Should 10mph speed limits be introduced around schools and hospitals? Have your say
Yahoo UK's poll of the week lets you vote and indicate your strength of feeling on one of the week's hot topics. After the poll closes, we'll publish and analyse the results each Friday, giving readers the chance to see how polarising a topic has become and if their view chimes with other Yahoo UK readers.
A road safety charity has proposed reducing speed limits to 10mph around schools and hospitals.
The proposal was put forward in a report last week by the Road Safety Foundation, which said a 10mph limit at those locations and near major sports and cultural events would help avoid most deaths and life-changing injuries.
It said schools and hospitals were areas where "there is a particular prevalence of pedestrians" and a "heightened vulnerability of pedestrians to impact and injury".
Road Safety Foundation executive director, Dr Suzy Chapman, told The Times newspaper: 'We are not saying that all speeds or speed limits should be set to these speeds, rather that infrastructure needs to be improved or speeds reduced to ensure travelled speeds are better aligned with human tolerances to crash forces.'
The report was criticised by the Alliance of British Drivers, who called the 10mph speed limit idea "so ridiculous it is simply laughable".
In a YouGov poll published this week after the Road Safety Foundation report, 40% of the 4,000 adults surveyed said they would support a 10mph speed limit on some roads in cities with a high number of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
A slim majority - 52% - were opposed to the idea.
In September 2023, 20mph default speed limits on mostly urban roads were introduced in Wales, sparking a backlash that has led to a review of the government's policy. A number of roads, including those in the capital Cardiff, will revert back to 30mph speed limits.
In a report published in January, the Welsh government said there had been about 100 fewer people killed or seriously injured as a result of the 20mph policy.
But what do you think? Would you like to see 10mph speed limits near schools and hospitals? Let us know in the poll below:Come back on Friday to read the results and analysis via the link below.
Read more of Yahoo UK's Poll of the Week articles
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
No 20mph roads to revert to 30mph, council says
No roads will be changed back to 30mph from 20mph in one county following a Wales-wide shake-up. A review of the Welsh government's 20mph speed limit was announced last year following a public backlash. The 20mph speed limit, covering 37% of the Welsh road network, was brought in by ministers in September 2023, attracting some criticism. But Denbighshire County Council has confirmed it had no plans to increase the speed limit on any of the current 20mph roads. Transport Minister Ken Skates previously said the decision to reverse parts of the controversial £34m default 20mph policy was in response to "consistent" concerns raised by "a lot of people". Last July, the Welsh government gave councils more flexibility to assess the "movement" and "road characteristics" of specific routes, beyond just proximity to schools, hospital and other key locations. In March, the maximum speed limit on four busy roads in Cardiff was changed back to 30mph from 20mph, and in February it was announced that 50 stretches of road in Wrexham would revert to 30mph. It comes as the data for the first year of the policy showing there had been about 100 fewer people killed or seriously injured on 20 and 30mph roads. Crashes on 20mph and 30mph roads at 'record low' 20mph speed limit change to be reversed on some Cardiff roads Switching roads back to 30mph to cost up to £5m Chris Evans, councillor for Tremeirchion, said that Wrexham had reverted some roads back, as had Flintshire and questioned why Denbighshire had not. "It is having a massive detriment to travel, slowing things down," he said. "I appreciate through towns and outside schools, but for example going past the golf club, it is 20mph. Why? "It was a 40mph road, to me it needs to change. People are not happy." Councillor Brian Jones said he understood that 20mph was needed outside schools and hospitals, but "if you put your business hat on, and if you are a plumber or an electrician, travelling on Russell Road in Rhyl at 20mph, and you are doing that every day of the week, that will add considerable time on to your journey and will cost you business over a month or year". "Some roads should, like Russell Road, have reverted back to 30mph. I think Denbighshire have missed a trick," he added. The announcement by Denbighshire council follows Monmouthshire council's decision to reject calls to raise the default 20mph speed limit on a number of roads in the county. Denbighshire council said it had received more than 300 submissions for exceptions for a total of 202 roads, adding that barely any requests were made by residents living on any of the roads concerned, with almost all of the requests made by people who travel through rather than live in the area." "After assessing all 202 roads individually against the exceptions criteria, we can confirm that none of the roads met enough of the exception criteria that the council could safely consider increasing the speed limit," it said. More than 85,000 drivers broke 20mph rules in 2024 Serious road casualties drop in Wales since 20mph Some Wrexham roads to raise speed limits to 30mph
