ÖйúPÕ¾

Introduction

The aim of ÖйúPÕ¾ is to set speed limits that are successful in managing vehicle speeds and are appropriate for the main use of the road. Reducing speeds successfully may reduce the likelihood and severity of collisions, and can help to encourage more walking and cycling. This can help to make communities more pleasant places to live, and can help sustain local shops and businesses. The desire for lower speeds has to be balanced against the need for reasonable journey times and the position of the road within the county council's Strategic Priority Network.

The purpose of this policy is to explain the roles, responsibilities and the procedure that will be followed by ÖйúPÕ¾ when deciding whether to change a speed limit. The policy also provides advice and guidance on the factors and additional supporting measures that may be needed to ensure successful management of vehicle speeds.

This policy has been developed with reference to national policy issued by central government "Setting Local Speed Limits, Department for Transport Circular January 2013" and national policy issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers, "Speed Enforcement Policy Guidelines 2011 to 2015: Joining Forces for Safer Roads". This policy was approved by the county council's cabinet on 24 June 2014 and became effective on 3 July 2014. The policy was updated in July 2022 to reflect changes to the decision making process agreed by Cabinet on 22 Feb 2022. The policy was updated again in July 2024 following approval by Cabinet on 23 July 2024 of the new Vision Zero Road Safety Strategy that included a new more flexible approach to 20 mph speed limits.

Key principles

National speed limits

The three national speed limits are:

• the 30 miles per hours (mph) speed limit on roads with street lighting (sometimes referred to as Restricted Roads)
• the national speed limit of 60 mph on single carriageway roads
• the national speed limit of 70 mph on dual carriageways and motorways.

These national speed limits are not, however, appropriate for all roads. The speed limit regime enables traffic authorities like ÖйúPÕ¾ to set local speed limits in situations where local needs and conditions suggest a need for a speed limit which is different from the national speed limit. For example while higher speed limits are appropriate for strategic roads between main towns, lower speed limits will usually apply within towns and villages. A limit of 20 mph may be appropriate in residential areas, busy shopping streets and near schools where the needs and safety of pedestrians and cyclists should have greater priority. Changing from the national speed limit on a road will require that speed limit repeater signs are provided along the route to indicate the new speed limit.

Decision making and responsibilities

Within ÖйúPÕ¾ decisions over most highway matters including setting speed limits are delegated to nominated officers in consultation with the divisional member. There are a number of funding sources that ÖйúPÕ¾ has for highway improvements, including changes to speed limits. Any proposals for changing speed limits including the signing, legal speed limit order and supporting highway measures would require the support of the divisional member.

Speed limits and speed management

Experience shows that changing to a lower speed limit on its own will not necessarily be successful in reducing the speed of traffic by very much if the prevailing mean speeds are much higher than the proposed lower speed limit. If a speed limit is set too low and is ignored then this could result in the majority of drivers criminalising themselves and could bring the system of speed limits into disrepute. There should be no expectation that the police would be able to provide regular enforcement if a speed limit is set too low as this could result in an unreasonable additional demand on police resources. It is also important to set reasonable speed limits to ensure consistency across the country.

Therefore speed limits should be considered as part of a package of measures to manage vehicle speeds and improve road safety. Changes to the highway (for example through narrowing, providing vertical traffic calming or re-aligning the road) may be required to encourage lower speeds in addition to any change in speed limit. Though these changes may be more expensive, they are more likely to be successful in the long term in achieving lower speeds without the need for increased police enforcement to penalise substantial numbers of motorists.

20 mph speed limits and zones

In July 2024 the County Council's Cabinet approved a new flexible policy for 20 mph schemes. More information can be found in the ÖйúPÕ¾'s new approach to 20 mph limits section.

