James May has voiced his support for introducing 20mph speed limits in urban and residential areas, which he believes is âplenty fast enoughâ, while also arguing that a âchange in attitudeâ, rather than new signage or infrastructure, is key to ending road sectarianism.
The Grand Tour and former Top Gear presenter was speaking on BBC Radio 4âs Today programme (link is external) this morning, amid reports that the government is considering draft road planning regulations that would introduce a default 20mph speed limit on new or redesigned urban and residential streets.
A draft version of Manual for Streets, the Department for Transportâs planning document for residential areas, seen by the Sunday Times (link is external) and set to be published early this year, says âthe default should be to work to a design speed limit of 20mph in urban environmentsâ and that âfor residential streets, a maximum design speed of 20mph should normally be an objective, with significantly lower speeds usually desirableâ.
According to the Sunday Times, other measures in the draft document include creating a hierarchy of road users based on their environmental impact, with cyclists and pedestrians at the top, followed by public transport, and with petrol and diesel vehicles at the bottom.
In England, a third of the population live in areas with 20mph speed limits, while from September blanket 20mph zones will be introduced in Wales on residential areas and streets busy with pedestrians, and where street lights are fewer than 200 yards apart. Scotland is also set to make 20mph the ânormâ in built-up areas, with councils permitted to make exceptions if they deem the area safe.
On this morningâs Today programme, Neil Greig, director of policy and research at the road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists, argued that a default approach to 20mph on its own will not enhance road safety or benefit active travel.
âWeâve had longstanding concerns about a blanket approach to 20mph,â Grieg told the BBCâs long-running news and current affairs show.
âIf you have to change the speed limit on a road, you have to change the environmental cues to tell drivers what speed they should be safely driving at. And the problem with simply changing to 20mph without changing the road, is that drivers will continue to drive on at the previous speeds.
âAnd that means you donât have the safety benefits, and you donât have the active travel benefits of changing the environment to make it easier to walk and cycle.â
He continued: âFor example, when you look at European countries like [the Netherlands], they changed the whole cityscape â you have different surfaces, obvious mixed use â itâs clear that you have pedestrians, cyclists, and motorised vehicles sharing the same space.
âAnd thatâs the key here: itâs making it obvious that the shared space is for everyone. But when you try to retrofit that onto our older cities, those design cues arenât there.
âSimply changing the speed limit, changing the signs doesnât have the impact people think it will have.â
While former Top Gear host May â a lifelong cyclist who appeared on road.ccâs Drink at Your Desk series last May, decrying what he regards as âfeeble mindedâ road sectarianism â agreed with Greigâs belief that changing signs isnât enough to increase road safety, he argued that driving at 20mph is more than adequate when travelling in most built-up areas.
âI would agree that a blanket 20mph would probably be a little bit knuckle-headed, but in a lot of urban places, city centres, towns, and villages, actually 20mph makes perfect sense,â he told the Today programme.
âI live in Hammersmith, in west London, which is an area where people seem particularly fond of just running out into the street without looking â which is their prerogative because they are people not machines.
â20mph is plenty fast enough and 30 does feel too fast. And, to be honest, if you could go around somewhere like London, or Manchester, or Birmingham, at a constant 20mph, youâd be absolutely delighted.â
When asked about the apparent need to change the âenvironmental cuesâ before adjusting speed limits, May claimed that an over-proliferation of rules and signage can âbaffleâ road users â and that a shift in attitude is really whatâs needed to make Britainâs roads safer.
âHe [Greig] has a point to some extent, but I do a lot of cycling around London and I think we can become over obsessed with things like rules, street furniture, signage, traffic lights and so on,â the journalist said.
âTheyâve been doing this with a bike lane near me; which I think is not particularly well thought out, because you have a two-way road running alongside a two-way bicycle lane, with lots of junctions off it. The attempts to control it â with lights and signs and warnings â theyâve proliferated to the point where itâs becoming baffling.â
He continued: âAll these things ultimately are cured by a change in attitude, not a change in signage or infrastructure or colours, or anything like that.
âThat might be a stepping stone to ending road sectarianism and making towns and cities nicer places for everyone to travel around in. But I think ultimately it is about it, well: a mindful attitude. I hate to sound very right-on, but it is.â
May expressed this âright-onâ approach to road safety in an interview with road.cc last year, during which he described the us-and-them attitudes of some road users as âb*ll*cksâ.
âThe thing I canât stand, Iâve railed against this before, [is] road sectarianism â because itâs feeble minded,â he said.
âSupposedly bus drivers hate taxi drivers and car drivers hate cyclists, but cyclists hate people on electric scooters and so it goes on and on and on. Itâs a great story for the media because they like to get a famous radio personality on there ranting about bikes and taxi driver ranting about how he or she has to make a living.
âIt's a good story, but it's all b*ll*cks, frankly. People just need to accept the fact that weâve got enough common enemies. To be honest, if you're riding a bike or driving car or using a motorcycle or a scooter, things like potholes, bad road markings, badly parked things, roadworks, bits being constantly dug up, all these things annoy all of us, and we have those in common.
âWe don't need to fall out with each other about it,â he concluded. âI find it very feeble.â
Mayâs ambition to achieve a sense of commonality on the roads wasnât aided by GB News presenter Andrew Pierceâs contribution to the speed limit discussion last night.
Responding to the reports of a default 20mph limit, which he believes will be implemented âto support cyclistsâ, the Daily Mail writer tweeted: âWhy do governments hate motorists and how much tax do cyclists pay? None.â
While this weekâs reports have sparked a somewhat contentious debate, a spokesperson for the Department for Transport has said there are currently âno plans to introduce default or national 20mph speed limits in urban environmentsâ.
âWe have always encouraged road designs that enable low speeds to prioritise safety. It is for local authorities to consider setting 20mph speed limits on streets where people and traffic mix,â the spokesperson said.
https://road.cc/content/news/james-may-says-20mph-plenty-fast-enough-298955