Make them 30mph and then 85% of people will break the new speed limit. Keep it low and at least their speed is likely to be lower.
Comment on 85% Of Car Drivers Break 20mph Speed Limits, Reveals U.K.’s Department For Transport
Emperor@feddit.uk 1 year ago
[deleted]
essteeyou@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Falmarri@lemmy.world 1 year ago
This is just wrong. Studies show people drive the speed they feel is safe.
hellothere@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Which is why councils just slapping a 20mph sign on a road isn’t enough.
Unsurprisingly, roads are designed and built with certain speeds in mind, and - excluding national speed limit country roads - this broadly means that the wider the road the faster you’re able to go safely.
If you want an old 30mph road to be 20, and people to actually stick to it, you need to make people less comfortable driving at 30 on that road. Which means making it considerably narrower.
It’s the same reason that 70 can feel incredibly slow on a motorway, but 40 can feel incredibly fast elsewhere.
tony@lemmy.hoyle.me.uk 1 year ago
There’s a road here that’s relatively modern as roads go… it was built when I was a child to take traffic out of the centre. It’s short 4 lanes, straight and has no houses or anything along it that would attract pedestrians. It was clearly designed and built as a bypass.
The council recently made it 20… I’m still scratching my head (a) why and (b) whether they really expect anyone to take any notice.
But then they’ll leave a road as 30 and cover it with speed bumps… including the main route to the motorway…
Emperor@feddit.uk 1 year ago
Unsurprisingly, roads are designed and built with certain speeds in mind, and - excluding national speed limit country roads - this broadly means that the wider the road the faster you’re able to go safely.
It’s been really driven home (sorry, no pun intended) by me looking after my brother’s house which is on a very long wide, pretty straight road with lots of off-street parking. It and another similar road running at 90 degrees are key connecting roads that form a rectangular box for the area but two are 30mph and two are 20 with no rhyme and reason for it (one of the 30s has a much narrower stretch).
Emperor@feddit.uk 1 year ago
Yeah they cover that in the report:
On roads with a 30mph maximum, 50% of car drivers broke the law
I mean that’s still too high and there’s no need for it.
Syldon@feddit.uk 1 year ago
20mph zones are usually created because of an issue. Either idiots speeding repetitively or some poor sod being hit by a speeding car.
wewbull@feddit.uk 1 year ago
If people are already speeding, lowering the limit will do little.
Syldon@feddit.uk 1 year ago
You are missing the point that speed limits are imposed because of the history of that road or type of road. Councils have a duty of care and must be seen to apply it.
London council was fined because a young child died with asthma. The parent sued because she was not made aware of the problem. She claimed there was not enough information regarding air quality. This is why you see ULEZ in the London area. If some poor kid is hurt by a car and they cannot prove the driver was speeding, then you have to assume the speed limit is too high. This is the culture we have adopted to protect ourselves from libel suites. The speed limit is not applied to piss you off, it is for the protection of others who use the road.
If this is unacceptable to you then write to your council and tell them that you will accept any liability claims for that road if they up the speed limit. You may also need to convince the people who live their who send their kids out across that road.
C4d@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Agree with what you said in full.
A lot of the conversation seems to be starting with “I don’t see why it should be 20mph so I’m going to ignore it”. I think your comment goes some way to explaining why this kind of thinking isn’t appropriate.
Roads aren’t just about cars and drivers.
wewbull@feddit.uk 1 year ago
I’m not missing the point at all. I’m saying that those that already break the rule won’t obey the new rule.
Beside a single car has a driver who is liable. A thousand cars has shared liability in the form of local government. Damage through speeding is a singular liabilty. Damage through air quality is group liability.
You can’t compare the two.
argv_minus_one@beehaw.org 1 year ago
midgephoto@photog.social 1 year ago
@wewbull @Syldon
If by speeding you mean 35 in a 30 zone, then will the drivers who know their journey is urgent and important, as are try, and that they are more skillful than those around them, drive 15mph above the limit, or 5mph?
They'll stand out rather more if the former, and have a likelihood of killing a hit pedestrian or cyclist reduced by the change if the latter.
I suspect the chap recently apprehended for 61 in a 30 zone past children might not change, yes.
wewbull@feddit.uk 1 year ago
I don’t think most people are actively engaged when they speed and are rationally thinking about such things. They just travel at a speed which feels “right” for the conditions. Just changing the sign changes nothing for such people as it’s still the same road which has the same feel.
C4d@lemmy.world 1 year ago
How would you ensure compliance?