A man has said he won't come to Wales because it is "too risky" due to the 20mph default speed limit - sparking some hilarious responses. David Brown, from Leamington Spa, wrote to the Western Mail newspaper to inform the people of Wales that after years of coming to the country on holiday, he would no longer be doing so, reports WalesOnline.
It follows the rollout of the new default 20mph speed limit in Wales, which has sparked controversy. The Welsh Government recently confirmed enforcement would start in December following a "grace period".
Writing to the Western Mail, Mr Brown said: "Though of Welsh heritage, I live in the English Midlands. For many years my wife and I have enjoyed many holidays in Wales, usually staying in hotels but sometimes a rented cottage. Being now retired we are able to take several breaks each year and travel as late as November.
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"Sadly we have decided to call a stop to our Welsh breaks as we are not prepared to risk a large fine and three penalty points for accidently doing 22mph in a built up area. It looks as if Wales' loss will be Devon's gain. I might add that several of our acquaintances all feel the same. We will really miss Wales."
Based on the responses, it seems that many people think that it is in fact Wales which gaining from his absence. Commenting on the article, dks12 15 poked fun at the idea that speed limits would impact a person's holiday choice.
He said: "I always check the speed limit of a country before I decide if I go on holiday there. In fact, it's the most important thing about my get away."
DaiDaps 15 pointed out that Wales is far from the only place that has 20mph speed limits. He pointed to a quote from Cornwall County Council which said: “Cornwall is one of the first rural areas to reduce speed limits from 30mph to 20mph in built up areas. This will make roads safer for everyone". He added: "These poor souls are going to run out of places to go on holiday."
He then pointed out that the county Mr Brown lives in is actually bringing in a 20mph limit itself. He said: "Warwickshire council announced plans to in introduce a 20mph speed limit in his home town of Leamington Spa earlier in 2023.
"I wonder why he decided to write to WoL rather than his local paper. I’m sure he’ll have a lovely time in Devon - as long as he doesn’t read the reports in Devon Live about their 20mph proposals."
David Worthington responded to the article on Twitter saying: "22 million people in England live in 20mph zones - very many people in Scotland too. All over mainland Europe they have 30kph limits (and 20kph where there is heavy pedestrian traffic) - guess he's going to have to take up residence in a motorway services somewhere."
David Walters pointed to other issues that have led to people saying that tourists would stop coming. He said: "They're not coming because of 20mph, they're not coming because of tourist tax, they're not coming because of confusing road signs. They're not coming because of the ban on them hitting their kids. By my reckoning they should have stopped coming years ago."
Last month, Wales' police chief constables confirmed the speed that they will prosecute drivers for speeding in 20mph zones. On their website, GoSafe, which is a Wales' road casualty reduction partnership, said: "GoSafe apply the NPCC guidelines which outline the enforcement thresholds of not less than 10% plus 2mph. While the public get used to the change in default limit, Chief Police Officers have allowed us to increase this to 10% plus 4mph in 20mph only, meaning we start to prosecute at 26mph in a 20mph limit."
The Welsh Government say the new default speed limit will prevent up to 20,000 casualties in Wales over the next decade. It also estimates the new policy could save the economy up to £92m a year by reducing deaths and injuries on Wales’ roads.
However, a recent poll exclusive to WalesOnline shows there is huge opposition to the new 20mph speed limit in Wales. The new default speed limit was introduced in Wales a month ago and a new poll by Redfield & Wilton Strategies shows that there is still considerable scepticism among the Welsh public about the policy.
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