Safe Speed Forums

The campaign for genuine road safety
It is currently Fri Mar 29, 2024 10:32

All times are UTC [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: More Brake nonesense
PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 20:48 
Offline
Member
Member

Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2007 19:08
Posts: 3434
http://www.brake.org.uk/news/1202-go20reception


Quote:
Eight in 10 back 20mph limits as charity takes campaign to parliament
2 April 2014

Brake, the road safety charity
news@brake.org.uk
Overwhelming public support for 20mph limits is revealed today by road safety charity Brake and Allianz Insurance, whose survey shows eight in 10 people (78%) think 20mph should be the norm around schools, on residential streets, and in village, town and city centres. The news comes as Brake takes its GO 20 campaign for safe, active, happy communities to parliament, calling on politicians to support the introduction of 20mph as the default urban speed limit.

The Brake and Allianz Insurance survey also found:

Seven in 10 (72%) say roads in their town or village need to be made safer for walking and cycling;
Eight in 10 (81%) say traffic travels too fast on some (51%) or most (30%) of their local roads;
Eight in 10 (79%) think it would encourage more people to walk or cycle if roads and routes in their town or village were made safer.
Speakers at the Brake and Allianz Insurance GO 20 parliamentary reception today (2 April) will discuss the benefits of 20mph limits and progress being made by local authorities in implementing them. Speakers include road safety minister Robert Goodwill MP and bereaved dad Dave Britt, speaking about how a 20mph speed limit could have saved his son's life. More details in case study below.

With an estimated 12.5 million people in the UK now living in areas implementing or committed to widespread 20mph limits [1], Brake argues the country is reaching a tipping point where it makes social and economic sense to make a national change in our default, to the benefit of communities everywhere.

Areas that have already introduced 20mph limits have seen significant reductions in casualties, such as Portsmouth where they fell by 22% [2], and Camden, where crashes reduced by 54% [3]. Other high profile local authorities now GOing 20 include the City of London, Birmingham, Newcastle and Edinburgh.

20mph limits also promise to deliver improvements in public health and social activity, and reductions in congestion, pollution and noise, as more people feel safe to walk and cycle for local journeys, commuting or simply for enjoyment [4]. Making streets safer and more pleasant for walking and cycling can also benefit local economies. More details on the benefits of GOing 20 below.

As well as calling on national government to change the default urban limit to 20mph, Brake continues to encourage and support local authorities to GO 20 through implementing widespread 20 limits across cities, towns and villages. Drivers can also help protect people on foot and bike right away, by slowing down to 20mph around homes, schools and shops, even where the limit is still 30mph.

Brake is urging members of the public to write to their MP to support the GO 20 campaign and Pledge to GO 20 themselves. Tweet your support: @Brakecharity, hashtag #GO20.

Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive, Brake, said: "The GO 20 campaign is about defending everyone's right to walk and cycle freely without being endangered, whether it's to get to work, school, the shops, or just getting out and being active. We need to tackle the senseless and violent casualties that continue to happen daily on our roads, and we need to enable people to live healthy, active, social lives. It's clear that 20mph limits in communities can help bring this about - and it's clear this is what people want. That's why so many local authorities are making the switch from 30mph to 20mph. With many people already reaping the benefits of living in 20mph areas, we're reaching a point where it makes no sense to retain 30mph as the default limit in built-up areas. It's time for the government to GO 20 nationally, to save councils money and help create safe, active, happy communities nationwide."

Jon Dye, chief executive, Allianz Insurance, said: "Public opinion is overwhelmingly in favour of reducing the urban speed limit to 20mph and this should act as a powerful force for change. The government's own report states that approximately half of pedestrian fatalities occur at 30mph impact speed or below [5], and that even small reductions in impact speed can have a large effect on the risk of fatal injury.

"Allianz is committed to improving road safety across the world and is currently involved in a variety of initiatives in 31 countries across the globe. Allianz is the only global company with its own research centre for automotive analysis and testing. The Allianz Centre for Technology has conducted research on a variety of road safety issues and campaigned on a variety of related topics. Allianz is also a proud supporter of the UN's 'Decade of Road Safety 2011 – 2020' initiative."

Facts
20mph limits lead to:

Fewer casualties: drivers have more time to react in an emergency and avoid hitting someone: stopping distances at 20mph are about half those at 30mph [6]. Children benefit especially, since they struggle to judge the speed of vehicles over 20mph [7]. Areas where 20mph limits have replaced 30mph limits have seen significant reductions in casualties [8] [9], such as 22% in Portsmouth [10], and Camden where crashes dropped by 54% in trial areas [11].
Healthy, active lifestyles: less fast traffic makes people feel safer, which encourages more walking and cycling. Where widespread 20mph limits have been introduced, walking and cycling has increased, including by 20% in Bristol [12]. This means better health and prevention of illnesses like heart disease and diabetes [13], and less strain on the NHS.
Sociable communities: 20mph limits help turn our streets from soulless thoroughfares for traffic to enjoyable social spaces where people live. Lower traffic speeds (and traffic volumes) have been shown to improve the 'sociability' of streets: people get out more and are more likely to know their neighbours [14] [15].
Less pollution: more people walking and cycling means less traffic and more carbon-free journeys. 20mph limits also reduce pollution by causing vehicles to travel at a more consistent speed, with less of the speeding up and slowing down that produces most vehicle emissions [16]. For the same reason, journey times are barely affected; in fact, they may be smoother and use less petrol.
Lower costs: every road death in the UK is estimated to cost £1.7 million [17]. Fewer casualties mean less strain on the NHS and emergency services as well as preventing families suffering emotional and financial devastation. Add the public health benefits of more walking and cycling, and introducing 20mph limits ultimately pays for itself many times over [18].
Calls for government action
Brake is calling on government to acknowledge that we have reached the tipping point where it is time to change the national default urban speed limit to 20mph, thereby reducing the cost of implementation for cash-strapped local authorities.

In the meantime, Brake continues to encourage more local authorities to join the growing numbers that have already implemented widespread 20mph limits in their areas.



So, eighty percent want 20MPH limits around schools and town/village centres....I can understand this BUT Brake then twist this to want to make it a default URBAN speed limit....this means where we now have blanket 30MPH limits inside Town and city limits, Brake want 20MPH limits...totally impractical.


Quote:
Eight in 10 (81%) say traffic travels too fast on some (51%) or most (30%) of their local roads;


Now this is a total twisting of statistics. No doubt the same people who voted in the 51% bracket also voted in the 30% bracket so you can't add these two groups together to make 81%.

_________________
My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 

All times are UTC [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You can post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
[ Time : 0.021s | 15 Queries | GZIP : Off ]