At the weekend, Wales introduced a blanket 20mph speed limit on its residential roads – but could it happen here too?

According to one driving association, it fears the widespread reduction in limits is being conducted “by stealth” and that it may only be a matter of time before Kent – and England – see all residential streets with 20mph signs.

It is certainly already a move gathering speed.

Last year, following a trial, Faversham rolled out a full 20mph zone in and around its town centre. Some 40 roads in Ashford made the switch too while Harrietsham, near Maidstone, has also adopted the limit as has various areas of Tonbridge.

Add to that the likes of Margate seafront and, just last week, agreement to see Cheriton High Street added to the ever-growing list. Transport for London has also been extending its roll-out of the traffic measure – with more streets in Bromley among them.

They are far from alone across the county.

It is fuelled by the likes of the UN General Assembly which has mandated 20mph as the right speed limit where people and motor vehicles mix.

But while many can see the benefit on roads, for example, on which schools are sited, not all embrace its broader expansion.

Hugh Bladon is one of the founding members of the Alliance for British Drivers. He told KentOnline: “The war on the motorist is reaching a crescendo.

“I suspect after the next election, when Labour get in, then it may well be they follow suit with what Wales has done and we'll have 20mph everywhere.

“Now it’s being done by stealth. It's just madness.

“All we want to do in this country is punish the motorist and make life as difficult and miserable as possible. Far better, surely, to get people to drive more carefully.”

It is open to debate as whether that particular horse has already bolted.

So just why is pulling the speed limit down from 30mph to 20mph so en vogue?

The Senedd – the devolved, Labour-run, Welsh government – voted in the plans to cut the speed limit last year with the new limits enforceable from Sunday morning.

Its argument for the move is in line with many other authorities – which include Kent County Council – as to the benefits.

A Welsh government spokesman explained: “The evidence from around the world is very clear – decreasing speeds will reduce collisions, save lives and reduce injuries – helping to improve quality of life and make our streets and local communities safer for all.”

The evidence from around the world is very clear – decreasing speeds will reduce collisions, save lives and reduce injuries

It points to a public health study which estimated a default 20mph speed limit could result – every year in Wales – in 40% fewer collisions, up to 10 lives saved and up to 2,000 fewer injuries.

It also wants to make streets safer for pedestrians, encourage more people to walk and cycle and reduce noise pollution.

The benefits – and implicated cost-saving for the NHS – are hard to argue against.

Kent County Council – the local authority responsible for all the county’s roads (with the exception of motorways and key trunk roads – such as the A2 or A20) echoes the comments as to its increasing use of 20mph zones.

A spokesman for KCC explained: “Managing the speed of traffic is essential to continue reducing the number of and severity of casualties on our roads.

“We have to make tough decisions on where to improve traffic and road safety in local areas.

“We look at the sites most in need of improvement first, which have got the support of the whole community.”

But there are issues which dropping the limit usher in. Quite aside from the obvious extension of journey times, there is the issue of enforcement.

Currently, there is a so-called “buffer zone” when it comes to speed cameras flashing or police pulling you over to issue a ticket.

It tends to be 10% plus 2mph. In other words, you need to be doing 35mph in a 30mph zone before you’re in danger of a fine and points.

However, that is currently under some debate too. A report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking has called on the government to scrap the buffer zone.

If the working assumption is that one can speed, to an extent, with impunity, this fosters a belief that traffic law does not need to be taken seriously

In a report this month, it said: “If the working assumption is that one can speed (to an extent) with impunity, this fosters a belief that traffic law does not need to be taken seriously.

“We hold the view that speed limits and their enforcement represent the foundation of road justice because speeding accounts for the lion’s share of offences committed on the roads.

“Public opinion is consistent with a firm line on speed enforcement: 82% of people think it is not safe to speed even slightly in residential streets, as compared with 8% who believe the opposite. We therefore recommend that tolerances in the enforcement of speeding be removed.”

Interestingly, it quotes evidence from 2021 which revealed more than 51% of cars and 52% of light commercial vehicles exceeded the 30mph limits.

All of which, may make adjusting to 20mph – which slows you to a “what gear” dilemma pace – a challenge.

Explains Mr Bladon: “It means anyone driving at 20mph will have their eyes glued to the speedometer when they should be looking around and seeing what is happening around them. It's completely nonsensical.

“It's all very well saying if you hit someone at 30mph it's worse than if it was 20mph - our philosophy is let's not hit them in the first place. You should be driving properly and paying attention.”