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'Stronger enforcement' needed in 20mph zones

BBC A 20mph speed limit road sign in front of a brick and sandstone houses in DumfriesBBC
A 20mph speed limit is being rolled out in towns and villages across Dumfries and Galloway

A council has been told by the public that stronger enforcement is needed if 20mph speed limits introduced in its towns are to be effective.

A report to the local authority in Dumfries and Galloway said compliance was the most common area of concern among all road user groups.

It said driver interviews and focus groups had found the lack of consequences for speeding had been identified as the "primary reason" for ignoring the limits.

The council said that while it took the approach that the limits should be "self-explaining" and "self-enforcing" it would monitor driver behaviour and consider options to tackle any speeding issues found.

A programme to put 20mph limits in place at all of the region's schools was completed in April last year.

An agreed community programme has also been progressing across 17 of the area's largest communities.

By March this year a permanent order had been put in place in Dumfries town centre with temporary ones in Stranraer, Annan, Lockerbie and Langholm.

The next schemes for roll out are in Locharbriggs and Heathhall, Dalbeattie, Castle Douglas, Newton Stewart/Minnigaff, Gretna and Kirkcudbright.

The report said that the national approach had been that successful 20mph limits were generally self-enforcing.

That means there should be no expectation on the police to provide additional enforcement - unless that had been specifically agreed.

Two speed signs - one for a 20mph and the other for a 30mph limit - outside a Dumfries pub
A permanent 20mph limit has been put in place in parts of Dumfries

However, it said that feedback from the public suggested more needed to be done in Dumfries and Galloway to ensure compliance.

The council said options would be considered including additional speed management measures, publicity campaigns or enforcement patrols.

It stressed that the local authority had no enforcement powers and would have to work with police to "implement appropriate measures for the benefit of all road users".

The council said it intended to carry on with the roll out of its 20mph to the 17 biggest towns and villages which it hoped would be completed by next year.

It added that by 2026/27 it hoped to complete the national programme to ensure "all appropriate roads" had a safer speed limit of 20mph.