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Sunday, 24 September 2023

Is Twenty Plenty?

This comes from the Daily Mail - so click here if you want, but don't say I didn't warn you.

As part of the Right and Rishi Sunak's latest culture war on the planet, they have obtained the views of Kevin Khan, 52. Who is opposed to the 20mph limit in Wales on the grounds that it already takes him an hour to get to work in Cardiff from Caerphilly.

Due to the traffic.

Doing some quick sums, and noticing from Google Maps that it is 8.1 miles from Caerphilly to Cardiff, I deduce that our Kev is currently getting to work at an average speed of 8.1 miles per hour.

I'm not clear how Kevin thinks that a 20mph speed limit will slow him down here, I'll be honest. Because, blaming his lengthy commute (an ebike would be quicker) on the traffic, and on people not looking when they cross the roads, as he does - what has the speed limit got to do with it? At that average speed, even if the limit in Cardiff were 10 mph, Kevin would still be getting to work in the same time.

But he does look very fetching in his hi vis.

3 comments:

  1. There is, of course a train that does Caerphilly - Cardiff in 20 minutes and plenty of free parking in Caerphilly station but why let the facts get in the way of a good story.

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  2. I must live in a parallel universe because where I live all the residential streets (which is what the 20mph limit relates to) are already 20mph because of all the speed bumps/cushions/tables .

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    Replies
    1. If only it were only residential streets! I have no problem at all with residential streets having a lower speed limit, but I have personal experience of A-roads that now have a 20mph limit on stretches where there are only a few houses. The A483 is a particular problem because it crosses the England/Wales border frequently thus adding extra complexity to the question of what speed limit now applies. At one point, the limit increases when one turns off the main road into a residential area, because this is also the point at which one enters England's 30mph limit. There needs ot be more joined-up thinking in border country.

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