Safer Speeds

Dear Mr Burwell and other Members of Bristol Cycling Campaign

20 mph Zones

Thank you for your letter regarding the lack of 20 mph zones in Bristol. I apologise for the delay in responding.

To date three types of 20 mph Zones are in existence in the UK, these are:-

• Designated 20 mph Zones in which traffic calming has been introduced which is capable of keeping 85%ile speeds below 20 mph. These are supported by the Police as they do not need enforcement and they are not then a drain on resources. You should note that Hull has received widespread condemnation of its continued use of road humps from the emergency services.
• Areas of Mandatory 20 mph Speed Limits. These require Police enforcement and to prove effective this must be regular and continual. In most cases they receive very little enforcement and they are less effective than designated zones. The Police are required to support the introduction of new speed limits as the enforcing authority and they have stated that all new enforceable zones must be traffic-calmed, making their introduction expensive. This, in some ways, negates the need for the speed limit as the traffic- calming should be achieving similar results.
• Areas of Advisory 20 mph Speed Limits. There have been mixed reports on the success of these. In most cases we are informed that their introduction does very little to reduce speed however, Gloucester reported that following introduction at many school sites there was a significant reduction injury accidents in the areas around affected schools.

You will be aware of the stated Council intentions, contained within its Local Transport Plan (LTP), to reduce speeds throughout the city and thereby reduce the severity and numbers of collisions and casualties. The annual traffic management work programme and its involvement in other Teams and Divisions work programmes focuses resources on reducing collisions, improving the safety and environment for pedestrians and cyclists, particularly on routes to school. This year it is hoped 24 sites will be planned covering 37 schools.

The LTP also refers to a road hierarchy study for the city. This identifies neighbourhoods as environmental cells where the larger use of 20 mph limits, despite the problems outlined above, and Home Zones, reducing speeds to 10 mph or less, will be considered. I am pleased to be able to inform you that this work is progressing.

I hope this assures you of this Council's intentions to continue pursuing lower speeds across the city and I thank you for your interest in this topic.

Yours faithfully

[signed]

Councillor Helen Holland
Deputy Leader with responsibility for Environment, Transport and Leisure

cc: Mike Stanley - Team Manager (Traffic Management)

20 September, 2002

Your Ref: PAH/km/T001 (6th Sept 02)

JOHN FOX
PO BOX 1775
Broad Lane Offices
Engine Common
Yate
BS37 7FY

Mr Fox

FORMAL CONSULTATION – PROPOSED SPEED LIMIT ALTERATIONS, A38 GLOUCESTER ROAD, FERNHILL, HORTHAM LANE AND WASHINGPOOL HILL ROAD

Thank you for the information on the above scheme. Can I begin by outlining the position of the Group regarding speed limits.

Government figures show speeding is endemic among car drivers, with more than half breaking the law on motorways and on 30mph urban roads. The aims of the Bristol Cycling Campaign include: reducing speed limits in urban areas, to 20mph and backing this up with enforcement and by shifting the public opinion on speeding as was achieved on the drink-drive issue.

I quote a well known statistic from Killing Speed and Saving Lives, Department of Transport (1997):

A pedestrian hit by a car at 40mph has a 15% chance of survival, at 30mph this increases to 55% but at 20mph it leaps to 95%.

The benefits to pedestrians and cyclists of lower vehicle speeds are not just perceived – they are real and have measurable impact on the livelihood of people.

Congestion

The preliminary results from the latest South Gloucestershire News questionnaire show that local people are particularly worried about traffic congestion. Reducing speeds can relieve congestion as well as improve the environment (reduced emissions by increased fuel economy).

Contrary to popular belief, congestion on urban roads is governed mainly by the capacity of junctions and not exacerbated by lower speed limits. Lower speeds increase the capacity of junctions.

In Växjö, Sweden, time-savings at junctions from lower speeds were actually found to reduce overall journey times and where 30kph zones have been introduced in Germany, drivers spend 15% less time in stationary vehicles.

Specific Comments on A38 Proposals

At present, the speed limits on particular roads joining the A38 are in my opinion mis-aligned in comparison to the A38 (e.g. Hortham Lane which is a narrower carriageway past residential areas). Where such disparity is clear to see, I would always recommend that the speed limit be brought into line with what is more suitable and safer. I often receive remarks from fellow cyclists and drivers alike regarding 'unsuitable' speed limits especially given that a minority of drivers consider the speed limit to be a 'target'.

I would recommend that the proposals shown on T001/195 are fully carried through to implementation.

I look forward to hearing your response to this recommendation and the issues I have raised.

Yours sincerely,



Howard Yeomans
Bristol Cycling Campaign representative for South Gloucestershire area

Response from the Bristol Cycling Campaign

Index

1. Introduction
2. Attitudes of the Police
3. Attitudes of the Car Industry and Media
4. Effects of Lower Speed Limits
5. The Purpose of Speeding
6. What We Would Like to See
7. Conclusion

i. Introduction

In recent years we have -

• held a protest march calling for slower speeds and more enforcement. This was attended by an MP, representatives from RoadPeace, the Pedestrians Association and the local Civic Society; (1998)
• handed in a petition of 1250 signatures to the Police Authority calling for more action on speeding;
• attended numerous PCCG (Police and Community Consultation Group) meetings to express our concerns;
• written many letters to the Police.

ii. Attitudes of the Police

We feel that the absence of any speed controls in residential areas is a complete scandal. Over a third of road deaths and more than half of road injuries occur in 30 mph areas and it is here that speed most affects the quality of life. The police plead lack of resources. This might be an excuse if there were some speed policing, but there is absolutely none. We are sure that even a minimal use of hand-held cameras in residential areas would have a cautionary effect on drivers and would assist those drivers who feel intimidated if they keep to the limit. However, at the moment there is virtually zero enforcement and drivers can be quite sure they'll get away with speeding.

