26 October 2009
The Minister for Transport and Technical Services has published a report which has reviewed the speed limit policy on the Island. This report was compiled by a Working Group set up by the Minister and chaired by the Connétable of St John, Graeme Butcher. The other members were the Connétable of St Saviour, Peter Hanning and Deputies Ben Fox and Kevin Lewis.
The review was agreed by the States in December last year following a Report and Proposition of Deputy Gorst which asked that the current speed limit policy be reviewed.
The Minister for TTS, Constable Mike Jackson said “I’m delighted to be able to present this report to the States. The Working Group has done a really thorough job which included a questionnaire, a public meeting as well as specific meetings with the Police and the Chefs de Police of all the Parishes.”
The main recommendation of the report is that a simplified structure for speed limits is introduced with a maximum for cars remaining at 40mph, built up areas and all roads with no centre white line to be 30mph and Green Lanes, housing estates, distinct residential areas and part-time at schools will be 20mph. The report also suggests that the definition of a built-up area should have regard to the built-up areas specified in the current Island Plan and that an Appeals Panel should deliberate if a Connétable or the Police does not agree with the decision of the TTS Minister. The proposed change in policy relating to a 30 mph limit on roads with no centre white line does rely on this being implemented through a law change and the Law Officers Department is currently considering the feasibility of this.
The TTS Minister continued “The Group felt that the speed in Green Lanes is too slow and this was supported by the responses from the public as 67% wanted the speed increased. There has also been some confusion as to what is a built-up area and I think linking this to the Island Plan is a good solution and it will mean that some current 40mph areas will become 30mph.”
The Minister has also agreed to fund one electronic speed indicator sign – usually called a ‘smiley/grumpy’ sign because some have faces to show whether a driver is below or above the limit in an area – for each Parish from the Community Safety Grants Fund. Some Parishes, such as St John, are already using these signs not only to warn drivers of their speed but also to collect valuable information regarding the speed on vehicles in a particular area. This can then be used to target surveillance.
The Chairman of the Working Group, Connétable Graeme Butcher said “The Group was really grateful to the public for responding to the questionnaire or writing to us with their comments as well as those who came to the public meeting. We had over 800 questionnaires either completed on line or sent in which is just fantastic and I’d like to thank everyone who contributed. The public also made lots of comments about the enforcement of speed limits and we have made recommendations suggesting that a penalty points system, adapted for Jersey, should be considered as well as fixed penalty fines for admitted offences. The public also told us that they supported the reintroduction of the police motorcycle unit to provide a deterrent to speeding drivers. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the members of the panel and officers at T & T S for their hard work and support”
The report of the Working Group will be presented to the States as a Report as will the summary of responses to the consultation exercise. The public will be able to view these online at the
States Assembly website or purchase a copy from the States Greffe Bookshop.
gov.je