Speed limits outside schools

Requests are often made for lower speed limits outside schools as a result of concerns over the safety of children outside schools. It is the policy of ÖйúPÕ¾ that there should always be an overall assessment of the safety issues outside a school to investigate and define the problem rather than consideration of the speed limit in isolation. For example the problems may be associated with inconsiderate parking or difficulties in crossing a road that will not be solved through a change in speed limit on its own. Therefore the county council have published a separate policy "Road Safety Outside Schools" that describes how concerns over road safety outside schools will be investigated.

School leadership and parents also have a vital role to play in ensuring the safety of children on the journey to school. Therefore an assessment of the road safety education provided within the school and the school's travel plan will always be undertaken alongside an assessment of the road safety situation outside the school gate.

Department for Transport regulations now allow the use of advisory "20 when lights show" with amber flashing lights on the approach to schools. However the influence of these signs on vehicle speeds is likely to be minimal and is not enforceable as it is an advisory sign, not a compulsory change in the speed limit. Regulations do not permit amber flashing lights to be used on the approach to signal controlled crossings or zebra crossings.

Procedure to decide whether to change a speed limit

Step 1: Request to change a speed limit is received

Any requests to change speed limits should be submitted to ÖйúPÕ¾ Highways via our website or by calling 0300 200 1003. The Highway Engagement & Commissioning Team will then consider the request and if necessary will consult with the local member to decide whether to proceed with a full speed limit assessment. Reference will be made to the position of the road on the county council's Strategic Priority Network.

The Highway Engagement and Commissioning Team will determine the extent of the road to be assessed. The length of road over which a speed limit change is being considered should be at least 600m. This should ensure against too many speed limit changes that could be confusing to the motorist within a short space of road. However in some cases a slightly shorter length may be suitable where existing highway or roadside features provide a natural threshold which may complement a change in speed limit.

More flexibility is allowed in relation to 20 mph speed limits. This is described in the Council's 20 mph policy which states: shorter stretches of 20 mph limit or 30 mph limit (to a minimum of 300m long), will be allowed because these changes in speed limit will be more obvious to motorists when travelling at lower speeds. This will provide greater flexibility to introduce shorter stretches of 20 mph or shorter "buffers" of 30 mph on the approach to new 20 mph limits from higher speed limits.

Other County Council teams, in certain circumstances, may wish to change the speed limit of a road to reduce the risk of collisions and to make walking and cycling easier and safer.

Step 2: Measure existing speeds and analyse road casualty data

Highway Officers will commission one week automatic surveys of vehicle speeds (in both directions) in order to gather comprehensive data on existing mean vehicle speeds on the road. Several different speed survey locations may be required for longer stretches of road. If automatic surveys of vehicle speeds are not possible then a sample of speeds will be undertaken using a hand held speed measuring device at different times of the day to ensure the sample is representative.

Research has shown that reduced vehicle speeds reduce the risk of collision and also reduce the consequences and severity of any injuries, irrespective of the primary cause. Therefore the Road Safety Team will assess the number and pattern of road casualties along any route where a new speed limit is proposed, with particular attention given to vulnerable road casualties such as pedestrians, cyclists, children and older people. This analysis will help inform the need for any speed management measures to reduce the risk of collisions and to reduce the severity of road casualties, especially vulnerable road users.

Step 3: Compare the existing speeds with the suggested new speed limit

National policy issued by the Department for Transport (Circular January 2013) provides formulas derived from real examples of speed limit changes to predict the likely impact on traffic speeds of a change in speed limit. Tables 3 to 10 show the predicted reductions in mean vehicle speeds following a change to a new lower speed limit using the Department for Transport formulas.

Tables 3 to 10 show different speed limit change scenarios. Each table shows measured mean speeds where a speed limit change will be allowed using signs alone, and measured mean speeds where supporting engineering measures are required. If the existing measured mean speeds show a speed limit change will be allowed using signs alone, then proceed to Step 5.

If the existing measured mean speeds show that a speed limit change will require supporting engineering measures, then the county council will not allow a lower speed limit without consideration of supporting engineering measures. In this case proceed to Step 4.

