Before I get into the meat of this topic, I would like to stress that around schools I think it should be 20 mph speed limit. Everywhere else it’s been implemented, I am less in agreement. I would also like to add I am just an old man waffling on and I have no education or expertise in this field, it’s mainly just opinions. And also because I am nearly 50 and I’m largely having to drive at 20mph all day I get to listen to an awful lot of radio 2 and in particular Jeremy Vine.
There’s a few things I am going to talk about.
1. The impact on your vehicle.
2. The impact on the environment.
3. The impact on the driver.
4. The impact on business.
Despite many sources saying that to drive at 20mph is better for fuel consumption is a complete nonsense. I accept that accelerating to 20mph takes less energy than accelerating to 30mph because that completely obvious. But what your actually talking about is like for 2-3 seconds your consumption is less, but you’ve also travelled a shorter distance. And if we say your driving that way for a mile. The 30mph limit allows you to cover that trip in 2 minutes, whilst it takes 3 minutes if your driving at 20mph increasing your journey time by 50%. That extra minute driving isn’t great for fuel consumption, it’s terrible for your car driving at the high end of second or the low end of third constantly. It’s noisier inside the car. Maintenance on cars has risen, dust particle filters being an alarming cause for concern particularly. Being on the road for longer, having the engine running longer is definitely not good for the environment.
This is my view of what’s happening, everything in London happens at about 20mph because it’s congested. So the impact there is far less, but that’s were the rules are made. Having the capital city being less efficient than other areas of the country (which we will touch on when we talk about impact on business) is not what the government want. So, let’s bring out a rule to slow the rest of the country down to the pace of London. In addition, the councils are financially under so much pressure it’s ridiculous. And it comes down to manipulation by the government, starve the councils then offer a pot of money for laws they want to introduce but would normally be decided locally or by local councils. Desperate for cash the councils have no real option but to take the pot of money in the hope they can somehow cut costs. I have no doubt most people on councils don’t want this in, but to access the money you need to implement the 20mph limit and be convinced it’s a brilliant idea.
The impact on the driver is really concerning as I have found out to my detriment this week. After mistaking a 20mph for a 30mph on the widest single carriageway road in the country last week. I have been driving at bob on 20mph and here is a list of what has happened in the last week.
Undertaken 5 times
Overtaken on a single carriageway 7 times
One finger shown by another driver in my direction lost count
Two fingers shown by another driver lost count
Someone driving within 2 metres of the tail of the car absolutely countless
Light flashing it’s like Blackpool illuminations every few minutes
It’s just become an absolutely hideous experience driving on our roads.
Now the impact on business is huge especially during the present times with all costs spiralling. I am going to use the simplest analogy a taxi driver. If they were driving round town at 30mph that’s the maximum difference they could cover in an hour so it’s probably more but we will say they average £1 for every mile, potential earnings of £30. But at 20mph their potential earnings are £20. Like any business that gets factored into costs and so the driver can earn his £30 an hour the cost suddenly becomes £1.50 per mile. This can be applied to all delivery drivers, myself included which then has a knock on effect to any business using a delivery driver. For me one of the key driving factors behind inflation is the implementation of 20mph speed limits. Look at Royal Mail a 500+ years old company yet. It took 500+ years to get the price of a first class stamp to 67p and in the space of 5 years it’s doubled to £1.35. Just think about that stat for a second, it’s outrageous. I don’t think the impact of 20mph on businesses is talked about enough, it’s so huge it’s mental and it affects every single one of us, whether it’s letters or parcels a new tv or fridge. We all get deliveries, and we just pay the delivery fee without even thinking about it. Says the man who has pulled out of thousands of purchases when he has seen that the delivery fee is often 50% of the price of the entire purchase. Proper tight wad me.
Not just a postman.
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