30 June 2011 - Keith Taylor, the Green MEP for Sussex and the South East, will visit Tunbridge Wells this Friday, 1 July, to back local campaigners’ call for a 20mph limit on residential roads in the town. Keith will visit Calverley Precinct with local Green Party members to speak to the public about his work to encourage towns in the South East to make their roads safer by introducing 20mph speed limits in built up areas.

Keith Taylor, the Green MEP responsible for road safety in the European Parliament, last week gained support from the parliament’s transport committee for his recommendation that 20mph zones should be recognised as best practice throughout the EU. In Tunbridge Wells he is supporting a default limit of 20mph throughout the town, except on main arterial roads. In Portsmouth a 20mph limit has been enforced successfully with no additional speed bumps.

Keith Taylor said: “Introducing 20mph can make a real difference to a town like Tunbridge Wells; it can save children’s lives. In both Portsmouth and Oxford 20mph residential streets have reduced the speed of traffic without the need for other traffic calming measures (1).

“Last week in Europe I gained support from fellow MEPs who agree that 20mph zones should be recommended as best practice across the EU. We currently have the highest percentage of pedestrian road fatalities in Europe (2) and this must change. The facts are clear, a pedestrian hit by a car travelling at 20mph is likely to suffer slight injuries, but at 30mph they are likely to be severely hurt. At 40mph or above they are likely to be killed.”

20mph limits can seriously reduce the impact of an accident on a child. In Portsmouth where 20mph is standard, there has been a 22% reduction in casualties. A recent NHS report in the North West found that over four-fifths of child casualties occur on roads that have a speed limit of 30 mph. Statistical modelling shows that up to 140 killed or seriously injured child casualties could be saved each year if 20 mph speed limits had been applied in these areas (3).

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. Details of Oxford’s 20mph limits:
http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wps/portal/publicsite/councilservices?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=http://apps.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wps/wcm/connect/occ/Internet%2FCouncil+services%2FRoads+and+transport%2FPlans+and+projects%2FMajor+projects%2FRT+-+MP+-+20mph+-+Home

2. Source: EU European Road Safety Observatory

3. For the full report see http://www.nwph.net/nwpho/Publications/Forms/rta.html