From midnight on the 17th September 2023 the speed limit in residential areas in Wales was reduced to 20 mph. So why has this been done?
A Public Health Study stated that an estimated reduction to 20 mph could lead to 40% less road traffic collisions. This could result in thousands of people avoiding injury or even loss of their life. According to the Department of Transport and Local Government “speed is a major contributory factor in approximately 1/3 of road traffic collisions”.
Around 27% of collisions which are fatal involve parties driving in excess of the speed limit and around 16% of injuries which were serious were actually caused where a collision involved a driver driving in excess of the speed limit. It is also stated that if a pedestrian is struck at 30 mph they have 20% chance of being killed but there is only a 2.5% chance if travelling at 20 mph.
The new 20mph speed limit has been introduced to areas which are ‘built up’ and residential. This means areas which are usually residential or busy pedestrian streets with street lights.
According to the media drivers are unhappy about the reduction as they think it will take longer to complete journeys. Actually research states the reduction in speed from 30 – 20 mph should add no more than 1 minute to your journey.
Vulnerable road users (children, cyclists, motorcyclists, horse riders and pedestrians) have less crash protection than someone in a motor vehicle and have a greater risk of being injured or killed in a road traffic collision. They should welcome the change as this will hopefully mean less collisions & accidents, less fatalities and serious injuries if a collision or accident does occur.
You can visit www.gov.wales/introducing-default-20mph-speed-limits for more information.
If you have been injured and wish to make a claim for compensation, contact our specialist team of solicitors at What’s My Claim Worth on free phone 01244 568 535 or email info@whatsmyclaimworth.co.uk. You can also use our Claims Calculator to see how much your injury may be worth. We will discuss the accident and your injuries and advise if we can deal with this for you on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis.