Campaigns

Road safety

Alongside our commitment to improving public transport goes a commitment to make the roads safer for all, and begin to return the streets to use by people generally, not just motorists.

A key plank in this policy is the need to reduce the default speed limit in towns from 30mph to 20mph. Through routes would retain 30mph or other appropriate limits, but all residential streets should be 20mph. A person hit by a car at 30mph has a 50-50 chance of survival, while one hit at 20mph has a 95% chance.

There would be fewer of them hit, too. Journey times would be hardly affected, and drivers would arrive at their destinations more relaxed. If all that were not enough reason, consider the following, and click to read the full story:
The German town of Bohmte does away with traffic signs (from the Independent)

The Department of Transport's 2007 guidelines 'Maual for Streets' suggests 20mph limits (among other interesting ideas) as reported by the Sunday Times

The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety comes to much the same conclusions (reported by the BBC)

Car-free streets make for more good-neighbourliness (from the Guardian)

Our own national party website reports that more than 3 times as many people are killed on the roads in deprived areas as in wealthy ones