13,500 drivers arrested in September

Another 13,500 drivers were caught speeding on 20mph roads in Wales last month.

The average speed for drivers to face enforcement action was just over 45km/h, but the highest speed reached was 135km/h in North Wales, according to the latest GoSafe data from September .

Around 43% of drivers caught take part in speed awareness courses.

Almost 25,000 vehicles were monitored in September and 95% were found to be driving at 40km/h or less, meaning they will not face action.

So far, since enforcement measures began, more than 52,000 drivers have been caught exceeding the speed limit of 42 km/h or higher.

Meanwhile, journeys are taking longer on most routes on 20mph roads in Wales, according to newly published analysis.

Transport for Wales said drivers typically face an additional two minutes to their journey time.

It also said there is now less variability in most journeys involving 20mph roads, meaning greater certainty about how long it will take.

A total of 60 monitoring points along 15 routes in Wales were analyzed between February and April, avoiding holiday periods and weekends.

These ranged from a 5 km (3.1 m) journey from Wrexham Maelor to Coedpoeth, to a 61 km (37.9 m) journey between Aberystwyth and Cardigan.

The data showed:

• An increase in average travel times at 55 of the 60 points monitored
• Almost all increased in less than two minutes and more than half in less than a minute
• The biggest change in journey time was an extra three minutes between Aberystwyth and Cardigan in the evening peak – but this was a considerably longer route than the others and the journey already took just over an hour.
• The biggest proportional increase was an additional 10% journey time between Blaenavon and Pontypool in the morning, from 14 and a half minutes to 16 minutes.
• At 50 of the 60 monitoring points, there was less variability in travel time than at the same points before the 20 mph policy went into effect.

The report confirmed previously published figures that 58% of vehicles were traveling at 39km/h or less and that average speeds had fallen by 7.8km/h on main roads from 32km/h since last September.

However, data on whether the new default speed limit – introduced just over a year ago – was having an impact on air quality was still inconclusive when readings of NO2, or nitrogen dioxide, were compared.