Life in 10mph Britain will see drivers, cyclists and even joggers risk being ticketed after a Labour Council imposed the ‘completely wrong’ low speed limit zone.
As London‘s war on drivers wages, cab drivers with almost two decades of experience are warning they may be forced to give up their jobs as Britain’s roads are no longer drivable.
And members of the public point to traffic calming measures such as low speed limits, speed bumps and increasing pedestrianisation as proof vehicle owners are being driven off the streets.
It comes after Islington Council, run by Labour, introduced a new ‘temporary’ 10mph speed limit on a street in north London, sparking backlash from drivers, cyclists and pedestrians alike.
When the Mail visited St John’s Street, just north of the historic Smithfield market, with a speed gun our reporter found not a single vehicle stuck to the 10mph restriction.
Cars passed at speeds of up to 26mph, meaning at more than double the limit their drivers could face losing their licence altogether if caught.
Meanwhile cyclists were easily in excess of 10mph too, with some reaching 18mph.
And even a jogger who passed by on the pavement was recorded at 12mph, demonstrating the low, low speed council bosses are attempting to enforce.
When the Mail visited St John’s Street, just north of the historic Smithfield market, with a speed gun vehicles passed at speeds well in excess of the 10mph limit – with one van recording 26mph
The Mail found that not a single vehicle that passed by stuck to the 10mph speed limit
Speaking to the Mail this week, cab driver Jahid Cahit, 68, said: ’10mph is very bad. Walking is better.
‘It’s the speed limit not just here, it’s across the country. The limit is 20mph, plus traffic, and 90 percent of roads have speed bumps. We can’t drive already, but bicycles can do 25, 30.
‘Yet when drivers pass a speed camera we get a penalty ticket. I’ve paid two tickets, £240 each time. Maybe this year will be my last year in this job.’
The taxi driver of 18 years added: ‘When the speed limit was 30mph in this country I don’t remember any driver accidents, I never saw any.
‘Plus we now have bicycle lanes. When we were not separated we could go at 35mph, now we are and the speed has dropped to 20mph.
‘I know why it is – soon the plan is for us all to have no drivers, for self-driving cars.’
Fellow cab driver Noor Yaghob, 45, said: ‘If the reason is because of the roadworks it’s fine. If it’s not, if it carries on after I think it’s completely wrong.
‘Recently because there’s a lot of work going on here and there are a lot of people moving about. It used to be a wider road and now because of the works it’s so narrow. I think it’s justified under the circumstances.
As London ‘s war on drivers wages, cab drivers with almost two decades of experience are warning they may be forced to give up their jobs as Britain’s roads are no longer drivable
Cab driver Jahid Cahit, 68, said he could be forced to quit his job as a minicab driver after 18 years due to lower speed limits and traffic calming measures
Ryan, 24, who walks down St John’s Street on his way to work, said the new 10mph limit ‘helps nobody’
‘I’m a minicab driver. So when I look at it I want to [drive] faster, but you have to follow the speed limit.’
Ryan, 24, who works in the city close to St John’s Street, accused the council of ‘half-pedestrianising’ the road by introducing the new speed limit, and failing to tackle the underlying problems.
‘It feels like they’ve half-pedestrianised the road. They should either fully pedestrianise it and not have cars coming down or not.
‘You see people outside pubs standing in the street, on a Friday night there are loads of people standing in the street. You can’t actually walk down the pavement.
‘But half-hearting, going, oh we should pedestrianise things, the 10mph limit just feels like a halfway house and it’s not helping anyone.’
The Labour-run authority said the limit will only apply while roadworks, which are expected to last for six months, are in place.
But locals told the Mail they were concerned the speed limit would continue indefinitely after the council took the unusual step of painting it onto the road surface, rather than using signs.
Roadworks in the area are ongoing to improve the experience of pedestrians and cyclists.
Cab driver Noor Yaghob said he could understand the limit while works are going on, but that it would be ‘completely wrong’ for the council to keep it in place afterwards
Black cabs passed the Mail’s reporter at 20mph, double the speed limit imposed by Islington Council
The Mail recorded cyclists passing at almost 20mph, well above the temporary speed limit
Islington Council told the Mail the 10mph limit will only last as long as the roadworks do – but drivers seemed unaware it was even in place
Among the changes being made is the introduction of a new southbound cycle lane.
It is not unusual for temporary speed limits of 10mph to be introduced during roadworks, but these are usually during resurfacing periods and last just a few days.
Driving charity the Road Safety Foundation told the Mail they are unaware of any public roads with permanent 10mph limits.
This week motorists told how sticking to the 10mph limit was all but impossible because it left vehicles stalling.
Local resident Phil Cudlipp, 68, said he already struggles to ride his Harley-Davidson at 20mph, let alone 10mph.
He said: ‘I walk everywhere now – there’s nowhere to park my bike nine times out of ten.
‘With all these restrictions, it’s just not a viable option. If I was going long distance it’d be fine.
‘If it was 30 in the past, why isn’t it still the same? It don’t add up to me.
‘At 10 mph, straight away people are going to be going slower, so they’re going to pile up behind each other.
‘At traffic lights there’ll be a lot more people sitting there and that means there’s a lot more cars ticking over going nowhere.’
Councillor Rowena Champion, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Air Quality and Transport, said: ‘The works at St John Street require temporary narrowing of the carriageway.
‘During this time, in order to keep local people and road users safe, we have put in place a temporary 10mph speed restriction. This restriction will be removed on completion of the works at the site.
‘We continue to work with local residents and businesses to ensure that access to all addresses and businesses is maintained throughout the works, and disruption is kept to a minimum.’
