A man from
England has said that he and his wife will never holiday in Wales again because "they are not prepared to risk" the new default 20mph limit. David Brown from Leamington Spa wrote to the Western Mail newspaper to express that he was "sad" that because Wales has reduced many of its 30mph roads to 20mph, he will no longer be coming to Wales. Writing that "Wales' loss is Devon's gain", he said that many of his "acquaintances feel the same". His letter comes as several
protests were held which saw 50 people gather outside the Senedd because of their anger about the new limit. READ MORE: 'Why the 20mph speed limit plan for Wales is a fantastic idea' READ MORE: The 'biggest mistake' the Welsh Government ever made Writing to the Western Mail, Mr Brown said: "Though of Welsh heritage, I live in the English Midlands. For many years my wife and I have enjoyed many holidays in Wales, usually staying in hotels but sometimes a rented cottage. Being now retired we are able to take several breaks each year and travel as late as November. "Sadly we have deiced to call a stop to our Welsh breaks as we are not prepared to risk a large fine and three penalty points for accidently doing 22mph in a built up area. It looks as if Wales' loss will be Devon's gain. I might add that several of our acquaintances all feel the same. We will really miss Wales." Last month, Wales'
police chief constables confirmed the speed that they will prosecute drivers for speeding in 20mph zones. The speed is detailed on the website of GoSafe, which is a Wales' road casualty reduction partnership, made up of 27 partners, including the 22 councils, four Welsh police forces, and the Welsh Government. In the frequently asked questions section of their site they address the question: "What is the enforcement threshold in 20mph for GoSafe fixed and mobile speed cameras?" The answer read: "GoSafe apply the NPCC guidelines which outline the enforcement thresholds of not less than 10% plus 2mph. While the public get used to the change in default limit, Chief Police Officers have allowed us to increase this to 10% plus 4mph in 20mph only, meaning we start to prosecute at 26mph in a 20mph limit." Until now areas where the speed limit has changed have not been policed, however the "grace period" for people
BREAKING the 20mph default speed limit is coming to an end, the deputy minister in charge of the rollout of the new law has said. Speaking in the Senedd earlier this week, minister Lee Waters said "average speeds are down, most people are complying", but admitted: "They're not sticking to 20mph but the number of people driving over 30mph has dramatically fallen." For the latest analysis of the biggest stories, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Meanwhile, also writing to the Western Mail, a pensioner described struggling to catch a local bus home after the driver claimed the disruption was down to the new default speed limit. Also writing a letter to the Western Mail, Mr D Chidgey, from Rhydyfelin, Pontypridd , said: "Dear Mr Drakeford, may I thank you for making me safe by introducing the 20mph limit, and may I also thank you for the one-hour 20-minute wait I had, waiting for my local bus to take me home. "I am in my eighties and have difficulty walking at times with sticks. After seeing some eight local buses pass with “NOT IN SERVICE” indicated passing my bus stop, I wondered whether they had all gone on strike. My local bus eventually arrived and on asking what happened to the two prior buses that should have arrived, the driver informed me that 'due to the 20mph enforcement, as the local route is now mostly in that category, we at times have to offload the passengers at the halfway point and go back to our starting point as we cannot keep to our schedule to comply with the law'. They also run out of hours on the tachograph and have to return to the depot. "In view of this may I ask you if my bus pass is valid for use with my local taxi firms, or which department in the Senedd do I send my taxi bill for £10 for reimbursement. May I also report that at my age I find it difficult sitting on a hard seat in the windy bus shelter with the rain hammering down and suffering a further ailment of hypothermia and numbuminitus." A recent poll exclusive to WalesOnline shows there is huge opposition to the new 20mph speed limit in Wales. The new default speed limit was introduced in Wales a month ago and a new poll by Redfield & Wilton Strategies shows that there is still considerable scepticism among the Welsh public about the policy. The Welsh Government say the new default speed limit will prevent up to 20,000 casualties in Wales over the next decade. It also estimates the new policy could save the
economy up to £92m a year by reducing deaths and injuries on Wales’ roads.