It is anticipated that tables 3 to 10 present data for the vast majority of speed limit change scenarios. However, if there happens to be a scenario not covered by the tables, then the Highway Officers will choose the example in the table that in their opinion provides the closest match to the case in question.

If more than one speed survey has been completed on a longer stretch of road, then it is possible that supporting engineering measures may be required on one part of the road, but not the other. Another option may be to introduce the proposed new lower speed limit on only one part of the road. Caution should be taken in cases where the proposed lower limit is above the existing measured mean speeds as this could have the effect of increasing mean speeds if drivers treat the new speed limit as a target.

Nearly all requests received in relation to speed limits are for a reduction in a speed limit. However though it is likely to be rare, it is also possible to consider a request for an increase in a speed limit. In these cases it should be assumed that this would have the effect which is the exact reverse of the effect of the equivalent speed limit reduction described within tables 3 to 10. Extreme care should be taken in any decision to increase a speed limit as this could result in increased speeds and increased risk and severity of collisions.

Step 4: Conduct feasibility of supporting engineering measures

Where it is found that the existing measured mean vehicle speeds are too great for a signed-only change to a lower speed limit to be successful, then consideration of supporting engineering measures will be required.

Highway Officers will commission feasibility work on what measures may be possible. These may include traffic calming such as narrowing the road, chicanes, priority give-way arrangements, central islands, gateways, or vertical traffic calming. Speed reducing features could also form part of improved facilities for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, children and older people.

However some forms of traffic calming will not be appropriate on major routes with large traffic flows and heavy vehicles, and it may be the case that speed reducing features and a reduction in speed limit is not always viable or desirable for some strategically important roads. For example vertical traffic calming cannot be used on roads that are 40 mph or greater. Accordingly the feasibility work and decision to change a speed limit will need to take into account the position of the road within the county's Strategic Priority Network.

Step 5: Consult with ÖйúPÕ¾ Police Road Safety and Traffic Management Team

As ÖйúPÕ¾ Police are responsible for the enforcement of speed limits it is essential that they are consulted on any proposals to change a speed limit and consideration of supporting engineering measures. ÖйúPÕ¾ Police have specialist officers responsible for road safety, who will be presented with the proposals for the new lower speed limit and any supporting engineering measures along with evidence of existing and predicted mean speeds and road casualty analysis. The views of the police will be recorded in writing and taken into account by the nominated officer taking the decision, in consultation with the divisional member, on whether to change the speed limit. . It may also be helpful to seek the views of local parish or town councils.

Step 6: Nominated officer decision and allocation of funding

A request that the speed limit be changed will be submitted to the nominated officer for decision. The decision will take into account the following:

• the position of the road within ÖйúPÕ¾'s Strategic Priority Network
• a summary of existing speed survey results
• a summary of the history and pattern of road collisions resulting in injury reported to the police, highlighting especially any vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, children and older people
• the predicted speeds following a change in speed limit
• recommendations for a new speed limit and supporting engineering measures if required
• estimated costs of the scheme
• the views of specialist officers responsible for road safety at ÖйúPÕ¾ Police
• the views of the divisional member

The nominated officer will then decide whether to proceed with the change in speed limit or not, along with supporting engineering measures (where also recommended).

If the nominated officer and the divisional member disagree about the proposed speed limit change then the issue must be submitted for decision by the Cabinet Member responsible for road safety.

Step 7: Advertisement of legal speed limit order and implementation

If the nominated officer decides to proceed with a speed limit change, then in accordance with the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, a legal speed limit order will be advertised so that people have the opportunity to comment on the proposals if they wish to. Any objections will be considered in line with the county council's constitution. Following advertisement, and after any objections are resolved or set-aside, then the scheme will be implemented by the county council's highway contractors. Alternatively if the objections are upheld, then the scheme will not proceed.

