Drivers continue to slam the Welsh Government over its decision to roll out 20mph speed limits, despite evidence showing that roads are getting safer and speeding rates are falling.
The Welsh Government changed the speed limit from 30mph to 20mph on September 17, 2023, this meant that any driving area where streetlights are present will be subject to the new restrictions.
The law changes aim to reduce the number of crashes and road accidents but has been met with strong resistance from the Welsh public, including signs being vandalised and protests taking place across the country.
Despite the uproar by motorists, the Welsh Government said the speed limits are working to reduce accidents and have made the roads safer.
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The Welsh Government hopes the speed limits will reduce the number of road accidents
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Data gathered by the Transport for Wales showed the average speeds on main roads dropped an average of four miles per hour from 28.9mph to 24.8mph.
Lee Waters, Deputy Minister for Climate Change, with responsibility for transport, said: “The latest data published today is clear evidence that average speeds are coming down on roads across Wales.
“The international evidence is clear, lower speeds save lives – that’s fewer collisions, fewer deaths and fewer severe injuries, reducing the devastation to individuals and their families and the significant impact on the NHS and other emergency services.”
Research by the Government found a strong link between lowering speeds and decreasing the number of collisions and people injured.
It saw an average six per cent reduction in collisions per one mile per hour reduction in average speed.
Following the launch of the new speed limits, a petition was launched calling for the abolition of the scheme was launched and has amassed almost 469,000 signatures already.
The petition, created by Mark Baker, slammed the Welsh Government, claiming that it had failed to produce any convincing evidence to support the claims of safety.
He said: “The Welsh Government was put there by the people of Wales. We are your boss! We demand that this foolish idea be stopped.”
Posting in the social media group “20 is not plenty”, thousands of angry residents rallied together to share their frustration with the 20mph zones in place.
One user said: “Setting stupid limits is not conducive to road safety for it promotes a culture of ignoring limits.
“Part of the reason we have speed awareness courses is because officers in the past told people things like they were fine at 80-90 on the motorway, creating a culture that abused the limit, and which apparently has successfully been used as a defence.”
Social media posts suggest that drivers have been ignoring the speed limit changes, despite information campaigns set out by the Government, Transport for Wales and road safety organisations.
Another person commented: “Nobody is bothering with it around here.
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Petition has amassed almost 469,000 signatures already
PA
“I got stuck behind one car doing 18mph when I overtook they put their foot on the throttle so I was stuck at the side of her forcing me to go over 30mph to get past.
“The driver blasted their horns and flashed their lights, they could have caused a nasty accident and Drakeford said it was to make the roads safer not while there are nutters on the road it won’t.”