AN MP has launched a campaign to overturn Wales' 20mph default speed limit after calling the new ruling "unworkable ".

The default “national” speed limit in built-up areas throughout Wales was changed from 30mph to 20mph on Sunday, September 17 2023. The Welsh Government believes the lower speed limit will protect lives and save the NHS in Wales £92 million a year. They also claim the new limit will create "safer, happier, quieter streets."

However, Dr James Davies, MP for Vale of Clwyd, has hit out against the change describing it "unworkable, unenforceable, costly and deeply unpopular."

He said: "They [the Welsh Government] will damage the economy of North Wales, yet there is no evidence they will improve road safety or reduce air pollution as promised.

"I believe there has been relatively poor awareness of the plans and that people do not feel that they have either been consulted, or given the plans their backing.  I have spoken out against the proposals as Wales Office Minister at the despatch box in the House of Commons and at the Welsh Conservative Conference. I also condemned fledgling proposals as early as 2016 from the backbenches.

"Roads across all parts of the United Kingdom are essentially subject to the same high standards of design, and our vehicles incorporate continually-improving driving aids and safety features.  As a result, our roads are already some of the safest in the world and stand to become safer still through technological progress.

"The 30mph speed limit in built-up areas was introduced across Britain in 1935 and, like the 60mph limit on single-carriageway roads and 70mph limit on motorways and dual carriageways, it remains etched on all of our minds through the national Highway Code.  Speed limits are not 'targets' but the maximum legal speed on that category of road.  In some cases, achieving the limit is neither safe nor possible, as is recognised by dangerous driving legislation. For example, driving above 20mph around many estate roads with parked cars is already impractical.  In other cases, the maximum speed that can be safely achieved will vary according to conditions or the time of day.

"I don’t dispute there is a place for defined and realistically enforceable 20mph zones. However, I believe that these should be at specific locations where drivers might otherwise routinely travel at 30mph but pose unacceptable risks of collision – for instance, outside schools and hospitals."

Dr Davies went on to say that "a handful" of inner-city local authorities such as Westminster City Council have adopted general 20mph limits, but these exclude major arterial routes. 

He also voiced concern that drivers from across the UK and elsewhere may not be aware of the new 20mph speed limit in Wales and noted that repeater signs were "absent".

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He said: "We all live on a small island, and more than 200 roads straddle the England and Wales border.  In the case of many smaller roads, the border has not been marked by any signage at all.  In some cases, the border cuts across housing estate roads or even runs lengthwise along streets and splits them in half.  The reality of different default national speed limits in England and Wales is neither justifiable nor desirable, especially given the large volume of east-west cross-border traffic."

The Welsh Government spent more than £30million implementing the new 20mph policy.

"This is a shocking figure in view of their frequent claim that they are 'underfunded'," Dr Davies said. 

"Worse still, it is very likely to be an under-estimate."

To read more about Dr Davies campaign and to submit views, click here.

A petition opposing the new 20mph default speed limit in Wales has attracted a record-breaking number of signatures. The petition had more than 231,000 signatures on Tuesday evening (September 19).