Step 8: Monitoring of success of scheme

After at least three months following implementation of the scheme, a one week automatic speed survey will be commissioned by the highway officers responsible for the project. The "after" surveys will be undertaken using the same method as the "before" surveys to allow for a direct comparison to check whether the scheme has been successful in reducing vehicle speeds towards compliance with the new lower speed limit. The county council's Road Safety Team will compile data on before and after speed monitoring following speed limit changes so as to inform the need for any updates to this policy.

If the scheme has not been successful in reducing speeds to a level below the threshold contained within tables 3 to 10, then the highway officers responsible for the project will advise the nominated officer and the divisional member. The advice will include a summary of the before and after speed surveys and consideration of any further engineering measures that may be possible to encourage greater compliance with the new speed limit. An alternative could be to remove the new lower speed limit and return to the original or different, higher speed limit.

The views of the specialist police officers responsible for road safety will be sought, recorded in writing and included within advice to the nominated officer and divisional member. This will include an explanation of whether any additional police enforcement would be possible to encourage compliance with the new lower speed limit.

If the divisional member disagrees with the advice presented to them by the nominated officer and wishes to proceed with an alternative option, then the issue must be submitted for decision by the Cabinet Member responsible for road safety.

Predicted change in mean speeds following a change in speed limit

The following definitions are used in the tables below and are the same as those used nationally by the Department for Transport in relation to setting speed limits. The formulas used to generate the values within the tables are taken from Annex A of "Setting Local Speed Limits", Department for Transport Circular January 2013.

• Urban – roads with a system of street lighting (three or more lamps throwing light on the carriageway and placed not more than 183 metres apart).
• Rural – roads without a system of street lighting described above.
• Rural Village – roads without a system of street lighting described above but with 20 or more houses (on one or both sides of the road); and a minimum length of 600 metres; and an average density of at least 3 houses per 100 metres, for each 100 metres.
  
  Tables 1 and 2 have been withdrawn following approval of a new 20 mph policy.
  Table 3:Change from urban 40 mph speed limit to 30 mph speed limit
  Table 4: Change from rural village 40 mph speed limit to 30mph speed limit
  Table 5: Change from rural village 50 mph or 60 mph speed limit to 30 mph speed limit
  Table 6: Change from rural village 50 mph or 60 mph speed limit to 40 mph speed limit
  Table 7: Change from rural single carriageway 50 mph speed limit to 40 mph speed limit
  Table 8: Change from rural single carriageway 60 mph speed limit to 40 mph speed limit
  Table 9: Change from rural single carriageway 60 mph speed limit to 50 mph speed limit
  Table 10: Changes on rural dual carriageways from 70 mph, 60 mph, or 50 mph to a lower limit

Table 3:Change from urban 40 mph speed limit to 30 mph speed limit

Table 4: Change from rural village 40 mph speed limit to 30mph speed limit

Table 5: Change from rural village 50 mph or 60 mph speed limit to 30 mph speed limit

Table 6: Change from rural village 50 mph or 60 mph speed limit to 40 mph speed limit

Table 7: Change from rural single carriageway 50 mph speed limit to 40 mph speed limit

Table 8: Change from rural single carriageway 60 mph speed limit to 40 mph speed limit

Table 9: Change from rural single carriageway 60 mph speed limit to 50 mph speed limit

Table 10: Changes on rural dual carriageways from 70 mph, 60 mph, or 50 mph to a lower limit

ÖйúPÕ¾'s new approach to 20 mph limits

Overarching principles

We want to allow greater flexibility to implement 20 mph speed limits. The aim is to have a more flexible policy, (not a blanket approach), that will facilitate the implementation of 20 mph schemes focussing on ÖйúPÕ¾'s residential areas, town centres, village centres and near schools. This is because lower speeds (especially where there are more people walking, wheeling, and cycling) will provide a range of benefits including:

• Reduced risk and severity of collisions, especially for people walking, wheeling and cycling
• Making places easier and more pleasant to walk, wheel and cycle
• Reduced noise and air pollution

Our approach has been developed with consideration to the following principles:

