A 20mph default speed limit could be heading for England, with MPs set to quiz experts this week on whether to implement the strategy already seen in Wales .
The Transport Committee’s third evidence session takes place on Wednesday, July 15, when members will question a panel of experts on the topic as part of an ongoing inquiry into the Government’s road safety strategy .
Setting local speed limits is currently the job of councils and National Highways, but the strategy commits to updating the guidance on how those limits are decided – and Wednesday’s session will look at whether England should go further and adopt 20mph as a national default in built-up areas.
The uncomfortable part for anyone hoping the numbers would knock the idea on the head is that a 2025 parliamentary briefing found the safety case broadly stacks up.
There is, it says, strong evidence that 20mph limits and zones are associated with reduced casualties and fatalities. In Wales, casualties on 20mph and 30mph roads fell by 24% in April to June 2024, compared with the same period the year before the new limits were introduced.
Motorcyclists have never warmed to blanket 20mph zones: holding a bike steady at such low speeds is awkward, demands constant attention to the speedo rather than the road, and does little for machine control. Many riders also question how much safety benefit the limits actually deliver once the novelty wears off.
Any debate about an England-wide default will look at what happened after Wales became the first UK nation to impose a blanket 20mph limit on restricted roads – those with streetlights no more than 200 yards apart.
The £32 million scheme replaced the old 30mph default, and the Welsh Government claimed it would cut collisions, reduce noise and get more people walking and cycling, forecasting £92 million in annual savings and up to nine fewer deaths and 98 fewer serious injuries a year.
The public backlash was immediate and enormous. A petition to the Senedd demanding the default be scrapped gathered almost 470,000 signatures. Polling a month after the switch found just 29% of voters in favour and 59% against. Bikers and businesses told MCN the rollout had caused confusion and irritation, with inconsistent signage leaving riders unsure whether they should be doing 20, 30 or 40mph.
In April 2024, the Government U-turned and then Cabinet Secretary for North Wales and Transport Ken Skates told the Senedd ministers would work with councils on “getting the right speed on the right roads”, while insisting 20mph remained right near schools, hospitals, nurseries, community centres, play areas and in built-up residential streets.
The Motorcycle Industry Association welcomed the rethink. Chief Executive, Tony Campbell said: “Finally the Welsh Government sees sense in reviewing the 20mph speed limit reverting back to 30mph.
“Whilst I am sure there was some evidence to say it made roads safer, riding any form of motorcycle at such slow speeds is not easy and therefore may have made riding a scooter or motorcycle more dangerous.”
Scotland is pressing ahead with its own 20mph rollout, but it isn’t the same blanket approach that caused such uproar in Wales. From June 2022 road authorities began assessing their 30mph road network to identify roads appropriate for a lower limit of 20mph, using a consistent set of criteria applied by all authorities.
Those criteria include proximity to schools, shops, homes and community facilities – and in ge…