Unrealistic and unnecessary limit
Greg Collins (letters February 7) makes some interesting arguments for lowering our urban speed limit but I am afraid his ‘20’s Plenty for Horsham’ campaign is not one that I am persuaded to support.
There are indeed lots of roads in Horsham, particularly our narrower residential streets with on-street parking, where 20 is certainly plenty.
But there are also roads with no parking, broad verges and excellent sight-lines where driving at 30mph is, for the most part, entirely safe and reasonable.
It is every driver’s responsibility to drive with consideration for other road users and pedestrians. That means driving defensively so as to be ready for the unexpected.
What constitutes a ‘safe’ speed on any particular road depends on many factors, not just location and configuration but also time of day and prevailing weather conditions.
To blanket the whole of Horsham with a 20mph limit would, in my view, be greatly resented by the majority of responsible drivers and widely ignored by the inconsiderate minority.
Mr Collins states that ‘anyone driving, cycling or walking around Horsham will routinely see drivers committing offences’ and goes on to list a number of examples.
He may well be right but Sussex Police’s Operation Crackdown invites all of us who witness anti-social driving behaviour to report it.
If more of us took that opportunity the change of culture and behaviour that Mr Collins wishes to promote might be more readily achieved than by a universal 20mph speed limit which, on many town roads, would be both unrealistic and unnecessary.
BOB HOOPER
Stoneybrook, Horsham
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Tuesday 21 May 2013
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