New 20mph zones show drivers have slowed down
BBCA study of eight areas where 20mph zones have been introduced has found drivers were breaking the new speed limits but were travelling more slowly.
Cambridgeshire County Council said lower speeds were "statistically significant" in eight villages and towns where speed signs have been in place for at least 18 months.
The authority has set aside £150,000 per year for new 20mph schemes, with 25 already in place and 29 being planned.
A report being presented to councillors on 1 September said: "All eight locations recorded statistically significant reductions in average speeds."
It said early evidence on collisions was "encouraging but remains inconclusive" due to the low numbers involved and the short monitoring period.
The eight areas studied were Cambourne, Histon, Ely, Great Abington, Fowlmere, Ramsey, St Neots and Great Staughton.
The study looked at speed data for one year before the schemes were introduced and one year after, pointing out that three years of data is recommended for data on collisions.
Fowlmere had one of the biggest reductions in speed – at 15% – although drivers were still averaging 26.3mph once the scheme was in place.
In Great Staughton, drivers were still averaging 26.6mph despite a 13% reduction.
The data used a telematics database to gather the speed data, which is based on sensors in cars and anonymised, as well as police road traffic collision records.
The report said wide, straight sections of road in both villages, where there was little on-street parking, meant "lower speeds [were] not naturally encouraged".
St Neots saw the smallest reduction, with average speeds falling 6% to 21.1mph.
It was also the only area in the study to record more collisions than the previous year, at 29%, but the report said there was not enough data to draw conclusions from this.
The council said it would look at the impact on more areas once the schemes have been in place for long enough to gather the data.
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