A charity, a Road Safety Foundation, is proposing 10mph speed limits – seriously?!
Sometimes the news hits you with something so utterly ridiculous, so mind-meltingly daft, you can’t ignore it. So here we are. Hold onto your steering wheels. Because apparently, 20mph wasn’t slow enough – now they want to cut urban speed limits to 10mph. Yes, TEN. And no, check the date below, this is not an April Fool’s Day post.
Who’s Behind This Madness?
The call comes from the Road Safety Foundation (RSF), a well-meaning charity, no doubt, but clearly with a bit too much time on their hands and not enough real-world driving experience. They’ve proposed a blanket 10mph speed limit in cities, especially around schools, hospitals, and – wait for it – “sporting, social and cultural venues.” Whatever that means.
Next time you’re nipping past your local kebab shop at 9pm, better slow down – wouldn’t want to disrupt the cultural vibe, eh?
10mph – Slower Than Walking
Let’s be honest. 10mph, c’mon – that’s walking speed isn’t it? I’m not even joking – Yusuke Suzuki, the current fast-walking record holder can achieve 9.7mph! Most people can in fact run faster than 10mph.
Soon we’ll have toddlers on trikes outpacing Lamborghinis on city roads! A 10mph speed limit so low, it makes the 20mph zones look like the Autobahn. And we all know how well those have gone down, especially in places like Wales where entire towns have been brought to a crawl.
Here in London, I often find myself trundling along empty roads late at night, doing 20mph because I have to – and it already feels painfully slow. Drop that to 10mph and you might as well get out and push.
Where Does It End?
This is exactly the slippery slope I warned about before. First it’s 30, then 20, now 10. What next? 5mph? Or how about the full Victorian throwback – yep, a man walking in front of your car with a red flag, to warn pedestrians?
We’re not just going backwards – we’re moonwalking into madness. It’s as if the ultimate plan is to kill driving altogether, one absurd restriction at a time.
But What About Safety?
Look, no one’s saying safety isn’t important. Of course we want to protect kids, pedestrians, vulnerable road users. But how about some common sense? Modern cars are loaded with active and passive safety tech, emergency braking, pedestrian detection, and crash mitigation. They’re safer than ever.
And while the RSF loves to quote “Vision Zero” – the noble but frankly unrealistic aim of zero road deaths – we need to get real. Accidents will always happen. That doesn’t mean we punish all drivers all the time for the possibility.
Stop Blaming Drivers for Everything
There’s also a worrying trend here: the relentless demonisation of motorists. Everything is the driver’s fault. Speeding, pollution, road deaths, potholes, congestion – you name it.
When I was a kid, we were taught the Green Cross Code. Pavements were for people, roads were for cars. Simple. Now, it feels like drivers are expected to be clairvoyants, psychics and saints, navigating a world full of mixed messages, contradictory signage and arbitrary limits.
The Real World Isn’t a Laboratory
The RSF loves to quote physics and biology – fine. But try driving in real cities, real streets, real traffic. You’ll soon realise that blanket policies don’t work. Drivers adjust naturally to conditions. If the road is tight, winding, poorly lit – they slow down. That’s called judgement. Something we’re rapidly legislating out of existence.
In fact, there are European towns that removed signs and lights entirely, trusting people to negotiate public space. And it worked – fewer accidents, better flow, more awareness.
So maybe we don’t need more rules. We need better thinking.
Final Thoughts – Is This a Joke?
No, unfortunately, it’s not. But it should be. Because 10mph speed limits in cities are a joke, a costly, frustrating, regressive joke that’s slowly killing not just driving, but car culture, the automotive industry, and any sense of freedom on the road.
We’re being nudged out of our cars. One regulation, one limit, one policy at a time.
If you agree – or even if you don’t – drop your thoughts in the comments. Let’s keep this conversation rolling at more than 10mph, yeah?
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