5mph speed limits: another bonkers Labour idea to make drivers' lives hell
The war on motorists grows more bizarre every day.
Wales, long ruled by Labour, remains the source of the most bonkers ideas. Earlier this year, Jane Hutt MS, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, appeared to be floating the idea of a speed limit of 5mph being appropriate 'in some circumstances'.
That is roughly the speed of a horse-drawn carriage, so long as it was walking. A trotting horse would typically do double that speed, leaving Ms Hutt in the dust in her car, presumably before being promptly turned into glue for speeding, if the Senedd had its way.
Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised.
After all, this is the administration which famously withdrew support 'for all major road projects in Wales because of climate change', and pushed through the controversial 20mph blanket speed limit across all residential roads and busy pedestrian streets in 2023.
Nearly two years since the imposition of the policy, Welsh drivers remain furious.
And who can blame them? The speed limit is a stick with which to beat drivers into swapping their cars for bicycles and public transport.
'To suck every bit of joy out of driving and make life miserable for drivers,' as a friend once put it.
He's picked up nine points, all for driving around 24 or 25 miles per hour, after struggling to rein in a life-long habit of driving at a slightly more reasonable and efficient pace.
'I spend the whole time looking at the speedometer,' another told me. 'The journey to work takes about 20 minutes longer, so I burn fuel for longer and pay more for it'.
With a minimum fine of £100 and three penalty points for going over the limit and prosecutions starting at 26mph, the costs to motorists are considerable. The risk of loss of licence and even livelihoods for some is a real danger.
There are also more cars on the road for longer, resulting in increased stop-and-go traffic, with frequent braking and accelerating also contributing towards greater fuel consumption and associated costs.
Then there's the wider costs.
The Welsh government's own research reportedly found that the 20mph policy could potentially cost the economy £4.5bn, though spread over 30 years.
This analysis was signed off by the minister for climate change in January 2023 as 'a fair and reasonable view of the expected impact' of the policy, but – in line with the eco evangelism proudly adopted by her government – that she was 'satisfied that the benefits justify the likely costs'.
But it's not only in Wales that drivers are being driven out of town.
This side of the border motorists are being caught out by 'low traffic neighbourhoods' which not only imposed steep fines when the often imperceptible borders are innocently breached, but have been blamed for increasing pollution on major roads where poorer residents typically live.
One scheme set up by Lambeth council in south London was deemed unlawful by the High Court after it ruled the authority had failed to properly listen to residents' concerns.
Cash-strapped councils are raising ever-growing sums from parking permits and fines. Across Britain, local authorities have raised £360m from residential parking permits over the last five years, according to Cinch, the online car dealer.
Top of the list was Wandsworth Borough Council, which collected £38m from residential permits between 2020 and 2024 alone. And that's before you add in fines from mistakes like driving in bus 'gates' and lanes as well as car parking charges.
Back to Wales and its obsession with slow driving. Sense has prevailed in Wrexham at least, with some roads already returning to a 30mph limit.
We must not let the age-old argument of safety hold back progress. An infamous New York Times article from 1928 raised concerns around 'horseless carriages' being driven without the added intelligence of a second creature.
The answer was to improve safety, not to place restrictions that would make them less efficient than the horse-drawn carriages they were destined to replace.
The same is true today, with technology gradually making cars safer. That's not to mention the improved air quality the advent of electric cars – over which I have other concerns, perhaps best discussed in another piece – will usher in at least in this country.
As ever, families and businesses are left to pick up the price of government interference, through higher running costs and missed opportunities caused by delays, and in some cases, even the loss of livelihood.
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