The Council are working on implementing citywide mandatory 20mph limits on most roads. In what ways could the roll out of this be supported to maximise the road safety benefits?
1. Make it the default speed limit, with a few roads being 30mph, except where these pass through residential areas, nurseries and schools. 2. Bus lanes on all roads with 30mph speed limits. 3. Identify 'rat runs' and either close them off.
Thank you for your comment. With regard to making 20mph the default speed limit, there was a private members Bill for blanket coverage to reduce the speed limit on restricted roads from 30mph to 20mph across the whole of Scotland. Restricted roads are normally street-lit urban or residential streets, although there are some exemptions to this definition. Unfortunately when the Scottish Parliament voted on the Bill, it failed to get a majority vote and was not be made.
Communication - drivers MUST understand why this is considered and what difference it makes for the safety of all residents. Also be clear on how this will be enforced
It's all about attitude really. Of course pedestrians and cyclists and kids etc etc do all sorts of stupid things that put them in danger around cars, however the person driving the car is the one that is likeliest to cause the most damage if they collide with the other, therefore by having that mindset generally and not exceeding 20mph in those zones, the likelihood and severity of this is reduced.
Thank you for your response, our road safety plan to 2030 is based on the safe systems approach where we recognise that people make mistakes and will continue to make mistakes when using our roads. We therefore need to minimise the impact of that mistake by taking such measures as necessary, through behavioural change, road design, speed reduction and prioritising and protecting our most vulnerable road users in every decision we make.
Enforcement and education are key to this. Without there being consequences for drivers who speed, the rules can be ignored. This means that in the short term there has to be parking wardens, speed cameras, police officers etc in the street to monitor the environment and report offenders. In conjunction there needs to be a concerted effort at every level to communicate the benefits of the measure, from educating school kids to informing driving instructors, using billboards and local media etc. Also a clear message needs to be one that is consistent. So why not implement a 20mph limit across the city as a default, and only certain areas (that are clearly marked) have higher speed limits?
Hi, thank you for responding. The 20mph mandatory speed limit will be applied to the majority of Glasgow's roads with a few exceptions. A study will take place to identify which roads should not be covered i.e. arterial routes, however, these won't be ruled out if there is evidence of road casualties. A full draft communications strategy has already been created and will be part of the implementation and evaluation.
There will be some who will not welcome the change, so there is a need to engage and work with residents and visitors to appreciate the benefits of the roll out
Thank you, yes we will put in place a full communications programme to support the new scheme which will include community engagement and evaluation of the project.
Make 20mph the default, and run consultations to see which may be increased to 30mph. Include the M8 as part of this, to reduce the impact from noise and other negative aspects.
Strictly enforce limits from day one.
Install temporary traffic calming then replace with permanent when roads are being resurfaced or having other work done.
Thank you for your comment. With regard to making 20mph the default speed limit, there was a private members Bill for blanket coverage to reduce the speed limit on restricted roads from 30mph to 20mph across the whole of Scotland. Restricted roads are normally street-lit urban or residential streets, although there are some exemptions to this definition. Unfortunately when the Scottish Parliament voted on the Bill, it failed to get a majority vote and was not be made.
A city wide rule should be effected rather than different areas/ roads at different times. And more cameras should be installed to ensure that the law is being enforced.
The responsibility for the deployment of safety cameras lies with the Safety Cameras Scotland, not the local authority. They have a set of established criteria which must be met before an enforcement camera can be installed but we do engage with them to request specific sites are assessed to see if they meet their criteria.
The obvious answer would be to do a city-wide rollout as quickly as possible. It's not like the concept of a 20mph limit is something drivers should need time to learn, they have all supposedly passed a test which featured the existence of speed limits. But as we all know drivers don't care much about speed limits and government stats show almost nobody actually stays under 20mph: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/vehicle-speed-compliance-statistics-for-great-britain-2022/vehicle-speed-compliance-statistics-for-great-britain-2022#vehicle-speeds-on-20mph-roads. Even with the caveats noted that level of contempt for the law and the safety of vulnerable road users is shocking. Like the question on road safety, the way to maximise the benefits of 20mph limits is to enforce them rigorously and *permanently ban people who speed*. That's something for the police and government to tackle, not GCC. I'd rather have 20mph limits than not, I just don't think they'll be obeyed.
Thank you for your input, yes you are correct, there needs to be a partnership approach to this which includes education, publicity, design and enforcement. Early results from the Wales mandatory 20mph show a positive impact on vehicle speeds and driver behaviour.
It will be ignored unless there are actual impediments forcing drivers to slow down such as speed bumps and road narrowing. And again, enforcement is key.
Thank you, the scheme will be monitored and evaluated and where necessary traffic calming measures will be introduced as part of our on-going work to prioritise our most vulnerable road users.
