http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/mai ... peed20.xml
Safe Speed warns of danger with London 20mph plans
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 20/10/2007
Ken Livingstone this week announced proposals to introduce a 20mph speed limit in every residential street in London, with trials of wireless cameras to enforce it starting next year. Current 20mph zones in the capital are said to have reduced accidents by 57 per cent. In a concession to motorists, however, Livingstone stated that the zones should be enforceable only by camera, not by speed humps, which he called "cheap and miserable".
However, Paul Smith, founder of Safe Speed, pointed out that accident severity is significantly higher in 20mph than 30mph zones. According to Safe Speed calculations done on Department for Transport figures, last year 17 per cent of crashes occurring in 20mph zones were fatal or serious, while the figure in 30mph zones was 13 per cent.
"The authorities are ignoring their own evidence," said Smith. "Instead, they are working on the basis of belief. No more 20mph zones should be rolled out until the figures are fully explained. The figures destroy the general argument that driving slower means smaller crashes. We're shifting the balance from responsibility to regulation and it simply does not work. We need more responsibility, not more regulation."
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