20mph in Wales…..

Trolio sbwriel.

There’s something very controlling, top-down command-control, meddlesome and incompetent about those in control of the Welsh “parliament”.

You mean by setting speed limits, like almost everywhere else in the world?  Like we had before?

I’ve got a long drive across the middle of Wales in a couple of weeks, driving there used to be a joy

It still is!  All those long open B roads are still 60 for goodness’ sake. You do realise it’s not ALL roads that are 20mph right? Only in towns and villages.  Did you take joy from trundling through a small village at 30mph that will now be ruined at 20mph?  You absolute plonker.

I’ve got a long drive across the middle of Wales in a couple of weeks, driving there used to be a joy

Why don’t you just stick to the motorways and avoid the 20mph limits?

[yes I’m being sarcastic, because the 20’s only apply though the villages that would have been 30 previously anyway, it must have added, ohhhhhhh, seconds to our journey time from England to Porthmaddog. The 20’s are about as relevant to journey times in Mid / North Wales as the motorways]

There’s something very controlling, top-down command-control, meddlesome and incompetent about those in control of the Welsh “parliament”.

Unfortunately the same mind-virus is coming to Westminster on 5th of July

I’ve got a long drive across the middle of Wales in a couple of weeks, driving there used to be a joy

Believe in Leave, Boris Johnson, Capital Punishment and none of that Green nonsense by any chance?

When we drove to the seaside last it was nearly all 60mph, we barely noticed any difference.  Just a couple of villages that were slightly slower.   Still an hour of fantastic swoopy B roads from the M4 onwards.

Believe in Leave, Boris Johnson, Capital Punishment and none of that Green nonsense by any chance?

“Love speedin’, hate paedos, simple as”

Tj your experience must be unique. It was poorly executed in my opinion. 40mph in areas with front facing houses, and 20 where their were shops. Also seemed to go with wealth of the local area, with the well heeled areas being 20. Just an outsider observation!

Molgrips…there were villages and small area of housing with houses at both sides of the road, front door on to the pavement, 40mph. Nuts. All the roads that lead to Swansea and Cardiff are fine, the rest of Wales seems like it was decided by a bingo ball setup.

Speed limits have often been inconsistent as long as I’ve been driving.  There were two roads out of town where I went to college so similar that it took me a while to remember which was which, however one was 30 and one 40.

I’ve got a long drive across the middle of Wales in a couple of weeks, driving there used to be a joy

Not you again.

Hopefiendboy – I was driving cross country on A roads where I went in and out of villages – no big towns

“Is it not referred to as the Senedd or Senedd Cymru?”

Either Senedd Cymru or Welsh Parliament are acceptable, although most people colloquially just call it the Senedd now whether speaking in English or Cymraeg.

The comments pages of Welsh online newspapers are littered with comments from some folk usually of a particular political persuasion who still call it “The Assembly” which is well out of date now although there are still a few old official road signs littered around that still have the A word on them.

The Senedd shouldn’t be confused with the Welsh Government who are the Executive whereas the Senedd is the Legislature. Although in the early days of Welsh devolution there was a Welsh Assembly Government rather than a Welsh Government.

Simples!

I’ve got a long drive across the middle of Wales in a couple of weeks, driving there used to be a joy

It still is, the views are wonderful and you get to see more of them now as speed cameras mean that (most) people aren’t driving like ****.

I live in Cardiff and it’s made the city a much nicer place to be whether driving, cycling or walking, when driving you never feel that the limits have been implemented badly, it’s been well thought out and roads that are wider and safe to do 30mph on have been left at 30mph ( Manor Way, Newport Rd etc). It’s also noticeable how more people are sticking to the limit as time goes on,  deffo less of the die hard anti 20mph brigade sitting right up your chuff.

When driving in West Wales recently there is definitely some inconsistency and some roads where sections are 20mph where there are just a few houses well set back from the road and others where similar sections are 40mph, so I can see where some people have become frustrated due to clumsy implementation, hopefully things will smooth out over time.

The biggest disappointment has been the Welsh Conservatives using it as a political wedge issue and campaigning against it even tho they proposed and campaigned for it in the first place.

There’s something very controlling, top-down command-control, meddlesome and incompetent about those in control of the Welsh “parliament”.

