Infrastructure Minister hints Jersey's island-wide speed limit could be lowered to 30mph
Deputy Tom Binet told Scrutiny an 'island-wide' limit of 30mph would simplify Jersey's road rules
Jersey's Infrastructure Minister has revealed the island-wide speed limit could be reduced to just 30mph, in an attempt to make road restrictions less confusing.
While the UK's national speed limit is 70mph, on the 9x5-mile Channel Island, vehicles cannot legally travel faster than 40mph.
But now Deputy Tom Binet has told a Scrutiny panel the government is considering reducing the limit further.
He says a raft of recent changes to lower speed limits has led to discussions within Broad Street about capping Jersey's speed limit at 30mph.
The Infrastructure Minister said: "Of all the correspondence I get, [queries about speed limits] make up the highest volume.
"People, on the one hand, moaning about not wanting to see any more reductions, and other people telling me in every corner of the island, there's an 'accident waiting to happen' when you get to higher speed limits. There's a really big tension."
He added: "It is becoming confusing because everywhere you go, [what was a 40] is now a 30, [what was a 30] is now a 20.
"Earlier this morning, we had a discussion about the possibility - and it is just a possibility - [of adopting 30mph as the standard speed limit].
"Because we've got so many 30mph zones, are we at the stage where we should have a 30mph limit? - possibly with areas where you can do 40mph - so you don't have to have increasing numbers of 30mph signs everywhere."
Deputy Binet summarised: "It is a complex issue. Whatever else we do, we've got to put safety at the forefront... sadly, if that means people have to drive a little bit more slowly, so be it."
Officers have been considering the reduction in speed limits as a means of "re-educating" drivers as it is not possible to enforce every speed limit at all times.
The Minister went on to say: "We're changing speed limits continually. It does become more complex as you're driving around - you're never quite sure whether you should be doing 20, 30 or 40mph.
"So, there is a possibility that an all-island speed limit of 30mph might make it more simple."
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