The Greens want to introduce a 20mph speed limit

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Driving at 20mph rather than 30mph increases fuel consumption by 20% and hence pollution. We are blindly introducing measures without understanding the full consequences.

- Tg, edinburgh

The average speed on London's road is already only 11.9 mph. This speed limit is therefore unecessary. All this is is yet another way of trying to fine us loadsamoney. Just think of all the thousands of new speed traps that will result from this measure.

- Jim, London

We are becoming a really selfish nation, if driving at 20 mph reduces road deaths of children, why do people want to ignore it, if it was their child or gandchild who was killed, then they would soon change their minds and advocate restrictions in built up areas. As for teaching people to drive properly, people soon slip into bad habits and succumb to the pressures of the rush of modern living. People need to realise that the right to drive comes with a responsibility for the safety of others and if sensible ways are introduced to cut accidents, then they should be welcomed. If a child runs out from between parked cars, no matter how good your driving record is, if you hit them at 30 mph, they are more likely to die than if you hit them at 20 mph.

- Andrew, London

Cyclists are not the only people using the roads in London, I'm sick of hearing how hard done by they are. Obviously the slower you are driving the less damage you would do IF you were unlucky enough to be in an accident. However, in over 20 years of driving (with I might add an unblemished record), it is my experience that Sunday drivers who crawl along at a snail's pace are actually the ones that cause accidents! Teaching people to drive properly would be a much better start to eradicating accidents on our roads. As for this being a 'green' issue. Please stop insulting our intelligence, dropping from 30 to 20 mph will not make the slightest bit of difference.

- Geraldine, London

Why not have someone carrying a red flag walking ahead of every car?
Worked well the last time we tried that didn't it!

- Stan, Expat

How often do we actually get to go over 20?

- Jay, London

Yet another mad idea from the greens, who as usual are not dealing in reality. Instead of concentrating on the real threats to the environment, like environmentally unsustainable economic, in particular of China and India, the easiest target to target is the poor driver. If we all stopped driving cars, the emission reduction would be eaten up within a year by increases in emissions caused by Chinese and Indian economic growth.

- Sahid, London

Many accidents happen in Central London because there is too much traffic and there are too many distractions. Adding a further distraction of adhering to a 20mph speed limit to avaoid a fine seems like madness. I admit you will not be as badly injured at 20, but the increase in accidents will more than make up for this. Safety campaigners will admit that distractions like phones, eating, smoking etc. cause accidents but what about the already nervous driver having to look out for yet another hazard? If you want to see this in action just stand next to a speed camera and watch the frantic breaking of drivers not wanting to be fined. A smooth flow of traffic is the only way to beat congestion, avoid accidents and by the way, reduce vehicle emissions.

- Dan, Manchester

Set it at 10mph, it'd be even "safer", hah!

20mph isn't easy to drive and many will be in a lower gear, pollution might even be higher.

- Stan, Expat

I'm not exactly an advocate of excessive speeds on roads - in fact, I live with a permanent injury because I was hit ten years ago by somebody travelling at more than twice the limit. However, I'm really not convinced that 20mph is the solution. I find that I lose concentration when I'm forced to drive more slowly and I've heard other people admit that they do, too - for instance, sitting for a long time in a queue of stop-start traffic, there's a real risk of being hit by someone who loses their focus. I don't know whether it's true that this is a fairly widespread thing but I think it might be an idea to check. Yes, you do less damage if you hit something at low speed but on the other hand I think some (many?) people are more likely to hit something at low speed.

As for speeding at the other end of the range, it seems logical to me that because it is illegal to travel on the public road in excess of 70mph it should be illegal to manufacture or sell a road car capable of travelling in excess of 70mph.

- Anon, London

Who exactly do the Greens think they are?! They are a nothing party who have no political basis to exist or to demand change.

- Chris, Reading, UK

I hope to god that this does come about. It would transform cycling and walking in the city, in my mind it is the single biggest single measure available.

- Carson Roscoe, London

"Speed does not kill."
People who repeat this tired old mantra seem strangely reluctant to prove it by allowing me to drive into them at 20 mph and then 40 mph.

