A petition asking the Welsh government to reconsider their 20mph speed limits as a default on many roads has broken records. The policy has proven to be divisive across the devolved nation - but should the rest of the UK think about following suit? We took to the streets in a city near you to find out what you think.
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00:00 Wales have reduced many of their 30 mile an hour speed limit roads to 20 miles an hour.
00:08 What is your opinion on that? Do you think we should do the same in England?
00:12 No. We had that in Bristol and we got rid of it.
00:17 Why do you think we shouldn't?
00:19 Because maybe 25, but it should only be around schools and places like that.
00:27 I think we should in residential areas, but in busy town centres it wouldn't work.
00:32 Obviously you've got a load of delivery trucks and taxis,
00:37 so for 20s in a town centre it wouldn't work.
00:41 Residential areas, yes.
00:43 Wales has become the first country in the UK to reduce the default speed limit
00:47 in built up areas from 30 miles per hour down to 20.
00:51 Ministers argued the move would help reduce serious accidents and noise
00:55 and encourage people to take alternative modes of transport.
00:58 But drivers haven't been happy with the rule change.
01:01 With more than 244,000 signatures by Tuesday evening,
01:05 a petition calling on the Welsh Government to scrap the scheme has broken records.
01:10 I don't think it's a good idea to reduce the speed limit to 20.
01:15 I think the real solution is to increase the use of bike lanes
01:19 and to build decent public transport.
01:24 From my driving experience, people are not really paying attention,
01:28 even at 30 miles an hour.
01:30 They're not paying attention, they're just not.
01:33 The gap isn't right, the focus isn't right.
01:37 And I think 20 miles an hour would help with stopping distances.
01:44 I drive myself and if I have to constantly keep on looking at the speed limit,
01:48 then I could potentially cause an accident as well.
01:50 So I think it's quite silly and I think it's just a mimey scheme
01:53 because the easiest people to tax are road users, unfortunately.
01:56 I think it would make it a lot safer.
01:58 There wouldn't be as much accidents, including pedestrians and road users.
02:03 And I think obviously because it's built up, cyclists would be a lot safer as well.
02:07 Yeah, I mean, I'm just learning to drive and I can only go 20 miles per hour at the minute,
02:12 so I feel like it's fine for me. It really doesn't make a difference.
02:16 How would you enforce it?
02:17 Because a lot of the speed cameras in and around Birmingham are already switched off,
02:21 especially the sort of orange ones that sit by the roadside, the lines on the floor, they're off.
02:25 So, I mean, in terms of residential areas and places where there are schools,
02:30 then yeah, I think 20 mile an hour zones are already enforced,
02:32 but I don't see what difference it's going to make.
02:34 So I was literally at the doctors this morning, I was crossing the road and there was a red light
02:37 and someone hit me with their car.
02:38 So, you know, I do think it'd be a good idea to have reduced speed limits,
02:43 especially within the city centre, because it is so crowded.
02:45 Obviously, it's becoming more pedestrian friendly now.
02:48 And like, you know, in London, like the EULA zones and congestion charge,
02:51 obviously with Birmingham as the clean air zone and like,
02:54 there's the same sort of things being tested here.
02:56 So I think the mobility of traffic is being reduced, which is good.
02:59 I drive myself. So, you know, I think it's better to have that kind of security.