A reminder that Oxfordshire County Council’s consultation on the proposal to introduce a 20mph speed limit throughout the village ends tomorrow (8th October).
Residents are encouraged to comment on the proposal, if they have not already done so.
The consultation documents, and the opportunity to comment are here:
As I wait at the exit from Saxons Heath to turn out onto Didcot road I see cars approaching from Didcot, almost all of which trigger the 30mph warning sign. Nothing is done to enforce the 30mph limit so how will the change to a 20mph limit make any difference?
Until, or unless, speed limits are enforced you can set them at any speed you like and they will be ignored, as it is now.
Changing speed limits will achieve nothing, what is needed is speed detection and prosecution of offenders.
Simple. 20mph limits bring down the speeds of those exceeding the limits by the highest margin.
At the moment if you are caught speeding through the village you can go up to 42mph and get a speed course. Up t0 50mph and it’s only 3pts/£100.
With 20mph anything over 35mph gets sent to court. Anything over 40mph is 6 points or disqualification. Anything over 50mph is recommended >56 days disqualification.
Most people now driving at 50mph+ into the village probably have points on their licence and are well aware of the rules. If you significantly up the risk of losing your licence, you provide a strong incentive not to take the risk. Standing in a court doing double the limit is a different ball game to being 10mph over the limit.
Plus as I understand it if the Community Speedwatch thing starts then drivers caught three or more times are highlighted for investigation, and areas with the biggest problem are targeted for real police enforcement.
Essentially evidence from other 20mph zones shows that median speeds only reduce a bit but those exceeding the limit by gross margins reduces significantly – which seems to be what you (entirely understandably) would like.