Safe streets better quality of life

Bristol City Council is about to introduce a nubmer of 20 mph zones in central Bristol and more are likely to be added as part of the Cycling City initiative.

Many people appear to be surprised by this speed restriction and some may even think it is excessive.

Think again.

Road traffic in the UK is the single greatest cause of premature death for boys and second greatest cause for girls age 5-15. (ONS, 2002)

In 2006 there were 9,320 pedestrians and pedal cyclists killed or seriously injured in road accidents. That is 179 people a week. (Transport Statistics Great Britain 2007 Eddition)

If there was a rail crash every week involving 179 people there would be an outcry and demands for improved rail safety. Billions would have to be spent.

A 20 mph limit on residential roads is not state nannying, nor is it a prohibition personal freedom or on the risks and individual may take. It is the state protecting the most vulnerable road users from those that can cause the most harm.

In the same way that awareness of drink driving has made it socially unacceptable to drive after drinking, we need it to be socially unacceptable to drive at unsafe speeds.

It takes 2 minutes to travel a mile at 30 mph, and 3 minutes at 20 mph. Is a minute of your time really worth more than the rest of someone else's life?

No one plans to have an accident

The definition of "accident" is "an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury."

Nobody plans to have one and most people don't think they will be involved in one, but there were still 189,000 road accidents in 2006.  It is worth everyone taking a moment to imagine that they have just had one and to reflect on how it might feel.  

Imagine a child suddenly appeared from between two parked cars. You slammed on the brakes but could not stop in time. If you could wind back time and drive down that road again, do you think you would reduce your speed?

Practical issues

20 mph may feel very slow when in a car at first. But this is not being suggested for trunk routes or even main roads, it is only for smaller, usually residential, roads. On this sort of road one needs to accelerate quickly to even reach 30 mph before it is necessary to slow down for the next corner or junction.

Keeping to a maximum of 20 mph improves the fuel efficiency of the car, produces less exhaust, and less noise. However it really does not make journeys take much longer because the amount of time at peak speeds is relatively small.

Car driving is not a right, it is a licensed privilege. The only person that benefits from a private car journey is the person in the car. It is people around the car that bare the detriments, such as the noise, air pollution, delays from added congestion and safety risks.

Nationally 20 mph zones started being implemented in the early 1990s and now around 450 have been implemented by local authorities around the country. In the United States 25 mph has been a common speed limit on residential streets for decades.

Speed only part of the solution

Road safety is not solely about speed. Following the highway code is important. Paying attention to driving conditions and trying to anticipate events helps to reduce accidents. There is no substitute for good driving.

Residential streets are by definition, places where people live. Reducing speed limits will help to restore priority to the people who live there over traffic passing through.

Further reading

http://www.slower-speeds.org.uk
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tpm/tal/trafficmanagement/20mphspeedlimitsandzones
http://www.livingstreets.org.uk/what_you_can_do/content/20mph.php