Alton Town Partnership
The Alton Town Partnership oversees the delivery of the Alton Town Plan recommendations
and also helps to develop Alton.
Please contact us by telephone at +44 (0) 1420 549684, by email:
or write to:-
The Alton Town Partnership, 66 High Street, Alton, Hampshire. GU34 1ET. UK.
So You want a 30mph Speed Limit in your Village or Town
Speed limits provide greater road safety since speed is a significant factor in about one third of road accidents in the UK.
Speeding vehicles also adversely affect the quality of life of many communities causing noise, pollution and community severance.
Measures for influencing the speed of vehicles generally fall into two categories, legislative and physical.
Speed limits fall into the first category whereas traffic calming devices would fall into the second.
Proposals for amendments to existing speed limits or the introduction of new ones should be raised initially through the relevant
District Traffic Team. Your request will then be assessed. The Police view on a change to a speed limit is important and will be sought.
Account should also be taken of the characteristics of the road, such as its alignment, the level of activity alongside the road, the accident
record and the degree of severance caused to a community by the speed of vehicles.
Generally, speed limits should fit into a rational and easily understood hierarchy if they are to be observed by drivers.
Before deciding to change an existing speed limit the Highway Authority must consider all the relevant factors such as:
Expected accident savings
Improvement to the environment
Improvement in amenities
Reduction in public anxiety
Improved facilities for vulnerable road users
Existing speed of traffic in free flow conditions
Delays to traffic
Costs of implementation
Costs of engineering measures and their maintenance
Costs of enforcement, especially where the speed limit might be regarded as unreasonable by drivers
If it is considered that a change in the speed limit is warranted then a new Speed Limit Order Traffic
Regulation Order has to be made. If the road in question has a system of street lighting on it with no
speed limit repeater signs the road is already subject to 30mph and as such the Highway Authority is
not permitted to place 30mph repeater signs on it. Street lighting in a built up area is deemed to be
sufficient visual warning of a 30mph limit.
References
Hampshire County council
Safe Speed
Advertising
Two key strands were identified during creative development research carried out to determine
the best ways to gain the attention and support of the general public to reduce speeding.
One, the emotional effect of hitting a child whilst speeding, and secondly, the use of statistics and
science to support the scenario presented. Killing an innocent victim remains among the most potent messages
with the public as a whole. The responses from research identified the need to combine the emotional with the
rational in order to avoid only a short-term 'tear jerk' effect. The commercial has been designed
specifically to marry up the emotional versus the rational aspects to target the 70% of the population
that speed.
Crash scenarios
These scenarios provide a background explanation of what has happened to the little girl prior to the start
of the film.
The 40 mph crash
The injuries sustained by the child after the 40mph crash are as follows:
A fractured pelvis (though this is not visible) and radius and ulna bones (lower arm) along with a skull
fracture (base).
Prior to the beginning of the film, the girl, 8 years old (120-130 cms, weighing 55 pounds), ran out
into the road, the car (a Ford Fiesta) driving at 40mph in a 30mph speed zone, has hit her at 40mph.
She has been hit initially on the pelvis. Her pelvis has broken. Having been hit initially in the pelvis
she has been thrown approximately 28m from the car, and has fallen to the ground onto her arm initially,
with her head hitting the road next, causing her skull to be fractured (hence the trickle of blood from
the ear, and the blood in the hair). She has grazes on the side of her face (on her cheeks and temple)
from where she has slid along the road. She has then been placed at the side of the road after being
pronounced dead which is where the film begins.
The 30 mph crash
As the commercial goes on, the effects of the 40 crash recede and the body moves into the middle of the
road to illustrate the difference in effect between being hit at 40mph versus 30mph. What you actually
see are the bones going back into place (the arm), the wound on the head heals itself, and the scrapes
recede.
In this scenario the girl, 8 years old (120-130 cms, weighing 55 pounds), has run out into the road,
the car (a Ford Fiesta) driving at 30mph in a 30mph speed zone, having not seen her jump out has hit her
at 30mph. She has been hit initially on the pelvis. Her pelvis is bruised. Having been hit initially in the
pelvis she is thrown approximately 16 metres and falls onto her side, fracturing her arm (though it would
not look distorted). She then hits her head, but not so hard as to concuss her. In this scenario she survives,
taking a deep breath in as the commercial ends.
