Forum Topic

20 MPH All over Ealing

What a joke,the 20 MPH is not Policed,in many cases due to lack of signage,motorists are unaware of speed limitation,we have Vechicles doing 40 MPH Plus coming down Ravenor Park Road,Greenford,reported to Council,little or nothing done,School Children use the Pathways on the way to and from School,a vehicle at speed the driver may loose controlmount the Pavement and end up with a possible fatal accident.This Problem is all over where the 20 MPH is not properly signed or Policed,as a matter of urgency it should be addressed by the Council.

Dr John Stolworthy D.Sc ● 2123d29 Comments

How many Ealing police have you spoken to?
Catching speeders in 20mph zones is way down the list of priorities.
They have more than enough crime to deal with already.

N V Brooks ● 2114d

'Met will NOT enforce it as it is a 'local' issue', Then Ealing council funding for local police should be taken away from Ealing police and given to private contractors who will do this. I have heard this about local issues before. Are you speaking with Sergeant Lenton? A lot of Ealing police do not agree with this sort of thinking.

Francis Peters ● 2114d

The adult electric scooter is powered partly by a battery motor and is therefore classified as Personal Light Electric Vehicle (PLEV) by the Department for Transport (DfT), making it illegal to use on UK roads and pavements. The DVLA requires electric vehicles to be registered and taxed in order to use the road. However, because the adult electric scooter falls within the PLEV category (Personal Light Electric Vehicle) it has no taxation class which means it cannot be used on public roads in the UK. Although the legislation is under review they are currently ILLEGAL under both the Highways Act (which applies to use on pavements) and the Road Traffic Act (which applies to use on public roads).

N V Brooks ● 2115d

What is the law on electric scooters please?I have certainly been annoyed by them being on the road of late.OTOH, I would prefer them to be there rather than mowing down innocent children and grannies on the pavement.

Tony Colliver ● 2115d

The Met could and should enforce the illegal use of electric scooters but 'bleat' about limited resources. Their use is in direct contravention of the RTA whereas contravening the 20mph limit is not as, irrespective of the fortune spent on signage, any enforcement must be by theose imposing the limit.

N V Brooks ● 2116d

The problem is not those who abide by the speed limit, it’s those who don’t. How often does a vehicle approach from the opposite direction clearly exceeding 20mph? Short of blocking the road and risk a crash there’s not much I can do to stop that. This includes buses on Windmill Road, by the way.There was an accident on Swyncombe Avenue yesterday afternoon where a large car ended up on its side. The driver apparently clipped the kerb and tipped over, which wouldn’t have happened had he been going at the correct speed.It’s all very well to say have these things self-enforced but why does that not apply to other aspects of road use. How many electric scooters have I seen illegally on roads and pavements recently? Plenty, and the riders seem ignorant of the law. Point it out to them and very cross they become, as if their rights are being challenged. They travel at speeds above 20mph, so how do you suggest ‘enforcing’ that?

Simon Hayes ● 2116d

Who isn't 'taking ownership'?
Simply acknowledging that this limit is not enforced and the Met will NOT enforce it as it is a 'local' issue flying in the face on national speed restrictions, IS taking ownership by alerting all and sundry that a good idea is just that, an idea.
It is a nonsense if it is not enforced.
Try driving at 20mph on Uxbridge Road/ Boston Road. Northfield Avenue (I do and suffer the light flashing and abuse) it only makes the speed merchants risk ever-more risky overtaking manoeuvres which they will not be prosecuted for becuse NO ONE IS ENFORCING THE LIMIT!
It beggars belief that there are those who compare enforcing a speed limit to displaying common civility.

N V Brooks ● 2116d

Message:Obviously a child is less likely to die if hit at 20mph versus 30. What surprises me most is the way so many posters on here take zero ownership of a sensible rule. Yes more enforcement of 20mph zones might be good, but should it fail if not? No. Why? Because each one of you (us) driving at 20 slows down the traffic behind and helps to enforce  it. The best way to make something work is because all of us embrace it. That’s much more powerful than police enforcing. So please stop excusing yourselves of accountability by saying it’s someone else’s job to make it work - it’s your job, my job and the job of every person we influence. A big part of the breakdown in social values is the lack of individual accountability - do you stop to ask if someone is ok if they look distressed? Do you hold the door open for a mum or dad with a pushchair or for someone in a wheelchair?Stop blaming everyone else and bring back the idea that we help each other, the result is we build better communities.

James Putland ● 2116d

The 20mph limits are a bad joke, but that ground has been covered elsewhere on this forum. Cllr Bell really wants to be given powers to enforce speed limits in the borough, recognising that this would swell the already bloated coffers of his transport fund. Of course, that money is ring-fenced but it’s not being spent wisely.Strange how there’s no money for libraries, proper rubbish collections and the like but plenty to spend on bike lanes and cycle hangers. Yet, Bell complains that the government isn’t giving enough to repair the roads themselves. It’s in his power to allocate more of his transport budget to that rather than pampering the one percent who travel by bike.

Simon Hayes ● 2118d

We need a fairer graduated tax regime.  Those at the top pay less and are more able to reduce the amount that they pay compared to those on PAYE.  It takes years to get police through their training and DBS registered.  If there wasn't so much time and effort being spent on Brexit we might be able to get more other laws debated and passed.  Just look at the total mess that has been caused by messing about with the Building Regulations and all the people living in problem high rises who have to pay to have fire wardens walking their corridors all night.

