Wales’s 20mph speed limit saves lives and money. So why has it become a culture-war battlefield? | Will Hayward
www.theguardian.com
In a world of online outrage, evidence is no longer enough – for a policy to work, politicians must explain it and stick by it, says Guardian columnist Will Hayward

I still can’t quite get over the fact that a scheme designed to save the lives of children became the latest culture war battlefield.

not even counting the long-term savings to the NHS from people taking up cycling or walking instead of driving, or the savings for many Welsh drivers caused by the reduction in their insurance premiums

Not sure if it belongs here but I thought it showed how hard it is to even change small things.

So why all the outrage? Well, it turns out that much of it was manufactured. In January of this year I did a little digging through four of the main Facebook groups opposing the change to 20mph in Wales. I found that in each case one of the admins was a Tory councillor from Sunderland who has, and this is hilarious, campaigned to have 20mph limits in parts of his home town.

Conservative politican scum baggery ?

Ultimately, the 20mph change was an attempt to rebalance the communities in which we live, so they are no longer dominated by cars. The policy aims to make our neighbourhoods more livable (20mph is three decibels lower than 30mph). It has a positive impact on particulate pollution because cars have to brake less. And it clearly saves lives.

  • BilboBargains@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    4 days ago

    It wasn’t that long ago that nobody drove cars to school. This is probably a complete non issue in places like the Netherlands. I was banned from bringing my daughter to school on a bike because they reckoned it was dangerous. The irony that cars were allowed past the gates but not bicycles was lost along the way. I kept doing it anyway because fuck cars.