• The views of local people should be gathered and presented to the local County Councillor whose approval will be required before proceeding.
• The police will always be consulted and their views considered carefully by Officers and the local County Councillor before deciding to proceed.
• We do not advocate a blanket approach and recognise that some main roads could remain at 30 mph.
• We will only implement 20 mph speed limits that are predominantly self-enforcing and therefore retain credibility with motorists. Therefore, if necessary, where existing speeds are higher, we will use highway engineering and traffic calming to get speeds down.
• There should be no expectation that the police would be required to provide additional enforcement across ÖйúPÕ¾'s road network over existing levels to make any new 20 mph limits work.
• Any new speed limit will be evaluated to check how successful it has been in reducing speeds, and if necessary further supporting measures will be considered to improve compliance.

The new policy very much aligns with new central government guidance on 20 mph speed limits contained within . This was updated in March 2024 as part of the Department for Transport's "". This update states the following:

Excerpt from Department for Transport circular 01/2013 (updated March 2024)

Traffic authorities should only consider 20 mph limits:

• over time
• with consideration of the safety case; and
• with local support on:
• Major streets where there are, or are likely to be, significant numbers of journeys on foot, and/or where pedal cycle movements are an important consideration, and this outweighs the disadvantage of longer journey times for motorised traffic
• Residential streets in cities, towns and villages, particularly where the streets are being used by people on foot and on bicycles, there is community support and the characteristics of the street are suitable

Where new speed limits are introduced, they should be in places where the majority of drivers will comply with them. General compliance needs to be achievable without an excessive reliance on enforcement.

Types of roads where 20 mph could be implemented

In urban areas (with a system of streetlighting) 20 mph speed limits could be considered for any road, though it is recognised that some primary streets (as defined by the Healthy Streets for ÖйúPÕ¾ design guide) could remain as 30 mph, and some cases 40 mph might remain appropriate for some main roads. High Streets, residential areas and the roads near schools are the locations where 20 mph speed limits would be particularly desirable to make it safer, easier, and more pleasant for people walking, wheeling or cycling.

Careful consideration should be given to providing consistency of speed limit over a wider area of similar roads, for example, it would not be cost effective to implement a 20 mph speed limit only on the road immediately outside a school if there are many similar adjoining roads in a residential area that children are travelling on to get to the school. Instead, consideration should be given to implementing the 20 mph speed limit on similar roads across the same residential area. This would depend on speed surveys to inform upon the viability of a wider 20 mph area, and will be decided on a case by case basis.

In rural villages, 20 mph speed limits could be considered for village centres. However, this might not be feasible for some more strategic roads that carry large volumes of traffic, especially heavier good vehicles, if the existing speeds are above 28 mph. This is because traffic calming would ordinarily be required to get the speeds down successfully, but traffic calming on strategic roads is not always acceptable, especially if there are residential properties nearby that could be affected by the noise and vibration caused by large numbers of larger vehicles traversing traffic calming features. It should not be expected that enforcement could be used instead to get the speeds down.

For some sites it might be helpful to consider a 'buffer' of 30 mph limit from a higher speed limit prior to the 20 mph speed limit. A 20 mph speed limit could be considered for rural narrow country lanes where the existing speeds are compliant with the thresholds described below.

Existing speed thresholds for new 20 mph speed limits

New 20 mph speed limits using signs alone will be allowable if the existing mean average speeds are 24 mph or less. This is because the implementation of the new lower limit is very likely to be successful in bringing speeds down to a level close to the new 20 mph limit.

If the existing mean average speeds are between 25 mph and 28 mph, then 'light touch' supporting measures will be required to ensure that vehicle speeds are reduced successfully. These could consist of (but not limited to), additional speed limit carriageway roundels, electronic vehicle activated signs and enhanced speed limit gateways. The combination of the new lower limit and the additional supporting measures are very likely to be successful in bringing speeds down to a level close to the new 20 mph limit.