In July 2001, the Bristol Evening Post hired a speed camera and used it for an hour in each of 24 different locations around the city. They found a total of over 3,000 vehicles speeding in that period. Many of the sites chosen were 30 mph areas. The top speed recorded in a residential area was 64 mph. They also recorded speeds of over 50 mph and, of course, many people going well over 30 mph. We wrote to the police asking if they intended to act on this information. We have had no reply and there is no evidence that they have.

Given that in 2001 the government spent £1.8 million on a campaign to show the dangers of going even a little over the 30 mph limit, it seems that the police are very out of step with government wishes. Also, the police are failing in their duty to protect vulnerable members of the community from danger caused by people behaving illegally i.e. speeding.

iii. Attitudes of the Car Industry and Media

The car industry spends a massive amount on advertising. Unfortunately none of this serves to promote road safety and much of it does the reverse -- many adverts promote speeding either overtly or covertly with blurred photo backgrounds,etc. to suggest speeding.

Some examples of advertising this year -- a car appearing to come out of the poster with the slogan "More Va Va Voom"; another advert had the slogan "Bye, bye, GTi". This is a reference to the GTi - a particularly fast type of car. The implication is that you can go faster than a GTi with this type of car. Adverts such as these are often placed on roads with high accident rates and speeding problems. They contribute to a "race track culture" on the roads.

Bristol Cycling Campaign has frequently had complaints upheld against adverts which promote speeding. But the Advertising Standards Agency is very ineffective -- their usual response is to give the advertiser "copy advice" months after the offending adverts have disappeared. They are replaced by similar adverts and the whole process starts again.

Speeding is often portrayed in advertising and the media as being bold, assertive and macho while slower drivers are ridiculed as wimps. Television programmes such as Top Gear have often been criticised for promoting this attitude.

iv. Effects of Lower Speed Limits

On 16 September 1996 the Department of Transport issued a press release headed "20 mph zones in residential areas a resounding success". It then went on to report the findings of a Transport Research Laboratory study into 20 mph zones. This showed that accidents had fallen by an average of 60% when 20 mph limits had been introduced. The most dramatic fall had been among child pedestrians whose accident rate fell by 70%. This would seem to suggest that child casualties would decrease by over two-thirds in residential areas if 20 mph limits were implemented nationwide.

We thought that such strong evidence would produce a rush to put 20 mph limits in all residential areas, but this has not been the case. In Bristol there were two 20 mph zones in 1996 0- there are still only two. There are plans to introduce voluntary 20 mph areas around schools, but these will only operate for a couple of hours a day and only during term time. It seems that it is more important to prevent inconvenience to drivers than to cut child casualties. When compared to safety attitudes in other areas, e.g. the scare about beef on the bone, this approach seems remarkably cavalier.

v. The Purpose of Speeding

In an urban context speeding is hard to justify. There is very little gain in the amount of time a journey takes. Assuming there are no obstacles, a three mile journey (slightly longer than the average urban journey) would take four and a half minutes at 40 mph, six minutes at 30 mph and nine minutes at 20 mph. Of course, in real life there are always obstacles, so even these small gains are evened out. In practise, all urban speeding really does is get the driver to the next hold up a few seconds earlier.

The reality is that people do not speed to get anywhere faster. For one sort of car driver the reasons for speeding are to show off and intimidate other road users. This is given tacit encouragement by the motor industry which designs and advertises cars as aggressive speed machines. Other drivers go too fast simply because it is quite difficult to drive modern cars at slower speeds.

vi. What We Would Like to See

From the Government

The government should do all it can to promote technological solutions to speeding. Apparently the technology is now available to have speed limiters controlled be GPS devices fitted into cars. This should be proceeded with. Thought should be given to limiting the top speeds and acceleration of vehicles. Speed control should be reinstated as a core policing activity. The government should tell the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to take more decisive action against adverts promoting speeding. If the ASA can't or won't do this, then it should be done by law.

From the Police

There must be a serious effort to police urban speeding. As we have already stated, any police presence would be better than the total lack of policing at present. Fixed cameras will be only of limited use in urban areas. The Evening Post survey showed that speeding is prevalent in all areas of Bristol ( and presumably other cities) . There needs to be random checks in many locations using hand held cameras. The practise of only putting in speed policing measures in locations with previous accident history should be discontinued in favour of policing based on the perceived danger. In other words, recognising that the danger of death and injury is not the only ill effect of speeding - freedom of movement and the fear of aggressive driving are serious issues too.

From the Car Industry

The car industry should be brought on board in the campaign against speeding. They should be encouraged to manufacture cars that are easy to drive at lower speeds (perhaps with aural warnings when the limit is reached) and to stop pandering to the "boy racer" end of the market. Perhaps we might even consider why anyone in this country needs a car capable of travelling at over twice the national speed limit - apart from breaking the law of course. The car industry should also spend some of its massive advertising budget on promoting road safety, rather than the reverse.

viii. Conclusion

We hope that this enquiry produces some results. We have heard lots about speed enforcement over the years, but those of us in urban areas ( and that includes most cyclists and pedestrians) have yet to see any benefit.

Speeding kills and injures more people than any other form of law breaking and yet it is given a scandalously low priority. It is time to put the safety of the vulnerable road users before the convenience of law breaking drivers. We hope the enquiry helps achieve this.