Lower speeds save lives
Speech to the Senedd on September 12th 2023
From Sunday most roads with a 30mph speed limit in Wales will be changing to 20mph.
This is the biggest step-change in community safety for a generation.
It will save lives, prevent injuries and encourage more people to walk and cycle.
It make our streets safer for all road users, including car drivers, and improve the quality of life for everyone in local communities.
On the two occasions when we debated the approach we are taking on 20mph there was cross-party support– including in 2020 from the Conservative benches, and their group leader at the time – and the policy was backed with significant majorities.
Change is never easy and as we have got closer to 17th September, and with greater awareness of the need speed limit coming into affect, concerns are being surfaced.
People’s natural anxieties about change have not been helped by blatant misinformation being cynically spread by the Conservatives in Wales.
Under our Standards of Personal Conduct in this Senedd the rules state that Members must act truthfully. I regret to say that Conservative members are falling short of that standard in the false claims they are making about this policy – a policy many of them voted for in this siambr.
I want to take the opportunity today to set out the facts.
The hardest hitting fact is that if a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle moving at 30mph, they are around five times more likely to be killed than if they are hit at 20mph.
It’s simple, lower speeds save lives.
It’s not just me saying that – those are the exact words of Dr David Hanna, a consultant in paediatric emergency at the University Hospital of Wales. It is his job to deal with the consequences of children being hit by cars travelling at 30mph and more.
He has described the devastating, life-changing injuries children, young people and their families have to deal with as a result of road traffic collisions – more than half of which occur on roads where the speed limit is currently 30mph.
Being struck by a moving car is the biggest cause of serious injury in children.
Public Health Wales estimates we can expect to see a 40% reduction in collisions; six to 10 lives saved every year, and somewhere between 1,200 and 2,000 people avoiding injury every year in Wales once we’ve moved to 20mph.
As well as reducing human misery this will also ease pressure on our over-stretched emergency services.
Casualty prevention savings, which include reducing the need to attend so many road traffic collisions and reducing the flow of injured people needing treatment at A&E, is expected to save £92m in the first year alone, and for every year after.
As the Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr Frank Atherton says: “Not only will slower speeds save lives and reduce injuries, it will also help keep people healthier and reduce the burden on the NHS”.
Llywydd, a 20mph default speed limit will pay for itself three times over from savings to the health service in the first year alone.
This is not a policy that has been rushed, it has been four years in development in close partnership with local authorities, the police and key delivery organisations.
We have piloted it in eight communities across Wales.
In St Dogmaels, in Pembrokeshire, the first of the trial areas, 20mph has already proven itself.
A car driver avoided hitting a young boy crossing the road because, in their words: “Luckily, I was doing 20mph. At 30mph I would’ve hit him.”
There was no need for an ambulance, no need for the police, and thankfully, no need for the parents of that child to hear bad news at the hospital.
Many of us are parents and grandparents, we understand the fear of traffic, and know why most people support slower speeds on the streets they live on.
And we know that the fear of traffic leads to many children being kept inside to avoid the risk of harm – robbing them of the experiences many of us had of exploring our neighbourhoods and having fun with friends.
All this contributes to the Obesogenic environment that NICE has warned us is adding to the epidemic of Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
In Spain, in London, in Edinburgh – and soon in Ireland too – speed limits have been reduced to 20 and casualties and deaths are falling too.
The evidence for change is very strong and is not disputed.
My focus throughout has been to do all we can to concentrate on the practicalities of implementing the new speed limit to ensure its success.
In May 2019 I set up a Task Force Group to test our policy intent with experts and practitioners. Led by the widely respected independent transport expert Phil Jones it spent over a year considering the best way to bring in the change and find a consensus. The group included local government officers, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Road Haulage Association amongst others.
The task force group report recommended that we move away from short sections of road being reclassified as 20mph and instead said we should change the underlying default speed limit.
We should move from the current situation where local roads – called restricted roads – have a default 30mph speed limit where cases can be made for the speed limit to be reduced to 20mph, to a default 20mph limit, where the case can be made for 30mph.
There is no “blanket” 20mph, as the Conservatives claim. We are following the approach that the experts recommended.
Local highway authorities will retain the power to vary the speed limit according to local circumstances.
Each of them have undertaken a thorough assessment of their roads and applied the Welsh Government exceptions guidance and their local knowledge.