If the existing mean average speeds are greater than 28 mph then physical engineering measures will be required to ensure that vehicle speeds are reduced successfully. These could consist of (but are not limited to), traffic calming in the form of humps, cushions, raised road tables, road narrowing, chicanes and priority give way pinch points. In some cases, a narrowing of the road using segregated cycle tracks could achieve the speed reduction required to support a new lower 20 mph speed limit.

Length of speed limit

Ordinarily the minimum length over which a speed limit should apply would be 600m. This is to ensure that there are not too many changes in speed limit over a short length of road that would otherwise be confusing to motorists when travelling through at faster speeds. However shorter stretches of 20 mph limit or 30 mph limit (to a minimum of 300m long), will be allowed because these changes in speed limit will be more obvious to motorists when travelling at lower speeds. This will provide greater flexibility to introduce shorter stretches of 20 mph or shorter "buffers" of 30 mph on the approach to new 20 mph limits from higher speed limits.

Speed surveys

Speed surveys will be required to assess the feasibility of implementing a new 20 mph speed limit on a road or a series of roads. Speed surveys might not be necessary on all the roads across a residential area if a smaller number of the faster roads can be selected as being representative of the area (if the threshold is met on the faster road, then it will certainly be met on the other similar slower roads). There might be some cul-de-sacs, narrower roads, and roads where there is extensive parking where the speeds might be obviously slower where additional surveys will not be necessary.

Consultation

We believe it is important that local people are fully aware of any proposals to introduce new 20 mph speed limits on the streets where they live. With any new speed limit there is a legal requirement to display notices on-street and in local newspapers to make people aware of the proposals so that they can provide comments. We will go over and above these legal minimum requirements and will use best practice techniques to ensure that local residents can have their say on proposals for 20 mph schemes, with the local County Councillor involved at all stages. As with all speed limit proposals the police will be consulted, and their views recorded and considered carefully before deciding whether to proceed or not. Our consultation and engagement for highway improvements and safety guide describes good practice that will be used to ensure all views on proposed changes receive due consideration.

Further details on the process we will use to consult on individual 20 mph schemes will be developed in due course to be consistent with expectations we are setting across other forms of engagement and will be developed taking into account the views of Partners. Options could include installing large temporary posters on the roads affected, through dissemination of information on the proposals through local social media, via schools if applicable, and through posting of leaflets to the properties fronting the affected roads. Local people will be able to provide comments via an online portal, or through posting their comments back to the County Council. For larger schemes consideration could be given to holding face to face public engagement events if desired by the County Councillor, and police road safety specialists would also be invited to attend.

Evaluation

Following the implementation of a new 20 mph speed limit, follow up surveys of speeds will be undertaken to check on the success of the scheme in reducing speeds at least three months after implementation. If the average mean speeds are not reduced to 24 mph or less, then further supporting measures should be considered to improve compliance with the speed limit. An alternative might be to return the speed limit back to the original level if the compliance is particularly bad, and if there is no desire for additional supporting measures such as traffic calming. There should be not expectation that the police will be able to provide additional enforcement to make a new speed limit work.

Exceptions

On occasion there may be some examples where there may be good reasons to implement a lower 20 mph speed limit that does not quite comply precisely with all the requirements described above. In such cases where Officers or the local County Councillor would like to apply an exception to the above rules, then the proposal can be submitted to the Cabinet Member responsible for road safety to take the final decision. The Cabinet Member will consider the views of Officers, the local County Councillor, and the police alongside the results of public consultation before deciding on the way forward.

Funding

ÖйúPÕ¾ has a range of budgets and programmes of highway improvements that could be utilised for implementing new 20 mph speed limits:

• Central Road Safety Scheme budget
• Central Road Safety Outside Schools budget
• Funding from Active Travel England for cycling or walking schemes
• Integrated Transport Scheme budget for local county councillors to nominate highway improvement schemes in their division
• County councillor individual highway allocations
• Local Street Improvements programme
• Major transport schemes
• Funding from property developers as a condition of planning consent
• Community Infrastructure Levy