To think that a 20mph speed camera on a main road is ridiculous

[Pizzamm]

Just been to Wales for the day to meet my family. I’m driving along a main road near Flint and as I’m going through a speed camera at around 27 I’ve realised there is a sign saying 20 afterwards?! AIBU to think that 20 is a ridiculous speed limit on a main road? There are no indications from the road that this is a 20, it looks more of a 30-40 ( fairly wide road, not overly pedestrian).

if I get a speed ticket for 26mph I’m going to be pretty grumpy 😅

I have no problem with it. Much safer for kids especially those on bikes who would have to stick to the pavements otherwise. It's not difficult to adjust to.

I bet if we drove 10 mph deaths would decrease even more. Horse and cart would mean even lower deaths.

That’s because that is exactly what it is, a money making exercise! If you get stuck behind someone sticking to the 20mph (they are usually only doing between 15-18mph) long queues of traffic, bumper to bumper behind them, looking down constantly at your speedo and having to keep changing between 2nd and 3rd gear on A-roads where 90% of the time there is either no people around or, if there are people about, they are on wide pavements! The majority of drivers I see are not keeping to the 20mph, and I definitely see much more impatient driving and overtaking since it came in. It’s ridiculous but hey, Welcome to Snales!

Just to say that when first introduced uo here it was slightly tricky ( illogical and overused ) but they did a revamp of the limits after a couple of years and they are now easily logical - built up area 20 with a 30 or 40 run up in most cases

We have this in Bristol. It’s a total pain.

Yes this. London has been reduced to gridlock. Every camera is with the aim of making money from motorists but that money improves nothing. Piss-taking shambles.

Don't be planning any holidays to Ireland, OP, they're about to change the speed limit in built up areas to 30 km per hour which is 18.6 miles per hour!
As well as reducing speeds on rural roads.

I'm in London and everyone moaned at the beginning but you get used to it and I don't think it makes much difference to overall journey times and of course there is significantly less accidents, therefore significantly less deaths and injuries.

It's also so much easier for learner drivers to learn.

Sure. Before the 20mph limit London roads were famous for being free-flowing and utterly devoid of congestion. I remember driving around Spitalfields, and Holloway, and Elephant & Castle, and Catford, and marvelling how empty the roads were and how effortless it was. There was barely a car as far as the eye could see. And then bam! 20mph limits came in and suddenly there's traffic and queues everywhere. Absolute nightmare.

No recreational cyclist is going over 20mph! That’s like Tour du France speed. Most people are biking like 10-15 mph max.

I support speed limits, we live next to an awful stretch of road and I wish to god they would put cameras up, the speed limit is 20 but every second car roars along it doing 40 as it’s a rat run to the main road. Makes me sick every day crossing the road with my small child and some wanker speeds up it without a care in the world. You have to be so wary. Near a school, too.

in outer London’s case not making public transport cheap enough to make it a viable alternative

There's no need to exaggerate. There have been no road deaths in Helsinki in the past 12 months. The speed limit there is 30 km/h, even less than 20 mph!

The posters who say driving is unbearably tedious at 20 mph sound really stressed, tense and impatient.

‘‘Tis ridiculous but reality - Bristol and Bath both have done this

Just been to Wales and the 20 zones were hard work. I did not always see signage and they seem to change from 20 to 30 or 40 in some places. Also, found so so many people ignoring it and while I would prefer to comply with the law, having a bunch of irate drivers behind you because you ARE complying is stressful. Google maps are wrong too. It largely said 30 when it was 20.

Then found it funny that tiny single track lanes are 60 of course!

I live in a city where 20mph is the norm, it keeps the traffic flowing and safe, and I was grateful the day my teen daughter got knocked over by a car and survived with one break and a bunch of cuts and bruising, she wouldn't have been so lucky if the car was going faster.

That's ridiculous, of course you don't. You drive with the flow of the traffic and you know what 20 feels like, just as you would with any other speed.

When you go on the speed awareness course, they'll explain that missing a 'repeater sign' is a sign of inattentive driving. We all think we're much safer drivers than we actually are.

This isn't something to be proud of.

What is annoying is the indiscriminate errection of 20 mph signs, regardless of the type of road and area. In my town it's now 2 mph on an industrial estate where no one really walks ever because people arrive by car or van. Yet on another stretch that has a a Lidl store on it and a couple of schools nearby, it's 40 - same town (centre!).

That particular road is very confusing with the limits constantly changing. The stretch you’re talking about doesn’t need to be 20

I’m a driver, I live in London, I’m 100% in favour of 20mph zones. Safer, better for the environment, more likely to encourage people onto bikes. If you do the sums, you’d be absolutely amazed at how much extra time a 20mph zone adds to a typical urban 2 or 3 mile journey compared to a 30mph limit (spoiler: very little!).

I live in Wales and its awful to drive now, feel like a snail. There are many safety ideas that could have been implemented which would be less costly and more effective. This is in addition to the detrimental effect on businesses and public transport. In reality most local people only drive at 20mph where there are fixed cameras or where people know the speed cameras are usually operating from. The public bus system has been reduced substantially where I live so if they are trying to push people out of their cars they need to provide a decent alternative

This thread has prompted me to do a "test" drive. At 20 mph I cannot go up to 3rd gear as the car coughs and attempts to stall. Yet at 20 mph it just doesn't "sound" right...the engine is not running smoothly at all

Now at 22-23 mph it's fine in 3rd gear, so my point is, why not make it 25mph. Slower and safer than 30 mph but you feel you're getting somewhere.

And yes, a cyclist did overtake me!!

I'm on holiday in Wales atm and the limit keeps changing- you do need to be vigilant. The road near our holiday cottage has a 20mph stretch on the main road because it goes past a nursery. Then it's 30, then into a town it's 20. Most confusing. But then again I live in a London borough where everything is 20 unless you are on the A3.

Yeah … tell us about it. Better still, tell the Senedd who came up with the bloody stupid idea in the first place.

With all due respect, that's pure unadulterated bollocks. London has ALWAYS been gridlocked. I remember coming for days out as a child in the 80s and the traffic crawling along.

It really doesn't change your journey time much if the limit is 20 not 30. But it does save lives!

Here's some stats

https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/what-london-assembly-does/questions-mayor/find-an-answer/average-traffic-speeds-1