Environment ‘don’t have expertise to review speed limits’
Monday 21st March 2011, 2:29PM GMT.
ENVIRONMENT is not qualified to review the island’s speed limits, according to a former road safety officer.
Peter Derham (pictured), who has been involved in traffic management and road safety for 45 years, thought the review of speed limits was a good idea. But he said the Environment Department did not have the expertise to carry it out.
The report has been conducted in-house by Environment staff.
‘The last thing we want is UK consultants,’ he said. ‘That would be ridiculous. They are not needed.
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Why are they wasting money reviewing speed limits? Keep them as they are, or increase the speed along the coast.
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The speed limits are not the issue, speeding is.
If traffic kept to the existing speed limits then that would be great.
Not all coast roads could support an increase, and when you increase speed limits all it does it make people go just that little faster again, so what was 40 in a 35 becomes 45 etc.
Better to keep the limits already in place but enforce them!
Keep it simple.
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mr g – because more and more and more idiots are selfish drivers who are driving aggressively, too fast for the local conditions, with no brains, and in so doing, force the other half of the driving population, who do not want to die quite so soon, to drive passively and do all the sensible, avoiding, safe stuff. you hadn’t noticed had you?
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There’s nothing selfish about wanting to drive the normal limit. But of course, we’re not able to as some selfish old crusty is doing 25 along Vazon. It’s just plain inconsiderate and irritating to all the traffic that builds up behind them.
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Speed limits are indeed, not the problem, the way they are policed is.
Setting up speed traps to catch people doing 28 in a 25mph zone near a school at 9 on a Monday morning may catch a few unfortunates, but the Sunday nutters rally, with drivers doing what must almost be 100mph on a route known to everyone, continues unabated, and as far as I can see, always will.
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Mr Derham,who has 45 years of traffic management and road safety under his belt does not think that Environment are competent to review the speed limits and he certainly does not want UK consultants to do it … so who can he possibly be thinking of?
Leave the limits as they are.Sort out a common standard of flashing lower limit signs for school times only and get the Courts to really hit the speeders hard on conviction .. one month minimum suspension for every 5mph over any limit .. doubling/trebling that rate for second and third convictions
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Trust me you do not want any review of speed limits. I virtually guarantee all speed limits will be revised downwards. The excuse being it will be greener and quieter.
Where I live they have reduced all the limits to 30mph and hope to lower them again to 20mph.
The very best of luck if you are hoping for an increase in speed.
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This is a stupid idea, the idea of lowering the speeds in Guernsey will increase my travel time to work in the morning!
This also has a massive effect on the enviroment as driving slower and using higher revs increases the CO2 being pumped out the cars rear end. The device known as the catalitic converter which reduces the emissions from the car is useless until you are driving at 40mph anyway.
Make the right descision keep the limits as they are !!!!
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AR – if catalytic converters only worked under 40mph, they are already of no use in this island anyway so it will not matter. But I don’t believe that your statement is true anyway – they need to warm up, but 40mph is not a magic threshold.
as has already been pointed out, the maximum speed limit has little impact on average speed, and therefore journey times. I am fairly sure that most of your journey to work is at less than 35mph anyway.
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