Useful statistics
Attitudes to speeding
Research identified that over 70% of drivers in one study admitted to speeding (Stradling) and in other studies (Webster & Wells) the figure was 85%.
Drivers still distinguish between 'ordinary, safe speeding drivers' and 'dangerous speeding drivers'.
55% of drivers admit to exceeding the speed limit a little every day.
Among passengers, over 60% believe that driving too fast increases the chances that their partner will crash.
93% of motorists said they have a sound knowledge of speed limits, yet only 50% could correctly identify the limit on a dual carriageway (70mph).
Almost a quarter of drivers think it is acceptable to speed if they think the limit is too low.
Key statistics
You are more likely to kill a pedestrian driving at 40mph than 30mph.
Specifically, if you hit a pedestrian while driving at 20 mph, the pedestrian has a 95% chance of survival.
If you hit an adult pedestrian while driving at 30mph, the survival chance is 80%. But if you hit a pedestrian while driving at 40mph, the pedestrian's chances of dying rises to 90%. (this lowers to 80% for a child).
General
Excessive speed is a contributory factor in over 1,000 deaths and over 40,000 injuries every year.
On average, nearly nine people die every day on Britain's roads.
Every driver can make a difference just by slowing down a few miles per hour and observing speed limits.
The law of physics dictate that the higher the speed at impact, the more energy must be rapidly absorbed by hard metal, soft flesh and brittle bone.
Road Safety Slow Down Campaign
57% of fatalities on the roads last year were in rural areas, so there is a crying need
for this and we know that lots of villages are lobbying their local authorities to introduce thirty mile
speed limits.
Under the current system, the default national speed limit is 30mph on lit urban roads, 60mph on single
carriageway roads and 70mph on dual carriageways, as well as motorways.
Streets for People briefing
Reducing speeds in villages can substantially reduce the number of casualties and deaths that occur.
A study conducted on behalf of the Department for Transport has shown that reducing speeds to 30mph can
result in a 50% drop in the number of people killed and seriously injured on village roads.
Reducing speeds to 30mph has been shown to cause a 40% decrease in the number of collisions
involving child pedestrians and a 51% decrease involving child cyclists.
Fast traffic through villages not only increases the risk of injury and death but causes other specific
problems:
Severance: Trying to cross a road with fast moving traffic is frightening, particularly for the less mobile or people with pushchairs/wheelchairs. High-speed roads that pass through villages often cut the village in half.
Discomfort: Many villages sprang up before the motor vehicle. The roads were designed for horse drawn vehicles; footways were designed for a smaller population. Today there are more vehicles using the same roads at much greater speed and more people trying to use the same footways. This results in a very uncomfortable experience for the pedestrian, with fast traffic often just 1 metre away.
Discouragement: The hostile road environment puts people off getting on their bike to cycle to the local shop (even if it’s less than a mile away). Vehicles passing so close to footways discourage people from walking anymore than they have to and results in local people driving children to school, even if it’s only a ten-minute walk.
Community decay: The village centre and shopping street should be the place where local people meet and chat but the noise and discomfort caused by fast roads discourage people from lingering on the pavement any longer than they have to.
Government guidance
The Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2000 proposed that 30mph speed limits be the norm for built-up areas,
including villages. However, little has been done nationally to implement this proposal. One research
company found that fewer than one in five authorities had introduced or were intending to introduce
a policy of 30mph limits for villages.
Many villages are sited on trunk roads, which carry high densities of traffic often
travelling at speeds in excess of 40mph. In 2000 the Highways Agency published its strategic
plan entitled Making the Network Safer. One of the strategy aims was to traffic-calm sections of
the trunk road network running through villages. The agency states that the normal limit for trunk
roads in villages should be 30mph but this is dependent on the number of casualties that have occurred.
The House of Commons, Transport, Local Government and the Regions Committee’s Ninth Report on Road Traffic
Speed (June 2002) drew attention to the problem of speed in villages and made the following proposals:
"Guidance to local authorities on speed limits should recommend that there be a 30mph limit in villages.
Appropriate measures should be taken by the local authority in consultation with the villagers to ensure
the limit is obeyed. They should also decide which settlements are villages."
"The Highways Agency should now establish a programme for installing 30mph limits and attendant speed
reduction measures in all villages along its network."
In all there has been a lot of good rhetoric surrounding what needs to be done with regards to speeding
in villages but very limited action, with the odd rare exception.
