New research shows 20mph speed limit could save Wales £100 million in first year

A new 20mph default speed limit in communities across Wales could save £100m as deaths and injuries are reduced, according to new research.

The Welsh Government will introduce a default 20mph speed limit on restricted roads across Wales in September 2023. Restricted roads include those with street lights and are usually located in residential and built up areas with « high pedestrian activity ».

The new research, conducted by the Transport Research Institute (TRI) at Edinburgh Napier University, in conjunction with Public Health Wales, estimates a new default 20mph speed limit on residential roads across Wales will save around £100 million in the first year alone.

The estimated cost saving is the direct result of fewer deaths and injuries.

The new 20mph default speed limit is estimated to save more than 100 lives over a decade and 14,000 casualties in total could be avoided.

• The Italian city of Bologna is the latest to announce it is moving to a generalised 30 km/h limit.  The guidelines for the implementation of the “Bologna Città 30” plan for the improvement of road safety were approved by the city council earlier this month.  The plan should be in place by June 2023 with local neighbourhood meetings planned to explain the changes until the end of this year.  Bologna’s sustainable urban mobility plan (SUMP) also includes plans for the redesign of roads, with physical interventions for the reduction of traffic and speed (such as raised and coloured crossings and speed bumps) and optimisation of vehicle parking.