Compliance with new Welsh 20mph limit ‘generally good’

New figures show that traffic speeds on roads in Wales have fallen by 2.4mph since the introduction of the country’s default 20mph speed limit. A report by Agilysis analysed speeds on nearly 500km of roads in ten Welsh towns and cities. It covers the three-month period post-introduction on 17 September 2023.

\The report found that average speeds are down by 2.4mph compared to pre-change levels. It builds on previous analysis, which showed there was a 2.9mph drop in speeds in the immediate aftermath of the change. Agilysis says the figures show that while there has been a small increase in speeds since the initial survey, compliance with the new 20mph limits is ‘generally good and shows a general acceptance of the new limit among drivers’.

The report also shows there are slight variations across the ten towns and cities included in the analysis, with Bangor experiencing the most significant reduction in average speeds (-3.2mph) and Merthyr Tydfil displaying the smallest change (-1.3mph). Just over half (52.9%) of all analysed journeys were driven above the 20mph speed limit, while 17.9% were driven above the enforcement threshold of 26mph. A total of 5.4% of journeys were driven at speeds above the threshold for a court summons.