Why, got any examples?

@catfood spot on

A little aside.  My recently put back on the road BSA.  Its an utter bugger to ride at 20 mph.  Has to be second gear but revs are a bit high and it will not run well at a steady 20 mph – its on pilot jet and hunts coughs and splutters.  grrrrrrrr.  🙂

Don’t think fuel injection was ever an option on those? 😉

I’ve got a long drive across the middle of Wales in a couple of weeks, driving there used to be a joy

As many have pointed out… little has changed outside of towns and villages.  But more importantly, it’s not all about drivers is it?  Even if driving were less enjoyable, there are real, practical, life and death reasons why we need speed limits.  It would be ludicrous not to impose speed limits that make someone else’s enjoyment of the streets less dangerous and unpleasant just so  our driving experience can be joyful.

I would prefer it if we could have streets in which speed is designed or engineered out.  That would cost a load and take ages to achieve.  So all we have is speed limits.  I’m glad they have been reduced to 20.

I find people complaining about 20mph limits one of the most depressing areas of the internet.

These limits are primarily about road safety for anyone not in motor vehicle. They also result in quieter roads, nicer neighbourhoods and better flowing traffic. Yet so many motorists invest time and energy into getting furious about them because of the tiny, tiny, inconvenience of it taking 25 seconds longer to drive through a town. Because this is such an illogical complaint, instead they talk about increased/decreased/wrong amount of revs, made up environmental impacts, being too easily distracted, conspiracies of cabal governments (despite the limits getting cross party support) and any other guff rather than admitting the truth, they just don’t like driving at 20mph. A lot of the complaints seem to come from people who do not live in these areas, instead form those passing through.

It is like listening to a American arguing about guns, they will list loads of reasons other than admitting that they just really like guns. If you object to the speed limits, just be honest and admit you like to drive faster and don’t care about any other road users.

Spent two weeks in Wales. Going from 50 to 20mph was brutal.  I actually quite enjoyed the 20 zones, got to have a good look about.

gowerboy
Full Member

As many have pointed out… little has changed outside of towns and villages. But more importantly, it’s not all about drivers is it?

Yep. I say it over and over, are streets and towns just things to drive through as fast as possible to get somewhere else, or are they places for humans to live? Is a city just a place to drive to and park? It seems to actually convince some people, unlike most arguments- not everyone jogs or cycles or has kids but most people live near a road. Do you pay your ridiculous rent or crushing mortgage and your council tax just so some random can fly past your bedroom at 40mph on a road that only exists because of the homes?

My 20mph street is lovely, that shouldn’t be a privilege for the places we live to prioritise the people who live there, it’s just the only sane way for it to be.

And I’m a bloody petrolhead, I loved my bikes, I’m just finishing up an engine swap on my MX5, I love driving fast when appropriate, I do trackdays etc, even raced once… But town driving sucks, no matter the speed limit. It can’t be made fast, or enjoyable, the most car-first traffic systems in the developed world are the ones that are the biggest dystopian nightmares. Literally the best we can do is make it mellower.

Speed limits have often been inconsistent as long as I’ve been driving.  There were two roads out of town where I went to college so similar that it took me a while to remember which was which, however one was 30 and one 40.

Yeah, same with the A4 and A420 west out of Chippenham. One has houses set back from the road on one side, fields on the other, the other had houses set back from the road on one side, and a large area of derelict land on on the other, but one was 30, the other 40. One I used to drive fairly regularly, the other not so much, and as a result I assumed both were 40, until I got busted as I came out the other side of the structure carrying the main railway line to Bath.
the A420 went from 30 to 40 where the fields started, it was easy to assume the same with the A4, and I guess the police knew lots of drivers thought the same and sat out of sight where the limit ‘should’ have changed, if both roads followed the same signing protocol. 🤷🏼

It is like listening to a American arguing about guns, they will list loads of reasons other than admitting that they just really like guns. If you object to the speed limits, just be honest and admit you like to drive faster and don’t care about any other road users.

Same demographic too.

“It still is! All those long open B roads are still 60 for goodness’ sake. You do realise it’s not ALL roads that are 20mph right? Only in towns and villages. Did you take joy from trundling through a small village at 30mph that will now be ruined at 20mph? You absolute plonker.”

