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Thank you for your letter dated 22 October, enclosing a letter from your constituent concerning setting local speed limits. I share your constituent's concerns about vehicle speeds and acknowledge that settlements in the countryside deserve the same protection from vehicle speeds as those afforded to people living in more urban areas. This is why the Department published a Traffic Advisory Leaflet in April which recommended villages be subject to 30mph speed limits wherever it is considered appropriate. The document was issued to all local authorities and they should use it as a starting point for deciding whether reduced speed limits are appropriate in their area. Local authorities are responsible for setting local speed limits and for implementing any measures necessary to ensure compliance. This must be right as local authorities will invariably be in the best position to understand local needs and requirements. If your constituent believes his village needs a 30mph speed limit, I would suggest he continues his dialogue with his local authority to establish the reasons why no action has yet been taken. It may also be helpful if I provide some further information which he may find beneficial in any future discussions with his local authority. All changes of speed limit are required by law to be clearly signed. This includes the use of repeater signs on all roads except street lit roads with a 30mph speed limit and unlit roads on which the national speed limit is in force. I accept that, at first glance, the presence of street lights appears an odd way to indicate a speed limit. However, in practice it has the merit of simplicity. If there are street lights and no signs to the contrary, the speed limit is 30mph. This has actually been law for around 70 years and drivers are of course required to learn this in order to pass their driving test. Both the Magistrates Association and the police take the view that a consistent approach to signing street lit 30mph roads is necessary to secure speeding convictions. I must say that I share this view. However it leaves the Department with two clear choices. Either place repeater signs on every single street lit 30mph road or maintain the current system. I have no desire to see an over proliferation of signing. Indeed, it has been estimated that over 600,000 additional signs would be required to sign every street lit 30mph road. There are considerable financial implications here and I would much rather this money was spent on introducing proven traffic calming measures at those sites with a history of speed related accidents. However, I acknowledge that, for whatever reason, a small minority of drivers are now claiming not to understand the street lit 30mph law, despite having learnt it as part of their driving test. This is why the Department has commissioned a series of posters to further remind drivers of speed limits on different types of road. The first poster reminds drivers of the speed limit on street lit roads. Further posters are planned in the coming months. I would not wish to comment on individual cases, but I would be surprised if the prohibition of repeater signs on street lit 30mph roads was a major factor in a local authority deciding not to reduce the speed limit in a village to 30mph. As such, your constituent may wish to draw his local authorities attention to our Village Speed Limit guidance to establish the reasons why his village is not subject to a 30mph speed limit. |