Absurd Decision on 20mph Speed Limits
This letter of mine was published in the Cambridge Evening News on 02.08.08:
Your readers have been kept well informed of the furore that surrounds the County Council’s absurd decision not to allow 20mph speed limits to be introduced on roads where the average speed is above 20mph. This goes against government guidance, which states that 20mph limits may be imposed on roads where the average speed is 24mph or less.
At last Tuesday’s council meeting in Shire Hall this farce reached new heights of absurdity. When challenged to explain why the Conservatives have ignored government guidance on this issue, Cllr McGuire said that it was for reasons of “numerical consistency”. He then explained that the government advises that speed limits on bigger roads must always be higher than the average speed on those same roads; consequently, Cllr McGuire believes, it would be more coherent to have the same policy for smaller roads.
What this myopic argument overlooks is the fact that there is a fundamental qualitative difference between roads which are candidates for 20mph speed limits and all others. These are densely populated areas which are heavily used by pedestrians, cyclists and schoolchildren. What are the chances of a child unexpectedly stepping out on to the A14? Zero. But on to a busy town street?
Moreover, only 5% of accidents at 20mph are fatal, whereas 50% of those at 30mph result in mortalities. As such we must do everything possible to drag down speeds in these areas. Justifying their decision by reference to an abstraction like “numerical consistency” is an embarrassment, especially when the death rate on our roads is increasing at the highest rate in the entire country (CEN: Road Deaths Soar, July 30).
The bottom line is that the Conservatives are more concerned about economizing on the new signs and speed cameras that would be needed to enforce these measures than about protecting the vulnerable people on our streets.
I call on them to revoke this ill-informed decision which will have quite literally fatal consequences for our local communities.
Kilian Bourke
County Councillor for Romsey
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