Speed limit debate revs up - could slower speeds be more dangerous?

Wednesday 08 August 2018

Battle lines are being drawn on plans to reduce 81 more roads across the island to a speed limit of 25mph.

The proposals have been made by Environment & Infrastructure alongside a month long public consultation.

Advocates of the change, and also those against, it have been making themselves heard in the weeks that followed the announcement.

Much of the more recent discussion on the island has surrounded an article written in the Telegraph in the UK.

The article focuses on the councils in Bath and North East Somerset, who spent £871,000 bringing in 13 new 20mph speed zones at the end of 2016.

Just one year on they were faced with statistics which "forced them to admit" reducing the speed limits had caused a rise in death and serious injuries.

A review conducted into the matter nationally said: "There is no simple explanation for this adverse trend but it could be that local people perceive the area to be safer due to the presence of the 20mph restrictions and thus are less diligent when walking and crossing roads, cycling or otherwise travelling." 

Also notably locally, a number of authority figures for the Vale, where many of the changes could be made with roads like Braye Road in the firing line, have spoken out against the changes.

One of the parishes Senior Constables, Richard Leale, went on the record to say the changes would be a "waste of time".

He said he and the douzaine were unable to support the proposals because of questions over both the plans themselves and the motivations behind them. 

Mr Leale did make it clear that the Douzaine wasn’t opposed to all speed limit reductions, but raised questions over the validity of current speed limits as they stood, reductions aside.

Deputies have also made their positions clear since the announcement of the proposals by E&I.

The Deputy in charge of Home Affairs - the committee behind road's policing - Mary Lowe, said the changes were on a scale that required a thorough debate.

Meanwhile, Environment & Infrastructure member Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez urged members of the public to engage with its consultation on speed limits – saying people’s knowledge could prove invaluable to the decision making process.

“All views will be considered, the people who live in these areas know them best, so I urge them to submit their views, and then we can make better evidence based decisions.” 

The proposal is to introduce and extend 25mph speed limits to broadly cover all Local Centres and Main Centre Outer Areas as defined in the Island Development Plan. This is the first of a two phase review of the Island's speed limits.  

Anyone wishing to comment on the proposals should do so either by emailing traffic@gov.gg or writing to Traffic & Highway Services, P O Box 145, Bulwer Avenue, St Sampson's, GY2 4LR, to arrive no later than Monday 13^th August.