Statistics published today by the U.K. Department for Transport (DfT) show that in 2022 85% of the car drivers in Great Britain broke the law by driving faster than the speed limit in 20mph zones. On roads with a 30mph maximum, 50% of car drivers broke the law, reveals the annual DfT report on speed limit compliance.
The measurements are based on speed data from a sample of Automatic Traffic Counters (ATCs) around the country. These exclude locations where external factors might restrict driver behavior, such as at junctions, on hills, beside sharp bends or where speed cameras are visible, says the DfT report.
I’ve tried driving at 20mph on some of those roads and you get so much traffic up your arse that it feels dangerous. I assume they just want you to slow down below 30mph. I will say I think it’s a lot more than 85%.
The data shows 70-90%. However, about half are no more than 5 mph over the limit.
It also details the caveat that almost all of the 20 mph roads measured are free-flow areas without traffic calming, and it doesn’t represent the majority of 20 mph roads where traffic calming is present and traffic will naturally be slower. So, basically they’re measuring compliance in 20 mph zones that don’t really feel like 20 mph zones.
Compliance is much better for 30, 60 and 70 mph limits.
So it’s ok to not comply with laws when it feels right?
Well, if it wasn’t for otherwise good citizens breaking laws they know to be wrong, those laws would never get changed.
I don’t think that law is going to get changed by repeatedly breaking it.
I also don’t think it is a bad law. The probability of a pedestrian being fatally injured at 20mph is lower than at 30mph; older studies showed a nearly tenfold reduction; not sure what the figures would be now with the trend towards larger and heavier vehicles (and the offset by pedestrian-friendly design - EuroNCAP score for this). For residential and pedestrian heavy areas I think 20mph is appropriate.
It is also worth bearing in mind that several areas in the UK have already committed to 20mph for residential areas.
I think the more likely outcome is going to be changes to roads and enforcement.
Here’s a .pdf factsheet from RoSPA that looks at 20mph zones.
The only safe way to deal with tailgaters is to slow down gradually. If you fall into the trap speeding up to create more distance, then your braking time will inevitably reduce and they will have less reaction time. This will also result in a harder collision if one occurs.