Local Authority Overview & Scrutiny

Within local authorities there is an Overview & Scrutiny functions which provides checks and balances on the various executive functions of the council. Leicestershire County Council describe the role as:

The Overview and Scrutiny role is designed to support the work of the Council by providing for members:-

• to review and scrutinise decisions taken by the Executive;
• to consider aspects of the performance of the Council;
• to assist in research, policy review and development;
• to provide a means of involving the community in the Council’s work;
• to involve itself with external organisations operating in the County to ensure that the interests of local people are enhanced by collaborative working.

Note the points about policy review and community involvement. There is a clear case that the council has failed to adapt its policy on speed limits following the government guidance issued at the beginning of 2013 in Dft Circular 2013/01 . See previous blog here http://sgstreets.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/dft-setting-speed-limits-positive-news.html

There is evidence that other local authorities have formally revised their speed limit policies (or are in the process of doing so) and have consulted tyhe public on these policies. Here is an example in Hertfordshire .

We are raising the issue of speed limit policy with the Leicestershire County Council with the Environment and Transport Overview and Scrutiny Committee which covers this function. We are joining forces with Woodhouse Eaves who also want to implement 20mph limits. Their local County Councillor has agreed to raise the issue on our behalf.

Stoke Golding Parish Council say No to 20mph limits

In the same month that saw high profile commitments to 20 mph in the City of London and our second city Birmingham, Stoke Golding Parish Council unanimously reject 20 mph limits.

In a newsletter to residents they stated:
"The Parish Council discussed again the issue of a 20MPH speed limit and confirms that in their unanimous opinion that whilst safe streets are a priority and desirable, it would be misleading/pointless to give their opinion on a 20MPH zone when the present austerity cuts at County render it undeliverable, coupled with a lack of enforcement by police”. This comes after protracted discussions with the Parish Council following a significant random survey of the village in late 2012. With 76% of respondents identifying speed as an issue and 67% supporting a village wide 20mph speed limit (only 22% opposed), we not unreasonably expected the Parish Council to support the majority view.

We had always anticipated problems with a Local Authority that is short of cash and which has failed to revise its speed limit strategy following new government guidance on speed limits issued earlier this year. We have looked at the historic accident data for Stoke Golding and the forecast savings from speed reductions should pay the modest amount for a 20 mph sign only scheme within a year. We also recognise that enforcement is a challenge which is why we are pleased that the Association of Chief Police Officers earlier this month updated its guidance on enforcement of speed limits. This sees the enforcement of 20 mph limits taken much more seriously with tougher penalties for those who wilfully offend.

The change to 20 mph limits where people live is a movement, and it will take time to normalise this behaviour. It is not anti motorist - it actually has minimal impact on journey times. It is about a more equitable sharing of the public space where people live, socialise and travel. Towns and cities are getting the message in a big way with local authorities covering more than 11 million residents having now committed to 20 mph limits. Over the last several months there have been significant announcements of widespread implementation in Birmingham, London (City and many boroughs), Oxford, Liverpool, Manchester, Leicester and Brighton, to name but a few. These will join pioneering cities such as Portsmouth, Bristol and Hull who are now reaping the benefits in terms of lower accidents rates and increased walking and cycling. One day people will look back and say "surely we didn't used to let cars travel at 30 mph were people live" in the same way that we now say "surely we didn't used to let people smoke in public places".

So nationally the picture is very upbeat and we are quite convinced that the implementation of 20 mph limits is no longer "IF" but "WHEN". 

We have talked to several other villages around the country and a 3 to 5 year campaign is not uncommon, but success has been achieved. We are therefore planning to join forces with other like minded groups in Leicestershire to try and influence county policy and consider how best to continue locally.

 

ACPO Reviews guidance on speed limit enforcement

The Association of Chief Police Officerts (ACPO) has revised its speed enforcement policy guidelines to reflect a tougher approach to enforcing 20 mph limits. 

The new guidance recommends that at speeds between 24-31mph a driver should be offered the option of attending a speed awareness course or a fixed penalty notice fine. At speeds of 35mph plus a summons will be issued.

Chief Constable Suzette Davenport, ACPO national policing lead on roads policing, said: “Speeding remains an issue of high concern, particularly in residential areas or near facilities for young or vulnerable people."

This is welcome news. In the past the ACPO have been criticised for their failure to enforce 20 mph speed limits. I am still concerned about the frequent statements of "self enforcing". Yes in an ideal world roads would be designed so that vehicles can only travel at a safe speed, but unfortunately  many of our roads are just not like that. At the end of the day the motorist has to accept that a limit is a limit and must be obeyed.

