One in Three Drivers Confess to Regularly Ignoring the Lower Limit
As debate continues over the introduction of the 20-mph speed limit on UK roads, a new survey in support of Brake Road Safety Week by Venson Automotive Solutions reveals that only 14% of drivers support its implementation in their area1. Despite the lower speed limit reducing the frequency of accidents involving fatal or serious injury by about 53%2, one in three drivers confess to regularly ignoring it.
The findings come as Brake’s annual Road Safety Week puts the spotlight on the dangers of speeding, which kills five people on the UK’s roads every day3. Simon Staton, Client Management Director of Venson Automotive Solutions says, “In the right places, like residential streets, around schools and in busy pedestrian areas, slowing down can deliver huge safety benefits as well as help reduce harmful emissions and make our towns and cities nicer places to be. Despite media rhetoric, 20-mph zones are not introduced arbitrarily, councils must go through Traffic Regulation Orders to reduce speed limits, to prove they are justified. They truly are there for a reason.”
Venson’s research also highlights that the group of drivers most likely to only adhere to a 20-mph limit if a speed camera is present, are those aged between 18-24 (20%). Meanwhile 11% of men avoid roads with a 20-mph speed limit altogether, compared to 6% of women. The region where most people support the introduction of the 20-mph speed limit is the South East (23%) which has the densest population in the UK, while in Wales where the default speed limit was most recently changed from 30-mph to 20-mph, only 8% say they support their introduction.
Continues Simon Staton, “Restricting speed limits with 20-mph zones has been proven to reduce road deaths. Of course, many drivers are in high pressured jobs with delivery targets and deadlines to meet, but nothing is more important than a person’s life. Drivers should never feel under pressure to speed as slower limits are in place to reduce road casualties and fatalities.”
1An independent survey of 500 motorists conducted by Maru Hub, commissioned by Venson Automotive Solutions, November 2023
2BRAKE Road Safety Week 2023
3A review of 78 20-mph sites across London by TRL – https://www.slough.gov.uk/parking-roads-travel/road-safety-1/3#:~:text=Introduction%20of%2020mph%20zones%20and%20speed%20limits&text=In%20London%20a%20review%20of,is%20a%206.2%25%20accident%20reduction.