Islington 20mph

alex_b · #1 (**Post Link**) 21-11-11

BBC News - Islington 'to adopt 20mph limit'

So Islington, in London, is to become the 1st borough to have a blanket 20mph speed limit. This is supposed to reduce accidents between motor vehicles and cyclists / pedestrians.

The truth is that there are so many traffic lights / road works / congestion / cyclists / zebra crossings / pot holes / speed bumps that, for the most part, it's almost impossible to get above 20mph anyway in Islington. However, at the rare times that you can get above 20mph like first thing on a week-end morning or at night I do not want to have to actively stay at 20!

I don't know if many of you have driven around the roads in London, especially in the evening? It seems to me there could be a huge reduction in accidents with more education and enforcement of good road sense amongst many pedestrians and cyclists. I see lots of instances of pedestrians walking into the road with earphones in and not checking to see if there is any traffic is coming - use a designated crossing point there's enough of them! I see cyclists at night with no lights and dressed as if they are on some kind of special forces mission - Make yourself visible and signal if you are going to move into the middle of the road to turn right.

I'm not saying that all pedestrians and cyclists do not have good road sense, many do. I cycle in London a lot myself. Always with a helmet, lights front and back and high viz reflectors. But It's the few that let the rest of us down that mean that Islington council and the like can justify such measures.

kev1 · #2 (**Post Link**) 22-11-11

Islington Council can put whatever speed limits they want but the police have said they do not have the resources (nor inclination, I suspect) to enforce it and it does not cover TfL routes which are basically all the main roads.

Should consider enforcing existing rules for everyone (cyclists esp) before hammering motorists. This will help reduce casualty rates.

symon · #3 (**Post Link**) 22-11-11

I can see how this may help.

20mph isn't fast enough to overtake a cyclist.

alfapash · #4 (**Post Link**) 22-11-11

It's ridiculos, you can't normaly get through Islington much faster anyhow. So more more money will be wasted, painting 20mph every=bloody =where. Signs and more bloody signs. I'm sick of cyclists, they need to have a good look at how they behave on the roads, many of them go faster than the cars in town, they weave in and out of the traffic, don't indicate where they're going, come up on the inside of cars / lorries. Yet as soon as there is an accident it is always a motorists fault, every single time. It's about time all cyclists had insurance and have to attend a road safety course. Motorists have to have insurance, pass a test and have their vehicles MOT'd.