I hope this is part of a movement to take speed limits seriously in the UK. Currently limits are not observed by a significant number of motorists and that is because they are not enforced. I recently had a visitor from Australia staying with us and whilst out they observed "don't a lot of people speed in England". I have driven in Australia and almost everyone obeys the speed limit. Why?, because it is enforced and because it is regarded as socially unacceptable.

Association Chief Police Offices clarifies position on 20 mph enforcement

This is verbatim a letter that was sent to the APPCG co-chairs from the ACPO ‘Lead on Roads Policing’, Suzette Davenport, Chief Constable, Gloucestershire Constabulary on 6th March 2013.

 Julian Huppert MP and Ian Austin MP

Co-chairs
All-Party Parliamentary Cycling Group
House of Commons, London SW1A 1AA

Dear Mr Huppert and Mr Austin

Clarification of the ACPO position on 20 miles per hour speed limits

I write further to the recent All‐Party Parliamentary Cycling group evidence session on ‘Get Britain Cycling’. ACC Mark Milsom represented the ACPO roads policing portfolio to address the group’s questions from a policing perspective.

Following a very specific line of questioning on the subject, we believe the police service position on the issue 20 mph speed limits requires further clarification. For accuracy, we would be grateful if you would reflect this correspondence in written evidence for your eventual report.

We can clearly state that it is incorrect to say that police officers are not enforcing 20mph speed limits.

20mph zones are predominantly introduced in residential areas where road safety has been raised as an issue by those who live locally. The approach of neighbourhood policing teams in every community is built around ensuring that local crime and disorder issues and concerns are identified, so that a police force delivers an appropriate policing response. This applies to enforcement of 20mph zones as to any other area of policing.

Police and Crime Commissioners are now responsible for setting strategic policing priorities for each police force and in areas where 20mph zones are a local concern, may include enforcement within local policing plans.

In most cases, 20 mph limits will follow Department of Transport guidance and include ‘road calming’ features such as speed bumps or traffic islands designed to slow traffic. Wherever possible, we agree with the Department of Transport that 20mph zones should be ‘self‐enforcing’ through the use of such features. The guidance states:

“Successful 20 mph zones and 20 mph speed limits are generally self‐enforcing, i.e. the existing conditions of the road together with measures such as traffic calming or signing, publicity and information as part of the scheme, lead to a mean traffic speed compliant with the speed limit.

To achieve compliance there should be no expectation on the police to provide additional enforcement beyond their routine activity, unless this has been explicitly agreed.”

ACPO speed enforcement guidelines (attached to this letter) include thresholds for enforcement across all speed limits, intended to underpin a consistent policing approach. Within that framework local police forces will take a responsible and proportionate approach to enforcement of 20mph limits based on their assessment of risk to individuals, property and the seriousness of any breach. Where drivers are regularly and wilfully breaking the law we would expect that officers will enforce the limit and prosecute offenders.
I trust that this sets out our position clearly. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information.

Yours faithfully
Suzette Davenport
Chief Constable, Gloucestershire Constabulary
ACPO Lead for ROADS POLICING

DfT Setting Speed Limits - Positive news for rural speed limits

The government has published its latest guidance on setting speed limits. This is contained in DfT Department for Transport circular 01/2013 . This guidance is effective immediately.

Launching the guidance, Stephen Hammond in a written statement to the house said that the new guidance “incorporates recent changes that create more flexibility for authorities to implement 20mph limits and zones.”

The guidance recognises the benefits of 20 mph limits quoting a 5% reduction in accident rates for each 1 mph reduction in average speed. This accords well with a study from Hull which saw a 64% reduction in accident rates measured over the 3 years since implementation.

The new guidance encourages 20 mph limits in a number of ways :-
·         It identifies as priority for action that “Traffic authorities are asked to keep their speed limits under review with changing circumstances, and to consider the introduction of more 20 mph limits and zones, over time, in urban areas and built-up village streets that are primarily residential, to ensure greater safety for pedestrians and cyclists, using the criteria in Section 6.” (para 12)
·         It recognises the importance of the “composition of road users (including existing and potential levels of vulnerable road users)” as a key factor that needs to be taken into account. (para 30)
·         It recognises that “Fear of traffic can affect peoples’ quality of life and the needs of vulnerable road users must be fully taken into account in order to further encourage these modes of travel and improve their safety. Speed management strategies should seek to protect local community life.” (para 32). This para is particularly significant for Stoke Golding.

The guidance comes with an appraisal tool for measuring the benefits of 20 mph implementations in different circumstances. I understand the tool considers both accident and quality of life factors. I will be trying to get my head around this shortly. However I suspect we will not have all the data to run the model ourselves.

The circular also contains guidance on setting speed limits on rural roads which has significance for roads like Wykin Lane and Stoke Road. 

So this looks like great news for rural communities. Lets see how Leicestershire County Council respond.

You can see the full document here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-local-speed-limits