20 mph-speed limit towns appeal to 2 in 5 Brits
Filed under: Etc., Green Culture, Green Daily, NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle), UK
Photo by Mayr. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0. Yes, I know it's not the UK.
The RAC Foundation (a UK organization dedicated to "protecting the interest of the motorist") warned that the idea of a town with a 20 mile per hour speed limit would grate many drivers, and they're right. But, the UK car supermarket group Motorpoint conducted a survey about the reduced limits and found that two in five British drivers - about 12 million people - would "welcome" a lowered speed limit in their town. We'll see if any of them move to Portsmouth to prove their point. In most American towns, after all, residential streets have 25 mph speed limits. There is a proposal from the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety to make 20 mph the mandatory standard in all residential areas in Britain in order to reduce the number of people who are killed on British roads (currently 3,100 a year).
There is also a green angle to this. We know that neighborhood electric vehicles are not the fastest cars on the block. Forcing all in-city traffic to go 20 mph would mean that NEVs can hold their own, something that should help NEV adoption rates in the UK. Press release after the jump.
Press Release:
Millions of motorists ready to welcome 20mph city speed limits
Two in five British drivers – around 12 million people - would welcome a 20mph speed limit on their city's streets according to a survey by Motorpoint, the UK's leading car supermarket group, despite warnings from the RAC Foundation that drivers would not accept a blanket speed limit in towns and cities.
Portsmouth has just become the first authority to apply a citywide 20mph maximum after the proposal to cut the urban limit by a third featured in proposals to the Government from the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety late last year.
Motorists could face a mandatory speed limit of 20mph in residential areas if the Government accepts the plan, aimed at reducing the annual death toll of 3,100 people on British roads.
Some 1,200 residential streets are currently included in the Portsmouth strategy, which is being closely monitored by other local authorities. Norwich City Council is said to be moving toward introducing a similar scheme.
Motorpoint managing director David Shelton said: "We know many of our customers are interested in road safety from the questions they ask about safety equipment such as electronic stability control on the cars they buy. And as the only car retailer in membership of RoadSafe, we are committed to delivering the road safety message at point of sale.
"Nevertheless, we were surprised at the extent to which people seem ready to accept a lower speed limit in residential areas, particularly when government TV advertising is still trying to persuade more people to abide by the 30mph limit."
[Source: Motorpoint]
No brainer of the day! GM to bring Chevy Beat to US market
2009 BMW 7-series leaks, possible hybrid coming in a year
Honda unveils Japanese FCX Clarity - now with more heated seats!
GM hybrid finally starting to get a little traction, 1,149 in June
Shai Agassi pitches $100 billion plan
At Witz' End - Gas Prices - What To Do, What To Do?
Sensible AAA recomments not trying "dangerous fuel-saving techniques"
Is the Volt nothing more than bailout bait?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-08-2008 @ 5:16PM
MarkR said...
My green angle is, when I ride my bicycle I could draft a car going 20mph all day long, but I tend to get dropped within a 3/4 mile at 30+mph unless it is a delivery truck that punches a huge hole in the air. the Brits. will need to police all the cyclist that will be tailgating errrr. drafting at approx 20 mph now.
However don't most autos get their best gpm at about 35-45 mph? Wouldn't going to 20mph speed limit cause people to burn more fuel unless they buy a hybrid? if that's the case it doesn't sound like a green move to me.
Reply
4-08-2008 @ 6:02PM
St Isidore said...
20mph? Here in Australia people complained for years when they lowered the residential area speed limit to 50km/h (31 mph). I can ride a bike much faster than 20mph! I see no need for it given the progress cars are making in the pedestrian impact areas and petrol cars would run inefficiently at that speed anyway.
I'm not sure how it works in other countries but the biggest part of Australia's fatalities occur outside residential roads on 100km/h+ roads. Reducing cars to a crawling speed in cities is not the answer.
Reply
4-08-2008 @ 6:11PM
dhofmann said...
NEVs can already go 25, and faster when the speed limiter is removed. The problem is driving it out of your neighborhood. Mine is served by 50 and 55 mph arterials. If those speed limits could be reduced to 35 to make them legal for NEVs, it would also attract bicycles and possibly also the kind of small engined, fuel efficient vehicles common in Europe.
35 is the magic number, 35.
Reply
4-08-2008 @ 7:59PM
Ping said...
@MarkR
Remember that while you may be able to pedal 20 mph all day long, your bike cannot stop very suddenly. This makes tailgating cars much more risky.
I experienced this firsthand on a bike. While my body came out unscathed(Lucky), it was quite embarrassing to rear-end a car on a bike.
Reply