A petition calling for the default 20mph speed limit in Wales to be scrapped has reached over 50,000 signatures.

The petition on the Senedd‘s website claims the Welsh government has failed to produce “any convicing evidence” to support the policy which came into force on Sunday.

Petition organisers say the so-called “foolish idea” should be stopped.

The new default limit applies in residential and built-up areas where there are lots of people, according to the Welsh government.

Reducing the default speed limit will save lives and help build “safer communities”, the government says.

Wales‘s First Minister Mark Drakeford has said slower speeds will give people more confidence to cycle and walk around their local communities.

The government has previously pointed to Spain, where the default speed limit on roads with a single lane in each direction was reduced to 30km/h (18.6mph) in 2021.

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The country’s directorate-general for traffic said the risk of death in a road traffic collision was reduced on a road with a lower speed limit.

The Welsh Conservatives have said people had already “had enough” of the lower limit.

“For more than 45,000 people to sign a petition within 24 hours shows the extent of public outrage towards Labour‘s madcap policy,” said shadow transport minister Natasha Asghar.

Ms Asghar accused Labour and Plaid Cymru of having an “anti-worker, anti-road and anti-motorist agenda”.

“With this ludicrous policy forced on the people of Wales, Labour can still U-turn on this disastrous rollout and deliver what Wales wants by scrapping blanket 20mph zones across Wales,” she added.

The Welsh Conservatives lost a vote in the Senedd last week calling for the default speed limit to be axed.

Read more:
Why is the default limit changing to 20mph in Wales?
Welsh motorists urged to stop relying on sat navs
Drivers left confused over conflicting speed signs

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth accused the largest opposition party in the Senedd of “playing politics”, but admitted even those who were largely supportive of Labour’s policy in principle had “real concerns”.

Mr ap Iorwerth argued the policy should be reviewed after seeing how it works in practice.

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