidance should also be used as the basis for assessments oflocal speed limits, for developing route management strategies and fordeveloping the speed management strategies. Traffic authorities should use

The call for a 20mph limit has come from local people In Wedmore, local people have been consistently calling for a 20mph limit for 23 years. In 2003  the Parish Plan survey had 89% of parishioners ‘very concerned’ about speed in the village with 64% preferring a 20mph limit. In the Wedmore Neighbourhood Plan dated May 2019, which you can find on Wedmore Parish Council’s own website, on page 22 you find the following commitment: “A 20mph speed limit in the areas marked on the Proposals Map will mitigate community concerns about excessive vehicle speeds and danger to pedestrians and

Speeding occurs in two locations: We need Village Gateways in Wedmore Wedmore is particularly vulnerable to speeding traffic entering at its Gateways, as it is on a major ‘crossroad’ between 4 larger population centres: North/South, travelling from Cheddar/Bristol to and from Glastonbury/Street; East West, travelling from Wells/Bath to and from Mark/M5 J22. And the growing use of route optimization software (sat-nav) means motorists are guided from A to B by the shortest route – i.e. through Wedmore, making it a ‘rat run’.

The main beneficiaries of this change are the drivers themselves. 20mph improves traffic flows. 20mph limits can actually shorten journey times, rather than making them longer. New research from Prof Dr Niels Benedikter at the University of Milan confirms 30 km/h (18.5 mph) as the optimal speed limit for minimising time wasted due to traffic congestion. The assumption that 20mph limits increase journey times is wrong. Since most urban speeds are well below 20mph owing to congestion and junctions, traffic can flow more freely at 20mph due to: All road users – on foot, on a bicycle, or in a

In summary, a habitual speeder is a bad driver who thinks they are a good driver. Only 10% drive dangerously out of disregard for their safety or that of others (these are the reckless ‘nutters’) but the 90% who think they are good drivers are full of excuses: “I didn’t know what the speed limit was; I was just keeping up with the traffic” “I was in a hurry/late for work/late for appointment” “The speed limit is too low” The growing numbers of couriers in vans speed because they face significant pressure to meet strict delivery schedules and quotas, often