A guest post from Richard Massett of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association

LTDA supports measures to control speed in residential streets but on main roads  the primary function should be the movement of people and goods and every effort should be made to ensure that this function is carried out as efficiently and safely as possible.

Arbitrary, blanket 20 mph limits do nothing to achieve either of these objectives and instead of applying blanket speed restrictions highway authorities should be focusing  their attention to identify accident blackspots and channelling resources to engineer solutions to the causes of accidents.

It is questionable whether 20 mph limits work, as recently published data from the DoT suggests increased accident rates after the introduction of zones and given that average speeds in central London are around 10-11 mph it seems to us that some Councils seem to be more interested in re-inforcing their green credentials by giving the appearance of ‘doing something’  rather than putting in the hard work required to seriously get to grips with implementing measures to reduce accidents.

The police seem to be reluctant to enforce 20mph zones and usually advise Councils that the measures should be self-enforcing.

If councils are successful in reducing vehicle speeds even further than they are now then  environmental assessments should be carried out to gauge the impact on in air quality.