The rollout of Wales’ 20mph law is nothing short of a confusing mess

08/01/2024

It was always going to get complicated. From day one the Welsh Government admitted that not every sign that needed to be place for its new default 20mph limit law was in place while GoSafe, which is responsible for fixed and mobile speed cameras in Wales, admitted not all its cameras were ready to clock drivers who were breaking the new speed limit. It became clear fairly quickly that if and when fines or points started being issued people could (and would) feel aggrieved and potentially have legal grounds on which to appeal because there were examples Wales-wide where the local council hadn’t yet put signs up.

There were also scenarios like one in Penparcau in Ceredigion where one side of a road had a 20mph limit and the other was set at 30mph. But we were told by the man who had pushed the policy that at some point you just have to go with it and things will fall into place. Few dispute that doing anything to make Wales’ roads safer is a bad thing and I am firmly on that side of the argument.

I live in an area which has long been 20mph and I enjoy the benefits that brings.

But the messaging around this law is fast becoming nothing short of a mess. In the build-up to the law coming into force in September journalists were given chances to ask those in charge questions so we could give you the right information.

During briefings, and emails with various press officers, we (and other media outlets) pushed on what would happen when and what it would mean in terms of fines or the education cases being offered. There were, what we’ll call charitably, hiccups. For example there was lots said about – and extra money provided for – a project called Operation Ugain which is where, we were told, police and fire officers were going to be at the side of the road stopping cars which were exceeding the 20mph limit and showing the driver a video.

It isn’t a law, we’re told, to make money but to change behaviours and that was seen as the best way to do that. For the latest politics news in Wales sign up to our newsletter here.[3] Confused as to why anyone wouldn’t just agree to watch the video rather than have to pay money or get points I asked to join the roadside campaign to see what actually happens on a given day.

But when I asked all the fire services they said they weren’t in a position to offer it and, a press officer told us it wasn’t ‘roadside’, really, as people would be invited to a nearby building like a fire station or a library to watch the video. So say you were going to work or the doctors or on the school run you’d have to take the points because few of us leave for work/school/the dentist with a spare hour in our day. Another example was journalists being told that the speed limit enforced by GoSafe would be 20mph plus 2mph and 10% (24mph) before it was admitted there was special dispensation for it to be 26mph until drivers got used to the law.

There would always be anomalies with particular roads but these would be ironed out, we were told. Over the following months we’ve raised specific issues, asked questions, and checked for updates. After three months it seemed prudent to ask for figures about the fines given out so far.

As it was a Welsh Government law they were the first port of call but they said inquiries needed to be directed to GoSafe. They gave an overall figure of fines in November (the first month of enforcement) but said more detail had to be gained from each of the four police forces who wanted it via a Freedom of Information request. A faff – but it was duly sent off.

Three of the four came back in the legally-required 20 days and the data showed the only fines that have been given out were in the South Wales Police force area (where one officer had also instigated proceedings against a driver doing 38mph) but then I wondered if that meant the other three just weren’t yet enforcing it at all so I went to each of Wales’ police forces with questions on January 3. I asked: Please can I clarify what the situation is in each force with regard to enforcement of the 20mph default speed limit.

Is your force currently enforcing the 20mph speed limit?
If not is there a start date for this to happen?
Have any officers in your force’s jurisdiction recorded any “officer-witnessed” offences and, if so, can details of the speed and location be provided?

Because all roads seem to lead back to GoSafe (no pun intended) I also asked them a raft of questions to try get to the bottom of what enforcement starting actually meant.

I asked when all 20mph cameras will be live and given there was a separate budget for Operation Ugain how many sessions had been carried out and how those drivers had been dealt with. I also asked when they would class the time for people to get used to the change to have passed – and the relaxed enforcement at 26mph would be brought down to the expected 24mph threshold – as well as: “What date do you expect there to be full enforcement including all cameras working, and teams operational in the whole of Wales?” Then, independently, the Welsh Government issued a statement saying enforcement would start on January 8.[4] Their statement reads: “Following the introduction of the new default 20mph speed limit in September 2023 there was an initial bedding-in period to give people time to adapt to the change.

