Almost all Brits speed in 20mph zones, DfT reveals – so what’s the point of adding more of them?
A whopping 86 per cent of drivers exceed the 20mph speed limit, which spikes at 94 per cent in the hours after midnight
NEARLY all Brits shun 20mph zones, with up to 94 per cent of drivers exceeding the limit across the country.
The latest DfT (Department for Transport) figures fuels the argument against the reduced speed's effectiveness.
Cars are the worst culprits for speeding in 20mph zones, with 86 per cent fleeting the limit.
Two-wheelers closely follow at 85 per cent, and light commercial vehicles with 84 per cent.
Public transport is also guilty of speeding with over three quarters of long buses caught by the DfT and more than half of short buses.
Further to that, one in three bikes and mopeds travel 30mph-plus in 20mph zones, as well as a fifth of car drivers.
During rush hours of 8am and 5pm, 81 per cent of vehicles exceed 20mph speed limits - the lowest amount in the day.
This spikes at 1am and 2am when a whopping 94 per cent of drivers break the road law.
Despite the outright disregard for 20mph zones, councils and city leaders continue to extend their prominence.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, for example, plans to apply 20mph limits to around 100 miles of Greater London roads by the end of his term in 2020.
His Vision Zero strategy claims that fatalities are five times more likely when driving at the current 30mph speed.
Meanwhile, The Sun recently uncovered that local councils are wasting millions of pounds on rolling out the reduced speed limit, despite more deaths occurring on roads where 20mph was already in force.
However, the AA points out that 20mph signs are a good way for drivers to adhere to the former 30mph standard.
And the new DfT figures show that where 20mph have been in place, eight out of 10 drivers travel under 30mph - but in 30mph zones, less than half of motorists stick to the limit.
The AA also believes councils are right to reduce the speed limit where its surroundings necessitate, such as around schools and hospitals.
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An AA spokesperson told Sun Motors: "Accepting that 20mph roads started as 30mph roads and the limit reduction was intended to slow vehicles down, they work.
"However, blanket 20mph zones dilute the speed limit’s effectiveness and compliance. Worse still, the cost of installation has diverted stretched highway funds from filling in potholes - which have killed 22 cyclists since 2007 - and from targeted road safety improvements, such as pedestrian crossings on school routes."
Rebecca Ashton, IAM RoadSmart Head of Driver Behaviour, also told Sun Motors: "Twenty mph zones, areas and limits have been gaining in popularity in recent years, but their overall impact on road safety is at best unclear.
"In IAM RoadSmart’s view, many of these schemes have been introduced with little evaluation of their road safety benefits which have often been overstated. Where they have been evaluated, as most recently in Manchester, they are being reviewed because their impact has been minimal.
"The core of our argument is that drivers use the clues from the built up environment around them to judge the correct speed. In narrow roads with parked cars and pedestrians, the vast majority of drivers reduce their speed anyway.
"Where limits do not match the environment uncertainty and confusion are generated which can raise stress, distract from driving and may also lead to a wider disrespect for speed limits.
"This is why the IAM does not favour a blanket approach to speed limits or a wholesale change in the urban limit from 30 to 20.
"Simply changing a few signs on the edge of a ‘zone’ and hoping the message sticks does not seem to be working.”