Proposed 20mph speed limits for trunk roads in Scotland

New lower speed limits could be introduced across trunk roads in Scotland. 

Five communities are set to benefit from proposals to deliver 20mph speed limit zones in their towns and villages.

The pilot areas have been chosen using selection criteria taking accident rates, vehicle speeds and traffic data into account.

The sites are:

• Maybole



• Largs



• Biggar



• Langholm



• Oban

A consultation process will now begin to develop more specific proposals for each location. This will involve discussions with the local authority, community groups and other stakeholders. It will also involve statutory consultation.

It is expected that the 20mph zones on the trunk roads will be largely self-enforcing with no need for traffic calming measures. Instead, the use of gateway treatments, signing and lining will reinforce the speed limit changes.

Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “The safety of the trunk road network is a priority for Transport Scotland and managing speed is an important part of our strategy. It is essential that speeds are appropriate to conditions and these pilot zones will help us establish the benefits of lowering speeds in towns villages where it is reasonable to do so.

“The five trials are being proposed that will seek to improve road safety generally, but we expect them to bring specific benefits for vulnerable road users, such as older people and cyclists. There have been a number of calls for lower speed limits and specifically 20mph limits and we have had to whittle these down to a number that will give us a meaningful overview of how this will work in a variety of locations.”

The 20mph zones could be in place by the spring or early summer.

More information is available on these proposals via the Transport Scotland website