NEW 20MPH SPEED LIMITS COMING TO WALES NEXT WEEK

[TOMGREEN413]

So here's the thing, surely this 20 mph thing is absolutely BS in regards to pollution reduction. My thinking is it will possibly INCREASE pollution.
My reasoning being as follows.
Example used my Van.
At 70 mph in 6th gear my engine revolution is 2100 Rpm
At 30 mph I can get it into 5th gear ...just....At 2000 Rpm
At 20 mph I need to use 2nd gear at 2200 Rpm
At 20mph I'll be crossing town SLOWER but with the SAME or slightly MORE RPM hence causing MORE POLLUTION as well as lower MPG so having to burn more fuel .
My concern is that these slower speeds will increase pollution in built up areas and the environmental monitoring services will use it as an excuse to completely BAN non electric cars......so is this a scam in more ways than meets the eye OR is the above completely incorrect? I'm not an engineer guy so maybe someone can explain if I'm wrong?

[buzyg]

I tend to agree with you. On the flat I would think slower is cleaner because you can stick it in 5th or 6th at low speed. But it drives me nuts when I have to change down because of slow driver going up hills. A complete waste of energy.

[smorris_12]

What gets me is that 20mph is the equivalent of walking along with your shoelaces tied together.

This obsessive compulsive disorder to endlessly lower speed limits is going to end up bringing back the man with the red flag.

[B21]

We’ve had these 20 mph for a few years now..road safety is the primary argument..

Here they’ve now introduced tiered speed limits ie 40mph 30 mph down to 20mph in larger areas to avoid a complete crawl against larger areas…

It’s a pain especially as quite a few speedos are more inaccurate at that speed…I often follow Grockles at 16mph…

More info here

https://www.scotborders.gov.uk/info/200 ... ber%202020.

[MikeyH]

As Clarkson once said 'too much time looking at the speedometer and not at the road'. Also could be used to introduce more ULEZ.

[TOMGREEN413]

Please not ULEZ.....

[Mr Tidy]

I feel for you.

They've been around in quite a few London Boroughs for years, but thankfully I don't have to go there any more.

Puts me off visiting Wales a bit too!

[MikeyH]

Shame I used to enjoy and look forward to my drive up to Aberystwyth, taking my sons stuff backwards and forwards to the University. Lovely road.

[Nanu]

Still of the opinion the speed does not kill, bad driving does.

Example but open to argument albeit light hearted please, which is the safer,

A perfectly good car being driven at 20mph by a novice driver or just your average idiot or the same car on the same bit of road being driven at 40mph by Lewis Hamilton?

[MikeyH]

Lewis Hamilton would want to be 1st at every junction so would be overtaking everyone

[BeeEmm]

Lewis Hamilton would want to be 1st at every junction so would be overtaking everyone

If you are first in the queue, you are causing the queue.

[BeeEmm]

Still of the opinion the speed does not kill, bad driving does.

Almost agree with that. My view is that speed does not kill, it is the inability to stop that kills, and by that I mean that most people do not plan far enough ahead or behind to see or anticipate danger and their inability causes then to react late. Looking at the right-hand lane on any Motorway you will see the greatest number of skid marks due to people driving too close and not reacting quickly enough. Laws have to be made to insure that the vast number of poor drivers have a better chance of stopping, hence the low speed limits in force in a growing number of cities.

[BeeEmm]

A perfectly good car being driven at 20mph by a novice driver or just your average idiot or the same car on the same bit of road being driven at 40mph by Lewis Hamilton?

No idea what Hamilton would be like in a road car. If Silverstone had traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, parked cars and Max Verstappen coming the other way, then we might find out. Stirling Moss did not need to take an L driving test, but did so for the publicity. He failed. He also failed a scooter test and rode on L plates for a long time.

[Mr Tidy]

He failed. He also failed a scooter test and rode on L plates for a long time.

I didn't know that!

When I took my bike test in 1976 I think the only way you could fail was to get lost, fall off, or mess up the Highway Code questions!

[Nictrix]

I always thought that speed cameras were a bad idea especially when we are told they are there because it is an accident black spot.
So now in this accident black spot people are driving looking at the speedo instead of the road so they do not trigger the camera.
How does this make the accident black spot safer.