New plans by the Government could result in residential streets losing their speed bumps according to new road safety plans. Under the new measures, councils will not need to have traffic calming measures, which also accounts for narrowed junctions and chicanes in a 20mph zone.
In the place of these measures, town halls simply need to erect signs that warn motorists of the upcoming reduced speed limits. Initially the trial zones will be self-enforced, although in the future trials will include speed cameras that can catch motorists who are speeding between zones.
The move comes after a Portsmouth trial in which it introduced a new 20mph limit on all of its streets without using any chicanes or humps to decrease the traffic speeds.
Transport ministers believe that on quiet streets and near schools should have speed limits of 20mph, due to the fact there are pedestrians and cyclists. However, this statement can also apply to major town routes and roads.
According to road safety minister Paul Clark, the amount of people that are injured or killed on the roads of Britain has decreased by about 40%, leaving Britain with the safest roads globally. However, he continued to say that there are too many people still being hurt or killed on roads that are near schools and homes.
At the same time, a spokesman for the RAC said that it is right that limits are set on local roads where there are high accident rates, schools, and hospitals but that most motorists will resent blanket reductions, which means the transition should be taken carefully.
