Alan_uk
A2OC Donor
it appears that Bath now has a large proportion of it's road limited to 20 mph including the main roads. OK in busy times 20 is the most you can do but the driving tends to be stop/start. In the evenings and Sundays it's frustrating and the car hates it. As you found, 20 often means 2nd gear. And again there are long stretches in the suburbs without any housing.They made the whole of our village a 20mph zone earlier in the year, including a long open stretch of road on the approach to the village. I can just maintain 20 in 3rd gear but it does not really like it. At 20 mph I feel I lose concentration and recon it is actually more dangerous.
I have a wife who is getting mobility problems and public transport is not so easy and is much reduced in the evenings and Sunday.
I think the reason for 20 limit is to limit the injuries to pedestrians and to keep speeds below an actual 25-30, whereas a 30 limit means many are doing 35 or so. [I have seen mobile speed cameras in Bath, I expect they are making quite a lot of money now!]