To ask if anyone actually sticks to 20mph speed limits?

I didn’t say it was universal, I was just saying what ours do. We get a post published every morning and if they say they’re going to be in X village then it’s always, always in the same spot.

Having just come back from a week in France there are now a lot of 30kph (about 18.5mph) speed limits both in towns and rural villages.

The other thing I'd never seen previously was the solitary traffic light. No junction, no crossing, presumably there solely to stop traffic breaking the speed limit. Very clever - while a lot of drivers seem happy to ignore posted signs or reminders I suspect far fewer are prepared to drive through red traffic lights. So if you're going to speed on this road - we're going to stop you.

It isn’t anti car - it’s pro-people.

Drivers speeding really affects the people who live in those streets especially children as it means they can’t play out & it delays when they can walk or cycle independently. It leads to collisions, many of which are preventable. If a driver does injure/ kill another person sentencing is far more lenient than for other crimes inflicting similar injuries.

Drivers have most of the transport budget spent on them and a vast amount of land for roads, carparks etc to enable them to drive.

Even minor collisions can inflict a lot of pain on the victim - broken collarbones, concussion, bones needing pinning are just some of the injuries I remember from local collision reports.

No-one is anti-car but unfortunately the public does need to be protected from the behaviour of a sizeable number of drivers. Hence the limits.

I try to but it makes me wish I had cruise control, if it's even slightly hilly I find it really hard to maintain at 20. I don't know if it's automatic specific as I have never driven manual, but I could be speeding in a 20 without touching the accelerator. Agree there's always someone up my arse though.

That’s all true. But it doesn’t account for pointless 20mph zones.

There’s a road near me through woodland. Dead straight, two generous lanes - two big lorries can pass each other without difficulty - well lit, no houses or schools or other buildings at all. Cyclists have a separate cycle lane for the entire length of the road. No one I know has ever heard of an accident on this road over decades. But it’s been decided that it should be 20mph. It’s 30mph on all surrounding roads.

Why? Apart from being a pet policy of the local council and being anti-car, what possible reason could there be?

I believe you're allowed 10% + 1 mph over the shown limit to allow for road conditions, calibration etc.

So for examples in a 20mph zone, you could get away with 20 + 2 (10%) + 1 mph = 23 mph.

I used to work in a department that dealt with employees speeding fines, PCNs etc. and I used to get loads of their speeding fines for 24 mph in 20 mph zones. Never saw one for 23.

Many years ago I had to go on a speed awareness course myself. Of 15 people attending the course 12 of us (myself included) got caught by the same camera doing 36mph in a 30 zone.

The guys taking the course knew this particular camera and told us that it was set at 36mph.

An example of a pointless 20mph limit is Park Lane jn central London. It was brought down from a 40mph limit.

It is three large lanes either side, Hyde Park on one side and hotels/offices on the other. And plenty of lights for people to cross.

Couldn't agree more! Just another money maker for Sadiq!

Just to add to my previous post which wasn't completely correct, and which I wasn't aware of

The 10% + 2 mph Guideline

• Many UK police forces use an unofficial Speed camera tolerances in the UK guideline of 10% plus 2 mph before starting formal enforcement.
• For a 30 mph zone, this means cameras or police might not trigger until 35 mph.
• For a 70 mph motorway limit, enforcement might start at 79 mph. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Important Rules to Remember

• Not a legal right: Tolerances are completely discretionary and vary by police force region.
• No guarantees: Some forces use different thresholds or none at all, meaning you can still be fined for minor excesses.
• Equipment error: The "plus 2 mph" part of the guideline accounts for minor technical inaccuracies in speedometers and police detection gear. 1, , 4, 5]

That isn't where the money goes. So no.

You are correct! PCNs go to TFL, not speeding fines.

I stay within speed limits, apart from anything else you never know where there might be a secret speed camera these days. My DP once got a letter from the police through the door, he'd been followed by an unmarked police car who had deemed an overtaking manoeuvre he made to be unsafe and he got a warning.

If I'm doing the speed limit and other people get shirty and overtake that's up to them, if they want to potentially have to pay a speeding fine, get points on their licenses and have their insurance premiums increase because of that, again that's up to them! I'd rather not.

You do realise surely that it's not just about braking speed? Life is so much nicer as a pedestrian, neighbour, cyclist, horse rider etc if cars go at 20mph? Everything gets quieter, safer and calmer.

Yes I do. I think the main thing being stopping distance at 20mph vs stopping distance at 30mph say, is quite significant. If a child ran out in front of me, and I knew I’d been going above 20 in a 20 limit, and I hit them - it just doesn’t bear thinking about. I don’t care how many twats are up my arse!

@buddy79 ,

But you could use the same argument for 10mph vs 20mph.

Surely the best strategy is to drive using your brain. I will drive 35mph down some 20mph limits, assuming they are safe and I have good visibility (and I know where the cameras are!).

Equally, in others, I will slow right down to 10mph if there are parked cars, poor visibility etc etc

I don’t think this thread is typical of real life, either. I am often driving at 30mph in a 20mph limit with a stream of cars behind and in front of me all doing the same speed.

I didn’t used to stick to 20 but I’ve been caught twice for speeding in 20 zones (one at 24 and one at 25) so now I stick to it like glue and I agree hardly anyone else does!!! It does feel abnormally slow I must say…

I've driven an automatic and a 2.0 litre Diesel, both where I had to constantly brake/take my foot off the accelerator in a 20 area. I don't have an issue in a 1.2 Suzuki! So it is definitely easier in some vehicles than others.

I stick to all speed limits but 20 mph is quite hard. I’m too stingy to want to pay a fine or pay more for insurance if I get points. I don’t think the safety onus should be all on the driver though. People should take care crossing the road and not just wander out whilst looking down at their ruddy phones.

I do generally and can't believe the speed limit on fairly narrow residential roads was ever 30 now (and that I used to drive 30!). It harder to stick to on wider free flowing roads but the speed cameras usually see to that.

Brains differ!!

I sometimes drive in Richmond Park. It has had a 20mph limit for years, but plenty of people overtake me doing 20 if nothing is coming towards us.

Their brain tells them this is acceptable. Mine tells me there are deer that could jump out in front of us at any moment, that it's a park and speeding isn't ok.