Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

20mph in Wales - why???

243 replies

Flpwer · 16/09/2023 15:28

I don't understand why Mark Drakeford has done this - surely this will just cause more road rage??? Is this a money-making ploy because they know a lot of people will probably drive over it as 20mph feels so unnatural.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
Hufflepods · 16/09/2023 15:31

Plenty of roads across the UK are 20 miles an hour rather than 30. It’s much safer to drive at 20 miles an hour in congested and more built up areas.
I don’t get your outrage. Fuck road safety, right?

Original poster
Flpwer · 16/09/2023 15:32

@Hufflepods This is nothing to do with road safety. There are roads turning to 20mph in my area that are basically a long stretch with about 2 houses in a field-like area nearby.
Absolutely ridiculous.

OP posts:
Original poster
Flpwer · 16/09/2023 15:34

@Hufflepods and surely if you live in a congested area, nobody would have the opportunity to drive 30mph anyway?
But I live in a very quiet part of Wales and to turn the roads near me to 20mph is ridiculous.

OP posts:
Riverlee · 16/09/2023 15:34

I heard on the radio yesterday an interview with a Welsh minister (?). He said it would add, on average, one minute to each journey, and save ten lives per year.

Nam3chang384 · 16/09/2023 15:37

“Feels unnatural” ah well, I’m that case it must be a terrible idea 😂

im sure it’s actually pretty easy to find out the reasoning behind the policy, I imagine because they have modelled it and think that fewer people will be seriously injured or die. I also suspect it’s better for pollution levels but I haven’t looked it up. 30mph is just as arbitrary as 20mph and lower speeds are inevitably safer overall.

Spottywombat · 16/09/2023 15:37

So they can avoid fixing the potholes or sorting out the complete lack of medical/social care...

LunchBoxPolice · 16/09/2023 15:40

I live in the Welsh town that they started it in and it’s awful. Road rage and dangerous driving has increased, people regularly overtake in dangerous spots because people are sticking to 20.

ditalini · 16/09/2023 15:40

Spend a bit of time meditating on the extra time in minutes and seconds each journey will take you.

Feel refreshed and calmer at realising it's fuck all.

Thatwouldbeme · 16/09/2023 15:41

I can understand on housing estates / built up areas, which already are 20 but I think this plan is just going to cause so much frustion and I don't believe it's going to help the environment /hospital admissions as much as the say but will add money to the government pocket. I live in Wales so time will tell.

Original poster
Flpwer · 16/09/2023 15:42

@LunchBoxPolice I live in rural Wales and it seems this will work in the Urban side of Wales but the roads near me are not worth a 20mph speed limit

OP posts:
Original poster
Flpwer · 16/09/2023 15:43

@ditalini Thanks for your sarcastic input to the thread. Maybe spend your time learning that people have differing opinions and there is no need for the sarcasm

OP posts:
Original poster
Flpwer · 16/09/2023 15:44

@Thatwouldbeme yes the blanket 20mph is ridiculous and it seems the people of Mumsnet seem the only people happy about this as the locals near me are extremely unhappy about this change and on the Welsh news comments, most people are not in favour of this

OP posts:
KimberleyClark · 16/09/2023 15:45

The roads in Cardiff have been 20mph for a while. Doesn’t bother me. You get used to it.

WelshNerd · 16/09/2023 15:46

I think it's important to note that it doesn't apply to all roads and if there is a road which the local council believes should have a higher limit they can keep it higher.

On the example you raised of an isolated busy road, there should have been an engagement exercise by local authorities about their specific plans. Did you engage with this?

Thatwouldbeme · 16/09/2023 15:46

@Flpwer When I go on my local fb page no one has a good word for it, so I don't think it's very popular

CrazyCarDrivers · 16/09/2023 15:46

LunchBoxPolice · 16/09/2023 15:40

I live in the Welsh town that they started it in and it’s awful. Road rage and dangerous driving has increased, people regularly overtake in dangerous spots because people are sticking to 20.

I agree.
I’ve had idiots tailgating me, gesturing, overtaking in dangerous spots and swearing at me -it’s terrifying! It’s going to be so much worse when it’s every road from tomorrow.

ditalini · 16/09/2023 15:46

Flpwer · 16/09/2023 15:43

@ditalini Thanks for your sarcastic input to the thread. Maybe spend your time learning that people have differing opinions and there is no need for the sarcasm

I'm not being sarcastic - I honestly think you're massively overestimating the difference it's going to make to your life.

Seriously, it'll just feel like driving at the same speed within a couple of months.

It feels like a big difference to go from 30 to 20, but it's nothing in the scheme of the various other delays in the average journey.

Ginmonkeyagain · 16/09/2023 15:47

Many roads in London have been 20 mph for a few years now. The sky did not fall in.

There is a lot of credible evidence that shows people (especially children) hit by a car going 20 mph have a far greater chance of surviving.

Original poster
Flpwer · 16/09/2023 15:47

@KimberleyClark Cardiff is a city, I can see why 20mph wouldn't be a problem there. Whereas, for a lot of places in North Wales, this rule is very "nanny-state"

OP posts:
Original poster
Flpwer · 16/09/2023 15:48

@Ginmonkeyagain you can't really compare London roads to rural Welsh roads

OP posts:
Original poster
Flpwer · 16/09/2023 15:49

@CrazyCarDrivers I never break the speed limit so I'll follow the 20mph but I'm already preparing for the amount of abuse I'm going to get from other drivers (I don't blame them for being angry tbh)

OP posts:
Original poster
Flpwer · 16/09/2023 15:49

@Thatwouldbeme yes same with me. Everyone I've spoken to and comments I've read online, more people seem outraged than happy with it

OP posts:
Ginmonkeyagain · 16/09/2023 15:50

But why is it so important to go faster than 20mph on these rural roads?

When 20mph was introduced in our borough there was a guy who would constantly post loads of stuff on local forums about how bad it was for cars, drivers, the environment, safety etc.. I did wonder how empty his life must be to be that bothered about having to drive 10mph slower.

Original poster
Flpwer · 16/09/2023 15:52

I bet our local police will manage to find a ton of police officers to speed check people tomorrow...

OP posts:
StarbucksSmarterSister · 16/09/2023 15:52

yes the blanket 20mph is ridiculous

It's not blanket though, is it?

20mph in Wales - why???