Yesterday morning I rocked up to the Hove Business Association breakfast at Sussex County Cricket ground in Hove, put on my Living Streets hat and delivered a talk on “Why 20 is Plenty: Challenging the myths about the 20mph speed limit." I’d been warned that the tomatoes were ready (why?), but none were thrown and the audience was very attentive, asking a wide range of questions – mostly about enforcement, and the attitude of pedestrians.
A couple of delegates said that they had been sceptical, but had been convinced by my use of evidence-based analysis. That was encouraging. I reckon that, in a few years time, when 20mph has become the default speed limit in UK urban areas (as it is in much of Europe), we will wonder what all the fuss was about. Click here for my slides.
Scary graphic from Complete Streets Chicago, showing stopping distances and driver’s eye view at various speeds – including the unseen pedestrians.