Part of the reason for this lack of action is the difficultly in actually getting a 30mph limit in place.
A speed survey by the highway authority is the first step to a 30mph limit. If this shows that 85% of the traffic is travelling considerably faster than 30mph already (say, at 40mph) then a 30mph limit will not be introduced because the police authority will say it is unenforceable without some traffic calming measures.
Traffic calming can be expensive and so the highway authority will then prioritise spending money for traffic calming on areas that have a history of high fatalities or casualties. Risk of fatality or serious injury is not enough to convince a highway authority that the money should be spent. Likewise, the fact that traffic passing through a village at high speed is causing severance to the community and creates an unpleasant environment is not a good enough reason for a highway authority to spend money on traffic calming, when it has a limited budget and other projects with greater priority.
So if there is traffic travelling at 40mph through the village, a high risk of crashes but no history of fatalities or serious injuries, you are left with only one option: rallying up mass support for traffic calming.
Once there is traffic calming in place, a 30mph limit is more likely. If the traffic calming has resulted in 85% of the traffic travelling at about 34mph, then a 30mph limit can be requested and will probably be successful.
Action that could help with your campaign for lower speeds
Get as many local people involved as possible and form a group. Involve the parish council, other local councillors, schools and a representative of the retailers in the village. Try to involve different sectors of the community such as the elderly, children and parents, cyclists and people with disabilities. All these people will have different needs for speed reduction and will be able to expand the reasoning for it.
As a group decide what you want. If the long-term aim is a 30mph limit, then you may have to campaign for traffic calming first. If so how are you going to get this? What kind of traffic calming do you want? What kind of budget do you have to campaign with?
Use the local paper to highlight your campaign. Local papers are always looking for good local stories. Take pictures of residents trying to cross the road or children walking to school to illustrate the dangers.
At local events such as fetes and bazaars, have a stall with information about your campaign and start a petition.
Produce some literature such as a flyer (a supportive local business may photocopy it free of charge) and distribute it to involve as many residents as possible.
Ask people to write to the highway authority about the need for traffic calming and speed reduction.
Ask the local authority to conduct a speed survey to prove the need for traffic calming, if a survey hasn’t been conducted.
Organise a questionnaire to gather evidence from the community about the need for traffic calming and speed reduction. Organise a meeting with the highway authority road safety officer or chief engineer to present your questionnaire findings and your petition. Take a plan for traffic calming with you to show the engineer what you want, seek their advice on what will work and what could be installed.
Don’t give up! It may take years to get what you want, but eventually with enough persistence you will get there.
Case study: Hursley in Hampshire
The Hursley 30 NOW! Group was set up by Hursley residents angry at the danger posed by speeding traffic through the village in Hampshire. A number of crashes had highlighted the vulnerability of pedestrians, especially children walking to the primary school, older children crossing the road to the morning bus, and the elderly trying to cross the road to use the post office. Although the parish council had been campaigning on this issue for many years, the group decided to raise the profile of the campaign for a 30mph limit and other road safety issues. They undertook a host of activities, which included:
Involving the whole village using leaflets.
Asking villagers and staff and parents at the school to always drive at 30mph through the village.
Producing posters and car stickers.
Organising a petition.
Holding a poster competition for children.
Running a stall at the village fete and fun day.
Meeting local politicians and council officers.
Gaining publicity in the local press.
Holding a very successful demonstration during Hampshire Walk to School Week.
At the parish council meeting in January 2002, the chairman announced that Hursley would soon be getting a
30mph speed limit through the village. Hampshire County Council had conducted speed checks,
carried out after traffic calming measures had been installed in the village the year before.
The speed checks showed that traffic speeds through the village had been reduced and that they fulfilled
the county council and police criteria for a 30mph speed limit.
Above all, the group maintained a very good working relationship with the parish council, meeting
regularly with the councillors and involving them in the group as much as possible. The group believes
this was vital in the success of its campaign.
Pre-conceived ideas about traffic calming
Some authorities and local residents are concerned that 30mph limits and traffic calming may result in increased unsightly clutter such as lights, signs and garish road markings. But there are ways to reduce the visual impact and still slow traffic down.
When traffic calming is introduced, many repeater speed limit signs will no longer be needed as roads become self-enforcing.
New signs to show 30mph could be incorporated into existing village signs.
