20mph Wales Petition

[jhg1958]

If the cost is £30 million and saves 10  lives this would take about 18 months to pay back given the value of life used by the uk government to prevent deaths on the road is about £2 million.

However, this is too simplistic an argument. There are many costs and benefits to speed limits, frustrations of motorists including ourselves being only one. We live in an increasingly risk adverse country scared of litigation, quick to blame others and fear being blamed ourselves. Not a good change in my mind.

BTW
I would not discourage anyone to sign the petition only to put their real post code in.

I think the Welsh approach is heavy handed and main roads should left as 30 zones. I would support side roads and rat runs to reduce to 20 mph, I lived in one and it made life much easier walking and cycling if a little harder driving.

It is a bit like the heavy handed use of double white lines. It seems to be used as a surrogate for sensible driving/riding. Bloody annoying. We all seem to pay for the stupidity of the few.

John

[Minto]

70% of the vehicles that go through our village do not obey the 30mph MAXIMUM SPEED  signs on the speed awareness sessions we have done, but no one has been done for speeding for as long as I can remember.

Little point in getting hot under the collar over a 20 mph limit as most will ignore that as well and there will be little or no enforcement on that either.

We used to have a police station with 12 police locally plus police houses in the villages, all are closed now. There is no fear of enforcement any more.

My thoughts on it are these...

I find the new restrictions irritating and in places ill judged.
This said, if people drove properly and adjusted their driving for the conditions and environment they were in, there would be no justification for these measures. But, they don't!
Oh, and yes, in reality it's definitely just another revenue stream.

[Swarfcut]

 Too true Minto. Don't get me on speed bumps. Because a few fools persisted in driving like twats, they are ubiquitous and the bane of urban travel. So the well heeled drive 4x4 vehicles, these days wide enough to straddle the obstruction. I'm with Bergs on his outlook in the 21st Century... it's all turning to excrement, but there are plenty at the top on the gravy train. To quote father......  "Son, the scum always rises to the top"

 Swarfy.

[Worty]

Too true Minto. Don't get me on speed bumps. Because a few fools persisted in driving like twats, they are ubiquitous and the bane of urban travel. So the well heeled drive 4x4 vehicles, these days wide enough to straddle the obstruction. I'm with Bergs on his outlook in the 21st Century... it's all turning to excrement, but there are plenty at the top on the gravy train. To quote father......  "Son, the scum always rises to the top"

 Swarfy.

Most certainly sir, most certainly

[Minto]

Swarfy, you're old 'un was bang on!
As for the rest of us, I can't remember who predicted that we will own nothing and be happy about it, but it's definitely heading that way. Sleepwalking into slavery!

[a10 gf]

Norway, most city innercenters got their 20 mph (30 kmh) limit many years ago. One gets used to it. Of course it's sloooow, I accept for one reason, safety gain (pedestrians \ cyclists \ less damage in car collisions). But let's wait for what the statistics tells in a few years.

Btw: Norway, current price if caught using a mobile: around 900 euros :O)

[berger]

sleep walking into slavery, well i never, more like being programmed from the cradle to the grave. ants come to mind , queen at the top then workers and soldiers, they are now cajoling to get more people into the RAF --- i wonder why???? to my way of thinking people in this country who have had letters saying a gas or electric standing charge is falling by 3pence a day think they are getting a reduction,  [ way to many thick twts ] but just think they doubled the price not to long ago and the thick twts said oh dear electrics going up! NO it didn't the standing charge nearly doubled!!!   as for direct debit and duel fuel they can sod off. i am keeping mine as different suppliers and paying cash. i am waiting for the 11th letter telling me i need to UPGRADE!! to a smart meter. haha what a laugh, my brother a retired electrician gets letters telling him his electric meter is out of date and needs changing, this makes him *** because before he retired he was testing meters over 80 years old and they were perfect. it is now 1984  everyone is on camera , logans run and the prisoner plus the science fiction we took for a laugh is all happening. very scary sht. but i'm sure things will be fine if you believe the kings and queens and politicians really do have your best interests at heart. now back to 20mph YES a normal speed for reverse when we need to escape  from all the sound bites and bullsht our so called Rt Honourable members of their club spew out of their cabbaged minds that are blighted by the next million pounds they can shove in their off shore tax free accounts!!!!!!!!! rant over sorry not sorry , ps i did NOT go to the pub!

[muskrat]

G'day Bergs.
Go to the pub mate. I often think if politicians went to the pub on a Friday night and sat at the bar for a few hours all the worlds problems would be solved in a month.
In NSW the fine for illegal mobile phone use is $362, or $481 if detected in a school zone. There's also a penalty of 5/12 demerit points for illegal mobile phone use.
20 MPH = 32 KPH, our school zones are 40 KPH, and going by the amount of youth crime it should be tripled around high schools 
Cheers 

[Worty]

Norway, most city innercenters got their 20 mph (30 kmh) limit many years ago. One gets used to it. Of course it's sloooow, I accept for one reason, safety gain (pedestrians \ cyclists \ less damage in car collisions). But let's wait for what the statistics tells in a few years.

Btw: Norway, current price if caught using a mobile: around 900 euros :O)

Apparently, they tried it in Belfast, made no difference at all.

[berger]

snail pace

[Joolstacho]

Has anyone noticed that the increasing bingles suffered by motorcyclists seem to be rising in direct proportion to the increasing number of cars with computer screens in the dash?
(In Oz anyway)

[berger]

i don't think this sort of thing will stop now , the wheels are spinning very fast ------- unless you live in Wales

[Worty]

Mobile phone use whilst driving should be at least £1000 plus a minimum of a year's ban.  Sat navs - is it better than reading a map when you're driving??  Mind you, in Wales, you could probably eat a curry, roll a fag, have a sip of coffee and read the newspaper and still be perfectly safe (even on a motorcycle).

[Worty]

Petition is now approaching 400,000 signatures - now only an arrogant, authoritarian, ignorant, dictatorial, self-righteous b*****d would ignore that, now wouldn't they?  This almost represents 20% of the total number of possible voters in Wales!

[Greybeard]

The problem is, no politician will risk raising speed limits in case they get accused of causing genocide on the roads. UK maximum speed is 70mph, (113kph). It has been set at that since cars had crossply tyres, terrible drum brakes all round and anyway not many could exceed that speed. On our Motorway's, (freeway) a majority of drivers now exceed 70. Staying at 70 means you are one of the slower vehicles and having to dodge in and out of lane two to overtake lorries, caravans and little old ladies in Nissan Micra's in lane one. It's easy to understand why many drivers hog lane two and stick to 70. I try to use lane one as much as possible but how often am I blocked in by a car in lane two doing the same speed as the vehicles I want to pass. Vehicles are very much safer now; a higher limit seems sensible to me. As I said though, no politician will risk proposing a move that could be seen as causing danger to people.
Have driving skills has improved since the 1960's? I don't think so. It's the safety of cars that keeps the terrible injuries, (impaled by the steering column for instance) down. I would like to see a much harder driving test introduced and repeat tests every five years. It's 56 years since I was last tested!