This has been a significant piece of work and I am extremely grateful to all local authorities who have helped to ensure that the change goes as smoothly as possible.
There is inevitably some local variability in how the Exceptions criteria has been applied in each of the 22 local authorities, and by the Welsh Government on the Trunk Road Network. We have encouraged councils to take a common-sense approach recognising that the character of some stretches of road suits 30mph, where people and vehicles don't mix.
This is the biggest change in road safety in a generation and despite all the efforts it is unlikely to be flawless on day one.
For example, we know that some Councils will have all their signs up on Sunday, and others have decided to take a different approach in sequencing the change.
It will settle down. And where communities think councils have got some stretches wrong there will be an opportunity to reflect and revisit.
But we do expect, based on the experience in the pilots, that the new approach will be welcomed by and in local communities.
It will take a while to adjust.
As a driver, I find driving at 20mph feels slower.
But just as lots of people didn’t like wearing a seat belt as first, people adjust.
As people adjust, we’ll be taking a proportional approach to enforcement.
Excessive speeders will be fined and given points, but while drivers are getting used to the new 20mph limit, and if they are not breaching it excessively, they will be offered roadside engagement sessions, where available, with GoSafe and the fire and rescue services, as an alternative to prosecution.
I know there are concerns that the new speed limit will add significantly to journey times.
The early data from the trials shows that the new limit has succeeded in reducing average speed limits without a significant impact on journey times.
This is because most delays occur at traffic lights and at junctions; I’m sure we’ve all been overtaken by a car only to meet them again at the next set of lights.
At 20mph there is less breaking and speeding up. This not only reduces harmful particulates from tyres and breaks, which helps air quality, but also means that the average journey is only around 1 minute longer. And it is more efficient. A steady 20mph for many cars will achieve better fuel consumption and use less energy.
But most importantly it will save lives. For all the discomfort of change we must not lose sight that this will reduce deaths, it will improve the quality of life in communities by cutting noise pollution, and will feel safer and lead to increases levels of walking and cycling. And there is very strong evidence to support each of these points.
That’s why Wales is following Spain to make 20mph the default speed limit on local streets. And others will follow.
This is all part of our vision of making Wales stronger, fairer and greener. And I am confident we will look back at this change with pride.
From Sunday most roads with a 30mph speed limit in Wales will be changing to 20mph.
This is the biggest step-change in community safety for a generation.
It will save lives, prevent injuries and encourage more people to walk and cycle.
It make our streets safer for all road users, including car drivers, and improve the quality of life for everyone in local communities.
On the two occasions when we debated the approach we are taking on 20mph there was cross-party support– including in 2020 from the Conservative benches, and their group leader at the time – and the policy was backed with significant majorities.
Change is never easy and as we have got closer to 17th September, and with greater awareness of the need speed limit coming into affect, concerns are being surfaced.
People’s natural anxieties about change have not been helped by blatant misinformation being cynically spread by the Conservatives in Wales.
Under our Standards of Personal Conduct in this Senedd the rules state that Members must act truthfully. I regret to say that Conservative members are falling short of that standard in the false claims they are making about this policy – a policy many of them voted for in this siambr.
I want to take the opportunity today to set out the facts.
The hardest hitting fact is that if a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle moving at 30mph, they are around five times more likely to be killed than if they are hit at 20mph.
It’s simple, lower speeds save lives.
It’s not just me saying that – those are the exact words of Dr David Hanna, a consultant in paediatric emergency at the University Hospital of Wales. It is his job to deal with the consequences of children being hit by cars travelling at 30mph and more.
He has described the devastating, life-changing injuries children, young people and their families have to deal with as a result of road traffic collisions – more than half of which occur on roads where the speed limit is currently 30mph.
Being struck by a moving car is the biggest cause of serious injury in children.
Public Health Wales estimates we can expect to see a 40% reduction in collisions; six to 10 lives saved every year, and somewhere between 1,200 and 2,000 people avoiding injury every year in Wales once we’ve moved to 20mph.
As well as reducing human misery this will also ease pressure on our over-stretched emergency services.
Casualty prevention savings, which include reducing the need to attend so many road traffic collisions and reducing the flow of injured people needing treatment at A&E, is expected to save £92m in the first year alone, and for every year after.
As the Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr Frank Atherton says: “Not only will slower speeds save lives and reduce injuries, it will also help keep people healthier and reduce the burden on the NHS”.