Philippa Bond ● 2118d

How very true.

Nicholas Beard ● 2118d

There is no point in the 20mph limit if it is not enforced.
I posted this shortly after its introduction and was trolled by the 'cycling Stasi' as being "anti-bike" because the 'reduction' makes it safer for them.
Without enforcement, it make it safer for no-one.

N V Brooks ● 2118d

Oh well, another piece of unenforced local political flim-flam them, like businesses dumping rubbish, blocked fire escapes, pavement cycling, you name it, they'll legislate it, and then do nothing about it

Mark Julian Raymond ● 2118d

"Speed" cameras will not be installed.
There is distinct and tight legislation about where they can be installed and a proven 'speed related accident reduction' case is normally needed. Given that there will be very few recorded incidents on minor roads (in fact, the 'London Crash Map' shows this to be the case) then either the council break the law or they simply have to find another way to enforce the limit.

N V Brooks ● 2119d

I think that the 20mph speed limits are right. No one NEEDS to go faster than 20mph except on the A4, A40 and the likes of the North Circular. Slower speeds mean better throughput in cogested complex systems.This will also be good for people using bicycles for transportation, getting to work, school and the like. It will make roads like St Mary's Road and the South Ealing Road a lot safer. It will not be popular with the recreational lycra-clad sport cyclist who will have to slow down a little bit. It can be interesting to watch the recreational cyclists being pulled back a bit in Richmond Park which has been operating this way for some time.As for controlling it and implementing, modern speed cameras are the answer, move then round and implement the monitoring of the limit in different parts of the Borough by random cyclic rotation

Mark Julian Raymond ● 2120d

I find the same, tailgaters everywhere. We need cameras and use the money raised to buy more cameras. I do however think this is not permitted by law, so that shows something. If there was a camera in every street it would be a great incentive to stick to 20 mph which then in the future could be lowered.

Nicholas Beard ● 2120d

Apparently there are no speed guns anyway. I support 20 mph on side roads or in town centres but on other main roads it is ridiculous. The size of the road makes it difficult to keep to 20. One needs to concentrate on the road rather than the Speedo. But this is eco signalling by the council. We plead for years for safety changes and nothing is done then suddenly the council decide this. Quite funny really

Peter Chadburn ● 2121d

I stick to the 20mph limit and am dangerously tailgated by muppets in vans and 4X4s. Every bloody day.

Susan Kelly ● 2121d

I'm arguing that reducing speed limits does not of itself reduce the number of accidents. It's much more complicated than that.

Vlod Barchuk ● 2121d

You're not arguing that accidents at slower speeds cause such serious damage though.

Philippa Bond ● 2122d

Plus there's no evidence that 20 mph zones reduce accidents; experience in Portsmouth and Bath has been the opposite. The situation in Ealing is complicated by the limit being 30mph on the North Circular because it is a TfL managed road, creating uncertainty about the correct speed limit. 20 mph zones are anti car posturing by councillors pretending to be concerned about safety or the environment. If you really want to reduce accidents you'd begin by looking at where and why accidents occur and identify how they can be prevented in future. The 'where' is easy - go to crashmap website to locate accidents anywhere in the country. The biggest 'why' is badly designed junctions.

Vlod Barchuk ● 2122d

I drive at 15mph and if I drift up a bit I am still hopefully not above 20mph. On the continent I find their 20kph quite ok and I notice most people stick to it.

Nicholas Beard ● 2122d

Not everyone adheres to the limit but many people do which in itself calms other traffic. A car going through a 20mph zone now at more than 30mph is noticeable. Pedestrians and cyclist can play their part by working on the assumption that a car won't be speeding and obliging them to slow down if they do.

Andy Jones ● 2122d

Caught by whom?

Philip Coe ● 2123d

It's much better at a lower speed and there are lots of 20mph signs.  The problem drivers are now even more obvious and will eventually get caught.

Philippa Bond ● 2123d

We must remember that a lot of continental counties have a 20 kph speed limit and it does not cause a problem.

Nicholas Beard ● 2123d

The police had been making clear time and time again that they will not enforce the 20 mile speed limit simply because the national speed limit in build up area, as prescribed by the Highway Code, is 30 miles per hour. It is up to the council to enforce by way of cameras, humps or chicanes whereby they restrict traffic to one lane every so often on the road.The idea that major roads have a 20miles speed limit is ludicrous. For most of the time at pick hours traffic already travel at lesser speed than this. However when traffic can flow, restricting the speed only causes more pollution. It is also not easy to drive for a length of time on that speed, modern cars just don’t like it and it accelerates the wear and tear of the engine. Having said all this with the horrendous state of our roads would any road user, including cyclists,  be crazy enough to speed on Ealing roads?

Rosa Popham ● 2123d

The signage is perfectly OK. As for the police, they are an invisible force doing . . . well you tell me/

Ian Fergus ● 2123d

Signage in Hanwell is not an issue as the signs are everywhere but I totally agree about enforcement.
Uxbridge Road/ Boston Road it is actually rare to see ANY vehicle travelling at 20mph or slower.

N V Brooks ● 2123d