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Yahoo
Waymo halts service in downtown Los Angeles amid ICE protests
The autonomous ride-hailing service Waymo has suspended operations in downtown Los Angeles after several of its vehicles were set on fire during protests against immigration raids in the area. At least five Waymo vehicles were destroyed over the weekend, the company said. Waymo removed its vehicles from downtown but continues to operate in other parts of Los Angeles. A Waymo spokesperson told The Times the company was working with law enforcement regarding the incidents. Read more: Waymo vehicles set on fire in downtown L.A. as protesters, police clash Protests related to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity escalated on Sunday after President Trump sent National Guard troops to the city. Demonstrations on Sunday were largely peaceful, according to Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell, but escalated where demonstrators clashed with law enforcement. Waymo does not think the protests were directly related to its vehicles, the company said. E-scooters operated by Lime were also set on fire. "We do not believe our vehicles were intentionally targeted, but rather happened to be present during the protests," a Waymo spokesperson told CBS News. Waymo's fleet of driverless electric Jaguars has become a familiar sight in Los Angeles, where they have operated since November. The taxi service first launched in San Francisco and Phoenix and plans to expand to Miami, Atlanta and Austin, Texas. The company got its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, which began in 2009 and put its first autonomous car on the road in 2015. The project rebranded as Waymo in 2016 under Google's parent company, Alphabet, and launched its driverless ride-hailing service known as Waymo One in 2020. Read more: Waymo is getting ready to tackle Los Angeles' freeways. How have the robotaxis fared so far? Waymo vehicles had driven nearly 2 million miles in Los Angeles as of January, but have been frequent targets for vandals. In January, a group vandalized one of the self-driving taxis in Beverly Grove. In February 2024, a Waymo was set ablaze with fireworks in San Francisco's Chinatown. In July, also in San Francisco, a Castro Valley resident was charged with vandalizing 17 Waymos over three days, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Waymo has not indicated when it plans to resume service in downtown Los Angeles. Protests in California began Saturday after ICE raids in the Los Angeles Fashion District and continued Sunday. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has called Trump's decision to deploy National Guard troops "unlawful." Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
09-06-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Waymo halts service in downtown Los Angeles amid ICE protests
The autonomous ride-hailing service Waymo has suspended operations in downtown Los Angeles after several of its vehicles were set on fire during protests against immigration raids in the area. At least five Waymo vehicles were destroyed over the weekend, the company said. Waymo removed its vehicles from downtown but continues to operate in other parts of Los Angeles. A Waymo spokesperson told The Times the company was working with law enforcement regarding the incidents. Protests related to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity escalated on Sunday after President Trump sent National Guard troops to the city. Demonstrations on Sunday were largely peaceful, according to Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell, but escalated where demonstrators clashed with law enforcement. Waymo does not think the protests were directly related to its vehicles, the company said. E-scooters operated by Lime were also set on fire. 'We do not believe our vehicles were intentionally targeted, but rather happened to be present during the protests,' a Waymo spokesperson told CBS News. Waymo's fleet of driverless electric Jaguars has become a familiar sight in Los Angeles, where they have operated since November. The taxi service first launched in San Francisco and Phoenix and plans to expand to Miami, Atlanta and Austin, Texas. The company got its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, which began in 2009 and put its first autonomous car on the road in 2015. The project rebranded as Waymo in 2016 under Google's parent company, Alphabet, and launched its driverless ride-hailing service known as Waymo One in 2020. Waymo vehicles had driven nearly 2 million miles in Los Angeles as of January, but have been frequent targets for vandals. In January, a group vandalized one of the self-driving taxis in Beverly Grove. In February 2024, a Waymo was set ablaze with fireworks in San Francisco's Chinatown. In July, also in San Francisco, a Castro Valley resident was charged with vandalizing 17 Waymos over three days, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Waymo has not indicated when it plans to resume service in downtown Los Angeles. Protests in California began Saturday after ICE raids in the Los Angeles Fashion District and continued Sunday. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has called Trump's decision to deploy National Guard troops 'unlawful.'
