New Scientist article on 20mph

Old newspaper cover of our campaign

Speeding comes out in the top three issues when I am on the doorstep in the ward. This is not strange and is reflected nationally where speeding is among the top local issues. As many will know we have long campaigned for 20mph for residential areas. The campaign continued but we are not sure whether the County really understands this issue. They have for years failed to act on repeated requests. The latest possibility relates to GCC's Big Community Offer - it is not clear whether our 20mph proposals fit that bill. Hopefully news soon?

The New Scientist article here, is worth a read as it reinforces what we have already said.... it has a useful opinion piece on why 20 mph is the way to go:. Here are a couple of paras: "Survivability refers to the body's capacity to tolerate the energy transfer in accidents. Evidence shows that on access roads, where crashes involving pedestrians are likely, a 20mph (30kph) limit is appropriate. On distribution roads, where side impacts are likely - when a car might ram into the side of another that is pulling out of a side road, for instance - the limit should be 30mph (50kph). In situations without pedestrians and where side impacts and head-on collisions are improbable - motorways and freeways - the limit should be 60 to 70mph (100 to 110kph)....

.....It may be important for politicians to distinguish between media debate and public concern on this issue. For example, Damian Poulter – a colleague at the University of Reading, UK – and I examined the UK government's British Crime Survey to determine what people are concerned about in their local communities. In comparison with a range of antisocial behaviours such as race attack, drugs, intimidation and noisy neighbours, speeding was the top concern (Accident Analysis and Prevention, DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2006.08.015)."