New figures from Transport for Wales show that drivers on roads using the default 20mph speed limit have reduced their average speed by 4mph. The data was gathered from road sensors over a two-week period at the end of November and the start of December, covering 3.4 million vehicles over nine locations in Wales. The average speed recorded was 24.8mph. In September, the default 20mph limit came into force on 37% of Welsh roads. Although above the limit, the Welsh government expressed its support in a statement and stated that it was “very encouraged by the drop.”
The study looked specifically at roads that were not yet affected by traffic calming measures or where parked cars forced drivers to slow down, so there was no artificially low speed limit covered. A previous analysis using in-car sat nav data also found an average reduction in speeds on roads but did include artificially restricted sections.
However, the Welsh Conservatives criticised the report, arguing that the cost of reducing those speeds was too high and represented a “monumental waste of time and resources.” The monitoring involved 43 sensors placed at different locations and used the average speed from a four-week period before the new law came into force.
Officials confirmed that getting everyone to adhere to the 20mph limit immediately was not feasible, and it could take years for drivers to change their behaviour to match the new limit. TfW plans to release more data on speed limit compliance in Wales with an all-Wales report this summer
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