Wales' 20mph limit: Average speed down 4mph after switch

Drivers on roads with default 20mph limits have cut 4mph from their average speeds, according to the first set of figures from Transport for Wales.

Road sensors measured speed from 3.4 million vehicles across nine locations in Wales over a two-week period at the end of November and start of December.

It found the average speed was 24.8mph.

Although this is above the new speed limit - which sparked a backlash when rolled out - the Welsh government said it was "very encouraged by the drop".

But the Welsh Conservatives said the costs involved with achieving the 4mph dip represented a "monumental waste of time and resources".

Monitoring was carried out on open roads which were not affected by traffic calming or where drivers were slowed down by parked cars.

"This is exactly what we were expecting to happen," said Deputy Minister for Climate Change Lee Waters.

"We weren't going to see a switch to 20 overnight."

He told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that some bus companies in Wales had been "shameless" in trying to blame 20mph for changes in bus timetables.

"We know they're have trouble keeping to timetables because they're having trouble recruiting drivers," he said.

He also said councils needed to use their discretion when deciding on how to implement 20mph zones.

"Our roads are safer, speed is slower and there will be fewer accidents as a result."

Arriva Buses Wales said the new limit had led to an "impact on punctuality" and has altered routes, blaming the reduced speeds drivers can travel.

Earlier analysis by transport consultants - using in-vehicle sat nav data - also found a speed reduction, although this included some roads where drivers would be forced to slow down naturally.

Mandy Morgan, 59, from New Inn, in Pontypool, said she agreed the limit should be 20mph through the village, with children and old people, but asked who would police it.

David Jones, 58, said that he came across "the odd person doing 20 [mph]" and "sticking to the rules".

"I don't like it, but I'll adhere to it.. I've now got three gears I don't need in my car."

Marilyn Jones, 71, said: "The other day my husband and I saw a car come through towards us, and it must have been doing 50, so they didn't adhere to 30mph let alone 20mph.

"Some people go slowly, but others just totally ignore it."

TfW monitoring involved 43 sensors, ranging from 10 around Wrexham to three in the village of Llanrug in Gwynedd.

Other locations were in Lampeter, Ceredigon, Allt-yr-Yn in Newport, Newtown in Powys, Pembroke Dock, Penrhyn Bay in Conwy, Tylorstown in Rhondda Cynon Taf and Cwmbran and Pontypool in Torfaen.

Driver behaviour under the new default limit - which has applied to 37% of the Welsh road network since mid-September - was compared to a four-week period before the new law came in.

Officials said they were not expecting a strict adherence to the 20mph limit from everyone immediately and a change in behaviour and reduction in speeds might take two years or more.

More data will be released in an all-Wales report in the summer.

Deputy climate minister Lee Waters said: "We've still got a way to go, but it's encouraging to see that things are moving in the right direction. Every 1mph reduction in speed makes a real difference - so this is a real turning point.

"We need to be realistic. This is about built-up areas where people are at their most vulnerable. We want to get people's speeds lower and this is a mix of enforcement and people's habits changing."

Meanwhile, an interim review of the guidance for highways authorities to bring in exceptions to the 20mph limit found engagement with the public could have been "easier and more comprehensive."

It said there were inconsistencies and anomalies with 20mph limits, as there were before with 30mph limits.

It also called for a revision of the guidance on exceptions to better take into account the context of different areas and the characteristics of some highways.

"Whilst there appears to be some roads where the speed limit isn't right and there is a need for local authority review, we have heard from some councils that positive differences have been seen in the speed and safety of their streets, particularly amongst vulnerable people," said Andrew Morgan, leader of the Welsh Local Government Association.

The Welsh Conservatives branded it a "monumental waste of time and resources".

Transport spokeswoman Natasha Asghar added: "To sacrifice billions of pounds from the Welsh economy all for the sake of 4mph may satisfy Labour, but it is not a trade the Welsh Conservatives would be willing to make."