End of the road for speed humps?

New proposals to allow local councils to bring in more 20mph speed-limit areas have been announced by the Government, without the need for traffic-calming measures such as speed humps.

Meanwhile, average speed cameras are to be introduced to some residential neighbourhoods after being approved by the Home Office. So far Camden, Southwark and Waltham Forest have signed up, although Portsmouth and Norwich are considering the system.

The cameras, known as Specs3, are linked together wirelessly and can track vehicles over an area of up to 15 miles. The plan is to place them at the entrances and exits to residential areas. Although they don't result in as many speeding tickets as the traditional Gatso cameras, they lower traffic casualties because the vast majority of drivers obey the limit when they are in operation.

Road Safety Minister Paul Clark said the Government was encouraging local councils to introduce 20mph schemes into residential streets and other roads where cycle and pedestrian traffic is high, such as around schools, shops and parks.

Previously, councils wanting to implement 20mph schemes on groups of roads have had to do so in ‘zones’ which required traffic calming measures such as speed humps. However, a trial in Portsmouth suggested it is possible to significantly reduce speeds on residential streets without speed humps or other traffic calming measures.