For some time the BTA has been advocating reductions in inner suburban speed limits to 40kph. Pressure from motoring organisations and uninformed, ignorant and selfish motorists, has prevented this from happening. So here is a little snippet from the UK
Powerful evidence for success of 20mph in residential London
- Overall casualties reduced by 41%
- Deaths and serious injuries to children reduced by half;
- Pedestrian injuries reduced by one third;
- Cycling casualties down 17%
- In areas adjacent to 20mph zones casualties also fell 8%
- 20mph zones save over 200 casualties per year, including 27 killed or seriously injured
The authors of the report supported the case for extending the zones in London, with the potential of preventing a further 692 casualties a year. Makes a case for extending 20mph zones LCC communications officer Mike Cavenett said, “There are strong arguments for the Government to introduce 20mph speed limits in residential areas across the whole country. “The reduction in loss of life and injury has been shown to be high, and that’s before adding the improved health benefits from encouraging more cycling and walking.” The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is one of the leading centres for research into public and environmental health in the UK.
Isn’t 20mph the only speed one can do in London? I know there’s no parking.
Yep – analysing 5152 km of roads subdivided into 119029 road segments over a period of twenty years the study seems robust and the conclusions are welcome. Reducing the number of children killed by over 50% would make the introduction of low speed zones in suburban Perth a no-brainer???? I will make sure that both the Minister for Police and the Minister for Transport are alerted to these findings.