It has recently been announced that the government is looking to introduce new speed limits in specific areas to reduce the risk of a dangerous road traffic accident. As reported in The Times and elsewhere, the government has proceeded cautiously and used a trial in Portsmouth to test the feasibility of the new approach.

The central concept in the new proposals is that the speed limit should be restricted to twenty miles per hour in the vicinity of things like parks, educational institutions and retail outlets. While the new proposals are yet to be fully elaborated, it is anticipated that The Department for Transport will prompt local councils to bring in more low-speed areas. This should mean that costly traffic calming options like speed humps do not have to be rolled out with the same degree of energy.

A recent report indicated that the twenty mile per hour restriction had led to a forty per cent reduction in personal injury cases due to road traffic accidents. While this evidence was based narrowly on findings from a small trial in London, the trial in Portsmouth revealed similarly positive evidence. The idea is simply that low speed areas can protect pedestrians from sustaining personal injury, if the areas are sensibly located.

Initial reaction from motorists has been varied. The Automobile Association argued that the new government proposals required careful consideration before their wider implementation.

Edmund King, the AA president, stated:

“We support 20mph zones where they are needed. But we would like to see more varied speed limits.”