20mph School Speed Limits Campaign - UPDATES PAGE

UPDATE - December 2009  

I was very pleased to see a recent study claiming that 20mph speed limits in UK city zones would cut road injuries by over 40 percent. The study, carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimates that only one in forty people would die as a result of being hit at 20mph, as opposed to a one in five chance for someone hit at 30mph.

It is also worth noting that the greatest reduction was seen in children under the age of 11 years. Cyclist injuries have also fallen by 17 percent in existing 20mph zones, with injuries to pedestrians cut by almost a third.

The Department of Transport said that this study backed their own research, showing that 20mph zones help to reduce accidents and casualties. This evidence supports the rationale for 20mph zones not just in major cities in Britain, but also in similar metropolitan areas elsewhere. The Department’s road safety strategy consultation recommends that local authorities introduce, over time, 20mph zones to streets around schools and in other areas where pedestrian and cycle traffic is high, such as near parks.

The Government has already met its target of cutting deaths and serious injuries by 40% by the end of 2010, but Ministers are planning to go further and build on this impressive record. The Government says more ambitious targets are needed for reducing deaths as it enters the final year of its decade-long road safety strategy.

The Department for Transport will now also allow 20mph limits to be used more widely without the need for additional traffic calming measures. This would allow 20mph limits to be imposed on roads more easily, particularly where physical traffic calming measures are not possible or practical.

I have also had recent correspondence with Norfolk County Council regarding the speed limit in Bradwell near the recently relocated post office on Church Lane. Unfortunately the Council feels that they are unable to lower the 30mph speed limit as they are not in a position to pro-actively lower speed limits where there is only a perceived safety issue. The Council states that they will only commit resources to reducing accidents where regular casualties occur, and they do not feel that Church Lane fits into this category. However, they do state that they will monitor the situation around the Post Office so I will continue to press them on this matter in the hope that it can be addressed in the near future.

I find it very disappointing to suggest that only when a series of accidents occur will they step into action and consider reducing the speed limits. Have they not heard the saying “prevention is better than cure?” I will keep the pressure up on them to act.

UPDATE - July 2009

Since the campaign was started to see 20mph speed limits introduced outside all schools in the Yarmouth area last year, I have received more than 1,000 replies from parents, with the overwhelming majority supporting the idea.

The issues have since been taken up in a wider sense with Norfolk Police and Norfolk County Council piloting a School Watch initiative, seeking to tackle dangerous parking and driving outside schools including Woodlands Primary School in Bradwell. I have now stepped up the campaign by sharing the further results of the parents' survey again with Norfolk County Council and the Highways Agency.

UPDATE, June 2009

Last year I contacted parents and teachers about the need for a 20mph speed limit around our schools, with the overwhelming response supporting this idea, I am also aware of the current campaign in our Northern Parishes. The County Council, who have responsibility for the highways, explained to me after I presented them with the support for the 20mph limit, that it would be difficult and costly to implement.

However, in April of this year, the Government launched a ten-year review into national road safety. In a consultation document, Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick MP said he will seek views on road casualty reduction targets up to 2020, and he is likely to lay down guidelines to be followed by local authorities in England and Wales in deciding speed limits on local roads.

Several councils, such as Newcastle, Portsmouth, Oxford and Leicester, already have 20mph speed limits in residential areas, and more areas can now be expected to introduce such low-speed zones around schools and some residential areas. Local authorities will also be given extra guidance in implementing 20mph zones. In addition, these new casualty reduction targets will replace the existing ones which have largely been successful in reducing annual road deaths, which have now dropped below 3,000 for the first time.

Traffic calming measures have also played an important role in making our roads safer, and I hope that the council can also build on road safety success in this area.

This Government initiative is encouraging and to be welcomed, so let's now hope we see all roads near schools adopting the 20mph speed limit. I know of some that already have done this, and I believe that this should be extended to Great Yarmouth, and throughout the UK, and this is what I will continue to push for. As usual, any further updates can be found here.

UPDATE - 20 Miles an hour campaign continues...

Further to my campaign to see 20mph speed limits introduced around our local schools, I have compiled the results of the surveys I received back and have submitted them to Norfolk County Council and the Highways Agency. 

For a detailed breakdown of the results by school - please click this purple 'doc.' logo below.

My Campaign for 20 Miles Per Hour Speed limits in schools

Recently, I launched a campaign to bring 20 mile an hour speed limits in front of all schools in the constituency to reduce road accidents and fatalities. I have asked local parents to complete a questionnaire regarding their children's schools to evaluate the level of support for such a scheme.

I will then collate the results and submit them to Norfolk County Council. I am asking all parents, teachers and constituents of Great Yarmouth to contact me on this issue, either at my office, through their local school who have copies of the questionnaire or online. I will of course keep you all updated with the results of the questionnaire as I receive them, and I will update this page with the latest details of the campaign.