A speed limit of 20mph is apt outside a school gate

No motorist should be driving faster than 20mph around school exits when children are walking or milling around or crossing roads.

The extreme vulnerability of human beings around heavy motor vehicles is all the more stark when the judgement of the pedestrian might be impaired because they are very young or very old (which is why the road warning sign that depicts frail elderly people is such a powerful one).

The 20mph limit around schools, which only applies at certain times, is sensible for another reason too: there is growing acknowledgement that the 30mph limit that applies in urban streets in the UK is too fast for residential streets.

Few thoughtful drivers would drive down a street in which cars are parked on both sides, behind which an animal or person could suddenly emerge, at 30mph. Yet many do, and a 30mph limit means that many people travel at that speed or even higher, charging past at perhaps 36mph but thinking they are only going a little bit over the limit.

Residential streets should have 20mph limits.

A 30mph limit is appropriate for a through road in a village or city or town, but these limits need to be enforced.

Speed limits are adhered to more now than they were even two decades ago. It is one reason that road deaths in Northern Ireland are far lower than they were in the 1990s (let alone in the 1960s and 70s, when there were grim fatality rates).

They will probably fall further in the coming decades. Technology is making it easier to correct driver error and detect cars that drive irresponsibly, such as too fast. Passing a school gate when children are present at 30mph is too fast.

Strictness over speed in certain environments does not mean we cannot travel swiftly in others. Motorways and high quality dual carriageways (with no gaps in the central reserve) are the safest roads. More of them are being completed, including the A6 and A5, which mean more 70mph fast roads.

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor