Professor's rallying call for blanket 20mph speed limit across the whole county
He says cutting the speed limit would improve air quality, people's health and reduce deaths on the road
Last updated 27th Sep 2023
Herefordshire should follow Wales’ lead and impose a blanket 20mph speed limit across its towns and villages, a local transport expert has urged.
John Whitelegg, visiting professor of sustainable transport at Liverpool John Moores University, is trying to build support for the idea in the county.
According to a House of Commons report, cutting the speed limit from 30 to 20mph reduces the likelihood of pedestrians dying from being hit, from one in two to one in ten.
Yet Public Health England rates Herefordshire as “significantly worse than the England average” for deaths and seriously injuries on its roads, Prof Whitelegg pointed out.
He also said it improves air quality and helps combat climate change but there were critics at a public meeting held at Hereford’s Left Bank Village this month.
“There’s always a group, it was probably about five people out of somewhere between 60 and 70 who were very vociferous and intervened a great deal to see we don’t like it, it’s all wrong, it’s rubbish, it won’t work, it makes pollution work,” he said.
“And the best one was we have to watch the speedometer all the time so we will kill more people because we’re not watching the roads.
Speaking to Hits Radio Birmingham, he added: “It slows downs journeys by an average of 45 seconds or 60 seconds, based on surveys.
“It doesn’t add to more pollution, it doesn’t distract drivers. If a driver is not distracted by a 30 mile per hour limit, I don’t understand why they’re distracted by a 20 mile per hour limit.”
Hits Radio Birmingham has asked Herefordshire Council if it is still considering more 20mph zones after agreeing to look at it in 2020, before the administration changed.
Meanwhile, The Welsh Government has brought in 20mph limits in built-up areas across the country, citing public health as well as safety benefits.
Such restrictions are not new to England, with over 20 million residents already living in 20mph areas, a limit which is being implemented across Lancashire, Oxfordshire and Cornwall.
Herefordshire Council has said it's drawing up a policy to manage and introduce 20mph limits where possible.
"The review and recommendations will enable the council to make an informed decision as to how to progress in Herefordshire," a spokesperson said.