Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals for a default 20mph motor vehicle speed limit for urban areas in the UK.

The Department published a comprehensive three-year evaluation of the effect of 20mph signed-only limits on 22 November 2018.

The research substantially strengthens the evidence base on perceptions, speeds and early outcomes associated with 20mph speed limits, and is the only major UK study to consider multiple case study areas and provide a national view.

The headline findings were:

• 20mph limits are supported by the majority of residents and drivers
• There has been a small reduction in median speed (less than 1mph).
• Vehicles travelling at higher speeds before the introduction of the 20mph limit have reduced their speed more than those already travelling at lower speeds.
• There is insufficient evidence to conclude that that there has been a significant change in collisions and casualties following the introduction of 20mph limits in residential areas.
• In one city centre case study there has been a significant reduction in collisions and casualties.