Llywydd, a 20mph default speed limit will pay for itself three times over from savings to the health service in the first year alone.
This is not a policy that has been rushed, it has been four years in development in close partnership with local authorities, the police and key delivery organisations.
We have piloted it in eight communities across Wales.
In St Dogmaels, in Pembrokeshire, the first of the trial areas, 20mph has already proven itself.
A car driver avoided hitting a young boy crossing the road because, in their words: “Luckily, I was doing 20mph. At 30mph I would’ve hit him.”
There was no need for an ambulance, no need for the police, and thankfully, no need for the parents of that child to hear bad news at the hospital.
Many of us are parents and grandparents, we understand the fear of traffic, and know why most people support slower speeds on the streets they live on.
And we know that the fear of traffic leads to many children being kept inside to avoid the risk of harm – robbing them of the experiences many of us had of exploring our neighbourhoods and having fun with friends.
All this contributes to the Obesogenic environment that NICE has warned us is adding to the epidemic of Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
In Spain, in London, in Edinburgh – and soon in Ireland too – speed limits have been reduced to 20 and casualties and deaths are falling too.
The evidence for change is very strong and is not disputed.
My focus throughout has been to do all we can to concentrate on the practicalities of implementing the new speed limit to ensure its success.
In May 2019 I set up a Task Force Group to test our policy intent with experts and practitioners. Led by the widely respected independent transport expert Phil Jones it spent over a year considering the best way to bring in the change and find a consensus. The group included local government officers, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Road Haulage Association amongst others.
The task force group report recommended that we move away from short sections of road being reclassified as 20mph and instead said we should change the underlying default speed limit.
We should move from the current situation where local roads – called restricted roads – have a default 30mph speed limit where cases can be made for the speed limit to be reduced to 20mph, to a default 20mph limit, where the case can be made for 30mph.
There is no “blanket” 20mph, as the Conservatives claim. We are following the approach that the experts recommended.
Local highway authorities will retain the power to vary the speed limit according to local circumstances.
Each of them have undertaken a thorough assessment of their roads and applied the Welsh Government exceptions guidance and their local knowledge.
This has been a significant piece of work and I am extremely grateful to all local authorities who have helped to ensure that the change goes as smoothly as possible.
There is inevitably some local variability in how the Exceptions criteria has been applied in each of the 22 local authorities, and by the Welsh Government on the Trunk Road Network. We have encouraged councils to take a common-sense approach recognising that the character of some stretches of road suits 30mph, where people and vehicles don't mix.
This is the biggest change in road safety in a generation and despite all the efforts it is unlikely to be flawless on day one.
For example, we know that some Councils will have all their signs up on Sunday, and others have decided to take a different approach in sequencing the change.
It will settle down. And where communities think councils have got some stretches wrong there will be an opportunity to reflect and revisit.
But we do expect, based on the experience in the pilots, that the new approach will be welcomed by and in local communities.
It will take a while to adjust.
As a driver, I find driving at 20mph feels slower.
But just as lots of people didn’t like wearing a seat belt as first, people adjust.
As people adjust, we’ll be taking a proportional approach to enforcement.
Excessive speeders will be fined and given points, but while drivers are getting used to the new 20mph limit, and if they are not breaching it excessively, they will be offered roadside engagement sessions, where available, with GoSafe and the fire and rescue services, as an alternative to prosecution.
I know there are concerns that the new speed limit will add significantly to journey times.
The early data from the trials shows that the new limit has succeeded in reducing average speed limits without a significant impact on journey times.
This is because most delays occur at traffic lights and at junctions; I’m sure we’ve all been overtaken by a car only to meet them again at the next set of lights.
At 20mph there is less breaking and speeding up. This not only reduces harmful particulates from tyres and breaks, which helps air quality, but also means that the average journey is only around 1 minute longer. And it is more efficient. A steady 20mph for many cars will achieve better fuel consumption and use less energy.
But most importantly it will save lives. For all the discomfort of change we must not lose sight that this will reduce deaths, it will improve the quality of life in communities by cutting noise pollution, and will feel safer and lead to increases levels of walking and cycling. And there is very strong evidence to support each of these points.
That’s why Wales is following Spain to make 20mph the default speed limit on local streets. And others will follow.
This is all part of our vision of making Wales stronger, fairer and greener. And I am confident we will look back at this change with pride.
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