New research has suggested that 58% of people in the north of England support the implementation of a national 20mph limit. The research, carried out by Transport for the North (TfN) was undertaken to better understand public attitudes towards road safety and speed management. Between January and March 2025, more than 500 Northern residents were surveyed, says Road SafetyGB.

The results found that while 58% supported a national 20mph speed limit, just 28% opposed. The remaining 13% had no particular views.

In terms of those in favour, the figure rises to 82% among non-motorists and 74% among households with children under 18 years.

More generally, both motorists and non-motorists in the survey expressed concern about vehicles driving too fast in their local area. Many want to see measures taken to reduce excessive speeds, especially where there is a heightened risk of serious collisions. 

This is particularly the case in areas where there are schools, known collision hotspots and in areas heavily used by pedestrians.

The research found that:

• 78% of respondents are concerned about vehicles driving too fast in their local area
• 44% supported an increase in fixed speed cameras
• A majority favour reducing rural single carriageway speed limits from 60mph to 50mph (61%) or 40mph (55%)
• 67% support mandatory installation of Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) in new vehicles.

Transport for the North works with mayoral combined authorities, county combined authorities, local transport authorities and national partners to support transport improvements, unlocking sustainable and inclusive growth.

Rod King MBE, founder and chair of 20’s Plenty for Us, said:

“This report endorses the support we are seeing which builds on the consistent historical 70% support for 20mph for residential streets in the National Travel Attitudes Surveys. It shows that a clear majority believe that most urban/village roads should be 20mph.

“Of course there will be local authority exceptions to 20mph, but either by means of a national default (like Wales) or by facilitating and funding, like Scotland, 20mph should be set as that urban/village norm for England.

“It not only has an evidential impact on reducing casualties but also is a great foundation for so many active travel and public health initiatives.”

(Picture: Yay Images)