Am I the only idiot that sticks to the 20 MPH limit?

OP, you are not an idiot.

There are some places when a 20 is absolutely justifiable, but most of Brighton is now 20 and some of these streets are huge, wide, long, no schools or anything and it's sooooo frustrating.

I don't know if it's still the same (I'm going back to 2005 with my knowledge), but Northants only used to allow drivers caught doing 34 in a 30 do the SAC. That was the extent of their 'generosity'.

What’s needed is changes to make the road ‘feel’ slower so people naturally drive much more slowly.

Or people are taught to respect the law ? It's weird than only behind a wheel of a car do we end up discussing how lawbreakers should be accommodated. So I will balance your change - which will cost millions we haven't got, with my suggestion, which is: Caught speeding ? Instant ban. Much cheaper to administrate. And much more in keeping with the general presumption that people obey the law ? After all no insurance ? Vehicle seized (and you walk). Drunk driving ? Instant ban (and it damn well should be - zero exceptions).

Balance this thread against threads where an OP comments they were happily doing 70 on a motorway, and there's a flood of replies saying they should get out of the way for traffic to pass - which is clearly a human right.

I tend to stick to the speed limit but I have not seen a through road at 20 yet. Not sure how I feel about them - in a housing estate or village without pavements I can see it’s a good idea but for normal towns and villages without evidence of accidents or black spots I don’t see the need. I would be happy if they enforced the 30s

The 5mph signs in car parks crack me up, it is too difficult to drive at that speed and I have never see anyone going that slow. I go very slow but not 5mph. I presume it’s not enforceable though as private land.

Speed limits are law if they have a red circle around them

I stick to it and I purposely slow down to below 20 if a dickhead gets up my arse.

I got a ticket and 3 points for doing 27 in a 20 zone so this is enforced

Were you not offered a Speed Awareness Course.

I was done for 38 in a 30 (it was along one of those roads that goes 30/40/30/40/30/40 being discussed in another thread as I type). I was slowing down to reset my speed limiter

Anyway, against all my expectations the SAC was informative, interesting (just as much for the attitudes of the other attendees) and certainly raised my game regarding speed limits. If nothing else, attending gave me a heads up on a lot of measures we are now seeing - as I said upthread the next step after 20mph zones will be a flood of average speed cameras around them, so speeders will be caught.

They've made a few A roads in Brum subject to average speed cameras (A456, A45, A38) and you have to work very hard to speed.

Highway Code: MUST is law. SHOULD is advice. So it’s a mixture.

It’s hard when a road ‘says’ 30 or 40 to drivers, but has a lower limit. What’s needed is changes to make the road ‘feel’ slower so people naturally drive much more slowly.

I follow the flow of traffic with my driving

I'd much rather you made up your own mind. I guess that makes me weird.

Yes, yes you are. But I applaud you for it, if that helps?

It is enforced at random in my town. One village has permanent speed cameras and then the police do random visits all over with speed guns. Wish they would visit my road again as it is used as a race track. Never mind people driving at 30 in a 20 zone, they tend do 40-50. In areas where there are children I understand why it is 20. I had a little boy just run across the road from in between parked cars, in front of me, last week. Had I been going at 30 I would have hit him. At 20 I had time to see him and react.

👍🏻 wibble

I got a ticket and 3 points for doing 27 in a 20 zone so this is enforced. Since then I’ve stuck to the limit, but this annoys other drivers.

Why would you not stick to the speed limit? This is the very upper limit it is deemed safe to travel on a particular road.

"The routes in question have been 30mph for decades until changing recently, and if post up-thread are to be believed, the people who deemed 20mph to be safer are wrong."

Are you a highways or planning engineer? Are the people in the "my road doesn't need to be 20mph" Gang? No? Ok, so someone with relevant experience and qualifications has looked at the road in question, and the ones surrounding it and decided the limit can be lowered. The picture below shows a couple of hazards that may seem it wise to have a 20 limit.

It's not just about accidents. It's partly about de-prioritising cars - making the streets more pleasant for pedestrians and cyclists, and making car journeys such a pita that people use other modes of transport. If you don't like that, you are a gas-guzzling climate change denier and you're opninion worth nothing.

My street is a 20 and has lots of elderly people, kids and dogs running about so you can bet that I'm going 20.
The Main Street nearest me is 30 so I was going along there last night when a couple of eejits were right up behind me then flew past me, another car turned into the street ahead also doing 30 and they got stuck behind them instead. I actually laughed out loud.

I know it’s hard without context but this is the sort of road I’m talking about

Why would you not stick to the speed limit? This is the very upper limit it is deemed safe to travel on a particular road.

The routes in question have been 30mph for decades until changing recently, and if post up-thread are to be believed, the people who deemed 20mph to be safer are wrong.

Never seen a road at 20, which is really slow, unless it's near a school at school start/end times only. Obviously keep to it then. Is it a city thing? I don't tend to drive in cities as public transport is often easier/cheaper than parking.

It's seems to be general policy where I am to convert most 30mph roads to 20mph. Including major routes with no residential properties or schools directly on them, and no pedestrians alongside them because anyone travelling along the road would take a bus.

I live in London surrounded by 20mph roads. I vary rarely stock to them and will often do 25-30 on the roads where it is reasonable to do so. Eg long straight roads, not near schools or lots of hazards. I will slow down on roads where 20 seems logical or if I’m in an area where I don’t know the roads. But doing 20 round here just causes problems as it’s unnecessary and everyone around just gets really annoyed.

Also, there are speed cameras on some of them.

I always drive slowly round schools during school time as I know how unpredictable children are . I don’t otherwise though

People are so idiotic about driving speed. If your entire commute of ten miles were in a 20 zone with no other traffic congestion or stop lights/signs/roundabouts/crossings to slow you down, you’d get home ten minutes later than you would at 30. However no one has a commute like that. If you add in the fact that you’re spending at least part of your commute on 30, 40, NSL roads, and motorways, plus all the other congestion and reasons to slow down and stop, you’re looking at an average difference of seconds, not minutes, to the length of your journey because of 20mph limits. If death rates have gone up, it’s not because of the limit but rather because of the slack-jawed selfish idiots who think they’re more important than everyone else (several of whom have shown themselves on this thread).

I would say though that I wish speedos were more accurate at low speeds. When I’m dead on 20 the signs that read your speed back at you flash 15 or 16. I imagine that’s frustrating to the impatient bellends behind me and it makes them act even more dangerously by revving and looking to pass dangerously.

I do 30 in the 20s 🤷‍♀️

I follow the flow of traffic with my driving, if someone is doing 20 in the 20 I don't tailgate and get annoyed, but I've seen plenty of people do just that. If someones doing 30 in a twenty I'll do 30 behind them.

I don't know where all these posters live that follow the 20 signs. They don't live in my part of England that's for sure.

Interestingly there was a recent report that said pedestrian injuries had increased in 20 mph zones because pedestrians were more likely to walk out without checking than in a 30 zone.

Depending on the road I might go quicker because I'm a terrible human.