The faster cars travel the more likely they are to crash, and the worse the injuries are to anyone unfortunate enough to get in the way of these pathetic inadequate boy racers.

Some interesting Reading University Research:

Speeding is top of the league when it comes to antisocial behaviour, a University of Reading study has shown.

Thames Valley Police approached psychologists at the University of Reading and asked them to analyse the British Crime Survey - which considers the concerns of more than 17,000 people across the UK.

Speeding traffic was rated as a significantly greater problem than all other antisocial behaviours, with 43% of the population regarded speeding traffic as a 'very' or 'fairly big' problem in their area.

- Dr Susan Williams, London

I ride a bicycle to work every day and I'm normally doing well above 20mph. So these NeoCommunists called the Greens want to slow me down to the speed of their cars! Well, that is plain dangerous. Guess I'll have to swap back to a car just to be safe, which'll be really annoying as I do enjoy my cycle commute. If they want to go slower why don't they just get out of their tin boxes and walk? Y'know, and interact with real people. Might do them some good to hear what people think of their crazy ideas.

- Threaded, Roskilde, Denmark

We effectively already have it in my area. Those roads without speed humps have potholes to slow you down!

- Michael, London

It would lead to far higher levels of pollution as cars would be stuck in second or thrid gear for most of the journey with the result the engine would not be working at its optimum. In addition you would "feel" you were driving too slowly and constantly be checking your speedo. This added stress would result in more accidents.

Speed does not kill.

Inappropriate driving for the conditions does.

The trouble is there are no cops watching the traffic and cameras can't distinguish between reckless and fast driving.

Ultimately this will just be another way of raising money through fines.

- John, Harrow

Why not ban all motorised traffic? Horses and carts did perfectly well for centuries, and we can use the all the dung to help grow organic veggies.

- Paul, London

Like anyone would actually obey a limit that slow. 30mph is the slowest I'm willing to travel when congestion allows.

Thanks to my trusty camera (sorry, blackspot) detector I'll only slow for the cameras and speed up afterwards - using more petrol which the greens think damages the environment.

If Ms Jones really wants to reduce petrol consumption then she needs to advise Ken to remove all the obstacles he's put in the way of making progress in a car over the last 10 years and to increase the speed limit on through routes to 50mph (from 30) as this is closer to the most economical speed of most cars (56mph).

- Stew, London

G - what an idiot you are! You obviously don't know any friends or relatives who have been badly injured or killed by a motor-vehicle. (PS. London was a major city long before the car was invented!)

- Philip, London, England

Yes!
An excellent idea! Speeding drivers ruin this city.
Parents in the UK are too afraid to let their children walk or cycle or even to do so themselves, with UK rates of cycling being a fraction of that in many European countries. When children are denied their independence and people cannot enjoy the healthy lifestyle due to the domination of the public road by private motor vehicle and their users antisocial driving it is not just criminal, it constitutes a tyranny.

- Dr Susan Williams, London

Just goes to prove, the Greens are definitely on a different planet - when could you ever get up to 20mph in most of London?

- Ian, London

I should imagine in London that 20mph would be a welcome increase on the current speed!

- Brian, Telford

This change must happen, there is no question.
Even the City's own report concedes that a 20mph zone is likely to smooth traffic flows and reduce journey times during the day.

At night the theoretical delay from a change of speed limit is 3.7s per 100m, which is little over a minute extra for the longest through route (though should through traffic be encouraged?) of Holborn Viaduct to Aldgate.

Of course there are eight junctions with traffic lights plus a number of pedestrian crossings so the actual delay in practice is likely to be much less, so much so that it would not be noticed.

A 20mph zone would assist the case to remove traffic signals so even at night journey times could be reduced.

Bus journeys would become more reliable and passengers who are increasingly having to stand on the new bendy buses would not be thrown about by drivers speeding up to 30mph.

Lobbying continues for this essential change to make London safer, quieter, and much more attractive for residents and visitors.

- Charles Porter, London

If going from 30mph to 20mph halves the number killed or injured, why stop there? If we reduce it to 0mph then nobody would be injured. The fact that the city would stop moving would be a minor inconvenience, and think of the cleaner air and reduced congestion!

- G, London

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