Cornwall County Council is being reminded that signs alone may not deliver the desired benefits of a proposed blanket 20 mile per hour speed limit across all eligible residential roads in the county.

As a strong supporter of the ‘20’s Plenty’ and ‘Vision Zero’ campaigns, Timo Thornton, an Account Manager at Jenoptik, is delighted with the news that Cornwall’s Conservative administration is planning to press ahead with a manifesto pledge to reduce speeds after pilot schemes in Falmouth, Penryn and Camelford were judged a success.  However, he cautions that drivers will not necessarily comply with new limits if they do not feel appropriate for the road.

Mr Thornton explained that a recent study by Queen’s University Belfast concluded that 20 mph limits had little impact on long-term outcomes on reducing collisions and casualties unless enforcement or engineering solutions were included in the overall project design.

“There are many engineering solutions to help achieve compliance with 20 mph limits, but we believe that a formal enforcement regime is the best way to lock in the benefits of 20 mph limits, particularly on busy through routes, without compromising traffic flow and safety.” commented Mr Thornton.  “Fortunately, many of these sorts of routes in Cornwall already have Jenoptik cameras installed, which are Home Office Type Approved for and can easily be switched over to 20 mph enforcement.”

Over the border in Plymouth Jenoptik introduced the country’s first average and spot speed camera enforcement network on a residential 20mph road (pictured) and not only has this identified hundreds of offenders who are now dissuaded from speeding because of fines and licence points, but it also has been warmly welcomed by residents who preferred it to speed humps which inconvenience law-abiding drivers.

Traditionally the thinking among traffic engineers and police is that 20 mph-limit roads should be managed using communications and interventions such as speed humps, pinch-points and traffic islands.  However, such interventions are often unpopular with residents and drivers alike, causing damage to vehicles and increased noise and pollution as cars brake and speed up for interventions or ‘thump-thump’ over speed humps.

(Picture – Jenoptik)