A gateway to denote a change in speed upon entering a village can be an attractive design with local historical connections. The Community Fund or Local Authority Arts Fund may pay for a design and construction.
Road narrowing using pedestrian islands don’t have to include concrete blocks: a little imagination can turn them into attractive shrub plantings.
Pavement widening is a great mechanism to reduce road space to slow traffic and gives the road space over to pedestrians.
A dedicated mandatory cycle lane is also another means of reducing road width and reclaiming road space for vulnerable road users.
A mini-roundabout could have a local historical statue, monument or clock. Again, applying for Community Fund or LA Arts Fund may be worth it.
Road surface treatment need not be a contrasting coloured surface or rumble strips.
Attractive cobbles or brickwork can be just as effective at denoting change and creating vibration within the vehicle cab to notify the driver of a change in road conditions.
Common speed reductions methods used in villages
Gateways: A gateway denotes a change in speed upon entering and leaving a village. It includes the change in speed limit sign. Gateways can involve road narrowings, a vertical feature, a horizontal road surface treatment such as contrasting surface colour, islands or signs.
Speed cushions: These slow down vehicles but allow access for emergency vehicles and cyclists.
Chicanes and build-outs: These change the line of carriageway to slow speeds, they can be attractive
features with planting and brickwork. Cyclists’ access and safety should be considered with these.
Priority in one direction: These involve narrowing the road width at a landmark, such as a bridge, and
creating a priority one way.
Traffic calming measures and resulting reduction in crashes.
| Scheme | Average cost | Reduction in collisions |
| Anti-skid | £8620 | 57 per cent |
| Area traffic calming | £46,093 | 57 per cent |
| Controlled crossing | £15,916 | 31 per cent |
| Markings | £2020 | 34 per cent |
| Markings and signs | £2537 | 41 per cent |
| Refuges | £10,387 | 37 per cent |
| Package schemes | £22,099 | 42 per cent |
| Signal improvements | £17,095 | 22 per cent |
| Traffic calming: horizontal | £22,606 | 46 per cent |
| Traffic calming: vertical | £23,333 | 65 per cent |
| Warning signs | £553 | 46 per cent |
| Speed cameras | £18,236 | 13 per cent |
| Junction improvements | £18,513 | 44 per cent |
| New traffic signals | £40,717 | 67 per cent |
| Mini roundabout | £14,769 | 49 per cent |
| Yellow bar markings (slip roads) | £1000 | 25 per cent |
| Yellow bar markings (roundabouts) | £1000 | 50 per cent |
Source: Institute of Civil Engineers and RoSPA briefing sheet: Road Safety Engineering:
Cost Effective Local Safety Schemes.
Conclusion
There is a great deal of evidence to prove that traffic calming can reduce speeds in villages and as a
result reduce the levels of injuries and fatalities, particularly to pedestrians and cyclists.
Traffic calming can help to get a slower speed limit in place. However, local authorities are inundated
with requests for traffic calming and speed reduction measures and therefore a village community may
have to campaign actively and for a long time to get speed reduction measures installed.
To achieve a 30mph speed limit, a partnership between the village community and the parish council has
proved to be a winning team. The political will is now behind speed reduction in villages and therefore
with enough campaigning, you have a high chance of success.
Further information
Streets for People Briefing: Running an Effective Campaign
To join Streets for People, contact 020 7613 0743 extn 124.
Campaigning for Traffic Calming
Briefing paper to help local people campaign for measures to reduce the impact of traffic in rural villages
and on country lanes (1996). £3 from CPRE Publications on 020 7976 6433.
Traffic advisory leaflets
Village Traffic Calming and Reducing Accidents: TAL 11/00
Gateways: TAL 13/93
Speed Cushion Schemes: TAL 1/98
Chicane Schemes: TAL 12/97
Traffic Calming on Major Roads: A49, Craven Arms, Shropshire: TAL 2/97
Traffic Advisory Leaflets are available free of charge from Department for Transport on 020 7944 2979
Road Safety Engineering: Cost Effective Local Safety Schemes
Briefing sheet from Institute of Civil Engineers and RoSPA.
Vital Villages
This programme run by the Countryside Agency is able to giving grants and advice to village communities for a
number of transport related issues. If you are keen to take your vision for your village further than speed
reduction and wish to tackle traffic reduction then this programme could help. Telephone 0870 333 0170.
Here is more information at the Campaign for Better Transport - was Transport 2000
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