MPs are considering reducing the default speed limit in England to 20mph in a bid to reduce road casualties. The Transport Committee is meeting to discuss whether lower speed limits could be imposed as part of the government’s road safety strategy.
England may adopt the same default 20mph limit as Wales, which reduced its default limit on restricted roads from 30mph to 20mph in 2023. This change made up around 35% of the country’s road network.
Wales’ experience with the 20mph limit has been marked by controversy. Despite earlier consultations suggesting almost half of motorists supported a reduced limit, the move prompted significant backlash. Anti-20mph campaigners formed the largest petition in the Welsh parliament’s history, with nearly half a million signatures.
The Welsh Conservative Party has also been a vocal opponent of the Labour-implemented policy, which cost £32m to implement, and – they say – cost the Welsh economy up to £9 billion.
However, recent data suggests the change is beginning to have a positive impact, with serious or fatal collisions falling by 19% in 2024, while casualties on 20/30mph roads dropped by more than a quarter.
A recent study found cutting the limit by 10mph added just two minutes to the average journey time in Wales.
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Ministers will consider all of this as they evaluate the best means of achieving a targeted 65% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured on the road by 2035.
The latest session on the subject “will see witnesses discuss whether the strategy’s commitments on speed are sufficient to support its casualty reduction targets”.
20mph speed limits are already prevalent in cities and towns across England, particularly in London where more than half of roads are subject to the reduced limit.
Recent data from the European Transport Safety Council suggests that the proliferation of 20mph zones across London between 1989 and 2013 led to a “sharp fall” in road injuries and deaths.
Total collisions in the city fell by 35% over the period, the body said, with a 36% reduction in casualties and a 75% reduction in children being killed on the road.