“At the start of November 2023 GoSafe restarted enforcing the speed limit in areas where 20mph had been in place before September 2023. From January 2024 GoSafe will begin enforcing the new default 20mph speed limit as it rolls out Operation Ugain across Wales.” It so happened the First Minister was giving a press conference that day so naturally lots of the questions were about 20mph.

Mark Drakeford reiterated that the speed limit will save lives and he also says it is right there will be a review of the new measure. When I asked him if every sign and every camera was in place and every police force was now able to issue fines he named just two of Wales’ police forces and said one was ready and the other “would be”. So I asked the Welsh Government press officer if Mr Drakeford had accidentally missed Gwent Police and Dyfed-Powys Police off.

They weren’t able to answer and, you guessed it, sent me to GoSafe.

They’d already been asked: “What date do you expect there to be full enforcement including all cameras working and teams operational in the whole of Wales?” and a nag after the confusion of the morning’s press conference resulted in this answer to that question. “Enforcement can only be conducted at the discretion of the chief constable of each force. GoSafe, in conjunction with the four police forces in Wales, will issue a statement ahead of wider enforcement taking place.

This should be the first point of call for accurate information, along with our website,” they said. I’d also asked them if it was correct what the First Minister had said (even if it was in the way only a politician could) that he had “no reason to believe” signs and cameras were not in place. I asked because that seemed a very big jump from information we’d been given until now.

Again the Welsh Government press office sent me to GoSafe who said: “There are no fixed cameras currently live in 20mph areas.” Four months ago it was said enforcement thresholds would be raised to 26mph “while the public get used to the change”. Given the First Minister said on Monday people have now had the time to get used to it, hence why enforcement was (apparently) beginning, you might think that threshold would go back to the standard 24mph.

But no – it currently remains at the higher 26mph level. To get the answer to whether anyone has taken up the offer via Operation Ugain for education over points I was referred to Wales’ three fire services – and so the cycle of questions starts again. There are many questions about this law.

The odd one of these queries (and no doubt numerous questions of colleagues elsewhere) being unanswerable could be forgiven but such confusion between the main interested parties is doing nothing to help anyone nor to quell the widespread public unrest about it. I am not the only person who has seen the 20mph signs which were spray-painted in the early days of protests which haven’t been repaired. If I were driving that road for the first time I could very well presume that spray paint was intentional and put my foot down and to see the gauge rise to 30mph.

I can tell you that people have come to visit me from England and asked what speed they should have driven at because they’ve sort of half-heard something about a speed limit but didn’t know any more. I can tell you the roads I have driven where I had absolutely no idea what the speed limit was but that seeing streetlights (and a fixed camera) I dropped to 20mph just in case. I can tell you that despite knowing all I know, and having written as many words as I have on this law, and discussed it for hours at end with the very people who should know it best, that I am no more qualified than you to know what would happen right now if I were stopped by a police officer speeding in a 20mph zone.

I am no wiser, despite questioning the man in charge of our country, his press office, the four Welsh police forces, and the press office who deal with enforcement whether all four police forces in Wales are yet enforcing the 20mph speed limit and what they class as enforcement and when they will consider it okay to drive at 26mph rather than 24mph.

But I can tell you the First Minister says that “genuine confusion” should be enough to get me off a ticket [7] if I do get caught, which is one good thing, because genuine confusion is something I could honestly claim.

References

^ Mark Drakeford says ‘genuinely confused’ drivers shouldn’t be fined for breaking 20mph law (www.walesonline.co.uk)
^ New poll shows true strength of feeling towards 20mph law (www.walesonline.co.uk)
^ here. (www.walesonline.co.uk)
^ saying enforcement would start on January 8. (www.walesonline.co.uk)
^ Where it’s going to snow in Wales according to the Met Office (www.walesonline.co.uk)
^ Two bakeries close as ‘crippling’ energy costs multiply by five (www.walesonline.co.uk)
^ the First Minister says that “genuine confusion” should be enough to get me off a ticket (www.walesonline.co.uk)