New 20 MPH speed limit to also apply to bikes in Southwark

Much rather a speed bump/cushion over them weird narrowed sections of road with a sign that as a cyclist is pure terror as I know it's counterpart on the other side is being ignored.

I have those on my street as well ... :(

That is where you can completely take over the lane to make it clear to the incoming driver that you have priority.

Staying close to the kerbs will encourage them to ignore the sign.

Vertical deflection features used to be quite effective and were associated with large decreases in crashes. They are said to have saved lives. However, I'm sure that their increasing proliferation was a factor in greatly improved suspension in cars, and you now rarely see people having to slow down for them.

(There are exceptions; an engineer told me once that early on when there wasn't a spec for humps yet, they were told to just make them as high as the kerb next to them, which resulted in a lot of humps that are now way beyond the spec that was introduced later. Many of them still exist and I have seen even 4x4 drivers slowing down for them.)

i think southwark going to 20 mph is great news. It will save lives, improve the environment, encourage cycling and walking and reduce noise pollution.

i would much prefer to live in a 20 mph area than 30 mph. i do hope my borough goes to 20 mph.

southwark council should be applauded.

i do not think riding my bike below 20 mph in southwark and other built up areas is a problem for me. safety first and all that.

particularly when one thinks that the 20 mph speed limit is saving lives and serious injuries.

once again hurrah for southwark council.

hey dammit,

thanks for posting this thread.

i needed some good news.

cheers.

southwark council should be applauded.

once again hurrah for southwark council.

FYI Southwark have an incredibly weird view/perspective on safety when it comes to cyclists and cycling safety so let's not get too cock-a-hoop, eh?

Vertical deflection features used to be quite effective and were associated with large decreases in crashes. They are said to have saved lives. However, I'm sure that their increasing proliferation was a factor in greatly improved suspension in cars, and you now rarely see people having to slow down for them.

I'm not sure suspension has improved that much. Most BMWs and Audis have appalling ride comfort and the suspension is as hard as hell so they can be ragged round corners. An old car with comfy bouncy suspension wipes the floor with them when it comes to speedbumps.

What it is responsible for is for changing the default city car from a small economical supermini to a fucking great dirty 4x4 with lots of suspension travel.

It's not so much about ride comfort but about the ability of going over humps without slowing down. A car with much softer suspension will be more likely to hit the hump if going over it faster, even if at slower speeds it will probably be more comfortable. Obviously, it depends on what you prefer in your suspension, and the shorter travel of newer suspension will undoubtedly not be to everybody's taste. You're obviously right that a lot of the adaptation has been in the form of 4x4 proliferation, but there are of course also other reasons why people want those.

Try taking a speed-bump at a decent pace* in a 2CV. You could air over the fuckers the suspension was so squishy.

*getting a 2CV to a decent pace may be more difficult.

You could take them at 40 in a Citroen CX.

Is it time yet to have the discussion about the 20 speed limit being an absolute fucking joke? If the police bothered to enforce it about 80% of motorists in London would be bankrupt from the fines.

I think the 20mph is really designed to stop people going over 30mph.

If you have a 20mph limit and most people go 25-26mph that's loads better than a 30mph limit and lots doing 33-34.

But bikes don't have speedometers?

There is the odd 20 mph speed camera in London. Old street and New North Road spring to mind.

But you are right, the met police have openly stated they won't/ can't enforce it. The speeding fine guidelines kind of endorse what scrabble posted.

From what I've seen even the cameras on 20mph roads are set as tho it had a 30mph limit triggering at 36mph rather than 24mph.

I live in Southwark and always drive at 20 in the correct zones. I have lost count of the number of people who accelerate to overtake me on residential roads over speedbumps. I also frequently have fuckwits who use my residential street (between two school campuses) as a 40-50mph drag strip.

Yesterday at a local closed road street party, quite a few cyclists chose to cycle through the party in and around people and children instead of taking a small detour or getting off and walking through the closed road event.

People are selfish cunts and their chosen mode of transport has nothing to do with it.

if you ever do a sportive you'll find that cyclists are bigger cunts

jk

But bikes don't have speedometers?

Cars don't have breathalysers, but drink driving above a certain limit is still illegal.

Stuart Road?

This thread was asleep for 4 years... what changed today?

Regularly get people beeping and flashing lights in frustration behind me when I'm driving through 20mph zones at 20mph.

I now have a big car... so I enjoy being able to set the speed limiter to 20mph and know that there's no chance a car is going to be able to squeeze by me. Also, there's something about driving a Volvo, people just seem to accept you're going to be driving like an old person.

Someone got killed on their bike on a side street round the corner from me. The same set of side streets where cars regularly roar past, swerving round speed bumps, at 35-40.

I'm currently learning to drive and I would say most lessons I get someone overtake me in a 20 zone as I'm sat dead on 20mph. More than once they misjudge a traffic island or traffic light and have to brake/serve quickly.

It's one thing to drive a bit over (24-25mph ish) but you have to be a complete dickhead to 2nd gear redline your BMW/Delivery van to overtake someone on a narrow residential street