PACTS has submitted its response to the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure consultation on proposed changes to speed limits.
The response supports a stronger, evidence-led approach to speed management, with a clear focus on reducing death and serious injury across the road network. It reflects Safe System principles, recognising the central role of vehicle speed in both the likelihood and severity of collisions.
Vehicle speeds are a critical factor in road safety. Higher speeds reduce the time available for road users to react to hazards and increase the energy involved in a collision. Where people are walking, cycling or wheeling, lower speeds are particularly important in reducing harm.
In line with this evidence, PACTS supports the introduction of 20mph speed limits in residential areas and other built-up locations, particularly where there are high levels of pedestrian activity such as around schools, shopping streets and community spaces. International evidence shows that 20mph limits are an effective measure in reducing casualties, with Wales already demonstrating positive outcomes.
The response also supports reducing speed limits on higher speed roads. PACTS strongly supports a reduction in the national speed limit on rural single carriageway roads from 60mph to 50mph. It also supports a reduction on dual carriageways from 70mph to 60mph where the infrastructure would not support the survivability of people travelling at those speeds if they were involved in a collision. These changes would reduce injury severity and improve safety across the network.
PACTS does not support proposals to increase HGV speed limits on rural roads. The mass and speed of heavy goods vehicles mean that higher speeds would significantly increase collision severity and risk of harm to other road users.
As noted in the consultation evidence, lower speed limits are consistently associated with reductions in collisions, fatalities and injury severity. This review presents the prospect of delivering meaningful safety improvements across Northern Ireland’s road network.
PACTS welcomes the opportunity for discussion which this consultation has opened. Consideration of residential, rural and dual carriageway roads reflects the functional hierarchy of roads. This is important because roads are used in different ways, by different users and provide different levels of survivability if a collision were to occur. The speed limits which are set should reflect this variability.
