20mph default speed limit to be enforced on more Welsh roads

The 20mph default speed limit will be enforced on 20mph roads across Wales.

GoSafe, which operates speed cameras across the country, has confirmed it will increase monitoring from Monday, with 15 additional cameras.

Stronger enforcement will come in on any roads where there is evidence of safety risks.

Following the introduction of the controversial measure in September last year, there had been a pause on enforcing speed limits on newly assigned 20mph roads.

But six months on from the law change, 15 cameras will begin to monitor roads in locations including Anglesey, Penarth, Rhoose and Llanybydder.

Speeding drivers will be stopped when they are caught going 26mph or above, which is higher than the usual enforcement threshold. The increase by Chief Police Officers is in place while the public get used to a lower speed limit on many roads.

Drivers will be spoken to and given the option of watching a presentation, rather than being fined or prosecuted which is part of GoSafe's Operation Ugain which prioritises engagement over enforcement.

According to the Welsh Government, just nine people have so far opted for a prosecution rather than watching the presentation - which takes about ten minutes - in the two months Operation Ugain has been running.

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Of the nearly 25,000 drivers monitored by GoSafe in recent months, 97% were not driving above 25mph, according to statistics released by the organisation.

Assistant Chief Constable Trudi Meyrick, roads policing lead for Wales said: "Introducing enforcement in new 20mph areas is the next step of our engagement-led approach. We have continued to review driver behaviour and the response to the change in default speed limit, whilst engaging with communities across Wales with Operation Ugain.

“Enforcement will be used proportionately and fairly. We’ll continue to engage with people across Wales and we’re confident that a proportionate level of enforcement can now be used to keep us moving towards achieving safer roads.”

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