1. Make it the default speed limit, with a few roads being 30mph, except where these pass through residential areas, nurseries and schools. 2. Bus lanes on all roads with 30mph speed limits. 3. Identify 'rat runs' and either close them off.
Thank you for your comment. With regard to making 20mph the default speed limit, there was a private members Bill for blanket coverage to reduce the speed limit on restricted roads from 30mph to 20mph across the whole of Scotland. Restricted roads are normally street-lit urban or residential streets, although there are some exemptions to this definition. Unfortunately when the Scottish Parliament voted on the Bill, it failed to get a majority vote and was not be made.
Communication - drivers MUST understand why this is considered and what difference it makes for the safety of all residents. Also be clear on how this will be enforced
It's all about attitude really. Of course pedestrians and cyclists and kids etc etc do all sorts of stupid things that put them in danger around cars, however the person driving the car is the one that is likeliest to cause the most damage if they collide with the other, therefore by having that mindset generally and not exceeding 20mph in those zones, the likelihood and severity of this is reduced.
Thank you for your response, our road safety plan to 2030 is based on the safe systems approach where we recognise that people make mistakes and will continue to make mistakes when using our roads. We therefore need to minimise the impact of that mistake by taking such measures as necessary, through behavioural change, road design, speed reduction and prioritising and protecting our most vulnerable road users in every decision we make.
Enforcement and education are key to this. Without there being consequences for drivers who speed, the rules can be ignored. This means that in the short term there has to be parking wardens, speed cameras, police officers etc in the street to monitor the environment and report offenders. In conjunction there needs to be a concerted effort at every level to communicate the benefits of the measure, from educating school kids to informing driving instructors, using billboards and local media etc. Also a clear message needs to be one that is consistent. So why not implement a 20mph limit across the city as a default, and only certain areas (that are clearly marked) have higher speed limits?
Hi, thank you for responding. The 20mph mandatory speed limit will be applied to the majority of Glasgow's roads with a few exceptions. A study will take place to identify which roads should not be covered i.e. arterial routes, however, these won't be ruled out if there is evidence of road casualties. A full draft communications strategy has already been created and will be part of the implementation and evaluation.
There will be some who will not welcome the change, so there is a need to engage and work with residents and visitors to appreciate the benefits of the roll out
Thank you, yes we will put in place a full communications programme to support the new scheme which will include community engagement and evaluation of the project.
Make 20mph the default, and run consultations to see which may be increased to 30mph. Include the M8 as part of this, to reduce the impact from noise and other negative aspects.
Strictly enforce limits from day one.
Install temporary traffic calming then replace with permanent when roads are being resurfaced or having other work done.
Thank you for your comment. With regard to making 20mph the default speed limit, there was a private members Bill for blanket coverage to reduce the speed limit on restricted roads from 30mph to 20mph across the whole of Scotland. Restricted roads are normally street-lit urban or residential streets, although there are some exemptions to this definition. Unfortunately when the Scottish Parliament voted on the Bill, it failed to get a majority vote and was not be made.
A city wide rule should be effected rather than different areas/ roads at different times. And more cameras should be installed to ensure that the law is being enforced.
The responsibility for the deployment of safety cameras lies with the Safety Cameras Scotland, not the local authority. They have a set of established criteria which must be met before an enforcement camera can be installed but we do engage with them to request specific sites are assessed to see if they meet their criteria.
Please enforce it once its rolled out
Thank you, we will discuss enforcement measures with our partners in Police Scotland and the Scottish Safety Camera partnership.
The obvious answer would be to do a city-wide rollout as quickly as possible. It's not like the concept of a 20mph limit is something drivers should need time to learn, they have all supposedly passed a test which featured the existence of speed limits. But as we all know drivers don't care much about speed limits and government stats show almost nobody actually stays under 20mph: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/vehicle-speed-compliance-statistics-for-great-britain-2022/vehicle-speed-compliance-statistics-for-great-britain-2022#vehicle-speeds-on-20mph-roads. Even with the caveats noted that level of contempt for the law and the safety of vulnerable road users is shocking. Like the question on road safety, the way to maximise the benefits of 20mph limits is to enforce them rigorously and *permanently ban people who speed*. That's something for the police and government to tackle, not GCC. I'd rather have 20mph limits than not, I just don't think they'll be obeyed.
Thank you for your input, yes you are correct, there needs to be a partnership approach to this which includes education, publicity, design and enforcement. Early results from the Wales mandatory 20mph show a positive impact on vehicle speeds and driver behaviour.
It will be ignored unless there are actual impediments forcing drivers to slow down such as speed bumps and road narrowing. And again, enforcement is key.
Thank you, the scheme will be monitored and evaluated and where necessary traffic calming measures will be introduced as part of our on-going work to prioritise our most vulnerable road users.