Just got back. Drove 100s of miles over many hours in central Wales. Think a camera or two got me as they’re positioned right on the 20 / 30 sign change-over point,. so after grinding along in 2nd for 5 mins, you’re 30 yards from a 30, change up to 3rd and then notice the camera too late. Utterly ridiculous, massive waste of money, everyone I spoke to said the police won’t be enforcing, complete fiasco. Are English towns and villages scenes of carnage every day as cars fly around at a terrifying 30 mph in towns and villages?

Who’s the absolute plonkers now? Yep, the top-down nanny-state Labour control-freaks in the Welsh parliament who have wasted a ton of tax and wound everyone up. A 30mph limit doesn’t mean cars literally drive at 30 through a narrow windy village – Its that nanny knows best stuff you expect from socialist public servants.

The irony is, after painfully and pointlessly crawling at 20 for umpteen times you get back onto the A40 on a Sunday and realise its an unofficial IOM TT race circuit with virtually no policing. I had a Mitsubishi Evo overtake me and another over a solid white line on a twisty section past Llandovery doing 90+, hotly pursued by 6 bikes. Just debating if I can be arsed uploading the dashcam footage to the police portal

If it makes you so angry, does that mean you won’t be coming back?

Whereas I’ve just had a week’s holiday in Wales, loved the relaxed pace of the 20 zones, and if I got caught by any cameras, it was my own fault for not concentrating and breaking the law.

Think a camera or two got me as they’re positioned right on the 20 / 30 sign change-over point,. so after grinding along in 2nd for 5 mins, you’re 30 yards from a 30, change up to 3rd and then notice the camera too late.

You don’t seem very bright. It would have taken you 1 extra second to stay at 20 for those 30 yards, maybe give that a go next time and save on the fine.

grimep

I’m assuming that since you didn’t say otherwise you are the Leave voting, Boris Johnson loving, let ’em hang anti-Green demographic – or is it easier just to refer to you as “Gammon”?

Think a camera or two got me

Where’s that platinum level like button when you need it?

Glad to see the system works; people driving who are unable or unwilling to control a vehicle get caught out instead of far worse consequences, including for those on bicycles. I’d call that a win.

As for the England/Wales thing; there’s plenty of 20mph in England, so hand in your licence or get it taken off you, but adapt either way.

Oh look it’s our resident grumpy troll.

I went to New Quay area of Wales on holiday a couple of weeks ago.

Can’t say I found too much trouble with the 20mph zones. The open road speed limits where no different to Derbyshire.

Grimep you sound like a toddler having a tantrum.

When you drive there are literally only 2 things you control. Your speed of travel and your direction of travel.
If you can’t do half the job effectively then you should surrender your driving licence.

Now off to the playroom for some nice calming colouring in.

Having lived here for the past few decades I’ve not yet had a speeding ticket. TBH anyone who can’t see either a big yellow box on a post,  liveried up van or a copper with a speedgun isn’t very observant so shouldn’t really be driving.

Anyway grimep, off you pop back to Jaywick, I’m sure that you have been missed.

Think a camera or two got me as they’re positioned right on the 20 / 30 sign change-over point

I’m calling bullshit on this and hoping I’m wrong.

Should you even be driving, if you can neither see a speed limit nor drive to it?

I drive alot in Wales. You just need to pay attention to the road signs.

There are some places where 20 would have been a good idea, ie village on main A road with school but still 40mph (not far from Llangollen). Locals had put up cardboard cut outs of kids asking drivers to slow down.

Just back from a week in France where there are a lot more 30kph limits now, once you get used to it quite relaxing and the French all seem to stick to the limits.

Should you even be driving, if you can neither see a speed limit nor drive to it?

He doesn’t actually exist but is an algorithm put in by Mark to bump up forum traffic a bit with stupid comments; Artificial Unintelligence

Can we knock off with the unpleasant personal remarks at grimep please? Not really necessary.

You just need to pay attention to the road signs.

I often slip up with this. Still. I tend to get angry with myself rather than the “top-down nanny-state Labour control-freaks”. When I fail at driving I consider that my fault, take responsibility, and try to improve.

Can we knock off with the unpleasant personal remarks at grimep please? Not really necessary.

I guess so, but what you reap is what you sow.