Overview
- PACTS told MPs on Wednesday that making 20mph the default for built-up roads would be cheaper than the current patchwork approach because it avoids repeated signage and paperwork and would let councils seek exemptions to raise limits.
- Freedom of Information data obtained by Marshall Motor Group show large volumes of speeding on lower-speed roads, including 101,562 offences in Dorset between January 2023 and March 2026 and six-figure totals in Norfolk and Essex, with some single events recording speeds far above limits.
- Dorchester Town Council has advanced a near‑townwide 20mph proposal and will open a public consultation ahead of an autumn decision while Oxfordshire reports provisional data of about an 18% fall in killed or seriously injured casualties after its 20mph roll‑out.
- The recommendation has drawn political and industry opposition, with motoring groups and some Conservative politicians saying blanket limits slow journeys, raise costs for drivers and risk being seen as revenue measures.
- Final legal control of speed limits remains with county highway authorities, so any national change would shift the administrative burden but still require local evidence, enforcement plans and council approval to alter limits on specific roads.