Warnings by North Wales MS Mark Isherwood that the default 20mph Speed Limit in Wales, introduced by the Labour Welsh Government two years ago, would do little to reduce road casualties, have been realised.
Before the new speed limit was introduced in September 2023, Mr Isherwood repeatedly cautioned against change, stating that the policy would simply transfer the share of road casualties rather than reduce them, and now his concerns have been reinforced by recently published data.
Raising the matter when intervening on his colleague Gareth Davies MS in today’s Welsh Conservative Debate on the Economy, Mr Isherwood said:
“Before the Labour Welsh Government brought in the default 20 mph limits—supported by Plaid Cymru, of course—I warned that switching 30 mph limits to 20 mph limits would transfer the share of road casualties from one to the other, whilst also displacing drivers and, therefore, road casualties onto the wider road network.
“The data for the first six months after this was introduced showed that overall numbers of people killed or seriously injured on our roads were up 10 per cent, and the latest Police recorded road casualties for January to March this year, published in August, showed that road casualties are 6 per cent higher than in the same quarter of 2024. Do you share my concern that they ignored my warnings?”
Responding, Gareth Davies MS, thanked Mr Isherwood for highlighting the data, stating “I'm sure that the people of Wales will want to know those statistics before heading into the elections next year. And if we're serious about saving lives, we need to invest that money into the health service and invest in our front-line staff - more doctors and nurses and not more politicians”.
