New road collision data published today shows that casualties
have reduced on roads since the introduction of the new 20mph
speed limits in September last year.
The data, which provides the total number of casualties in police
recorded collisions, shows that in the last quarter of 2023
(October – December) road casualties on 20mph and 30mph roads
reduced by 218, from 681 in 2022 to 463 in 2023.
The total number of casualties on 20mph and 30mph roads in Q4 was
the lowest quarterly figure on record outside the Covid pandemic
period.
Overall, in 2023 police in Wales reported a total of 3,262 road
*collisions, a decrease of 1.6% compared to 2022 and 24.7% lower
than in 2019 (prior to the covid pandemic).
Cabinet Secretary for North Wales and Transport, said:
“The data published today clearly shows that casualties on 20mph
and 30mph roads have reduced since the introduction of 20mph -
the lowest on record outside the Covid pandemic period.
“We've still got a way to go, and we expect numbers to fluctuate
over the next few years as drivers adjust to the new speed, but
it's encouraging to see that things are moving in the right
direction. Every casualty reduced makes a real difference.”
“The principal objective of the policy has always been to reduce
casualties and help people feel safer in their communities and
today's data reinforces we're on the way to achieving this.
“But, as I continue on my listening programme, I
am aware that we still need to refine the policy to ensure we
have the right speeds on the right roads and acknowledge that
some roads may need to revert back to 30mph. I encourage people
to get in touch with their local council to tell them where they
think 20mph should and should not be targeted.”
Notes to editors
-
Statistics (available
from 09:30hrs)
-
20mph: Transport
Secretary outlines plan for targeted change | GOV.WALES
- Data on police recorded road collisions (known as STATS19) is
collected by Welsh Government from police forces in Wales on
a quarterly basis.
- Individual *collisions can result in multiple casualties with
different levels of injury severity. The severity of a collision
is determined by the most seriously injured casualty in the
collision. For example, if there are five casualties and one
fatality, the collision will be classed as fatal.
