Areas with 20mph speed limits cut road casualties by more than 40 per cent, a study has found.
The report by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (no, we can't work out what tropical diseases have to do with road deaths either) has found that, after adjusting for a general reduction in road injuries, the use of 20mph zones uin urban areas cut casualties by 41.9 per cent.
The data, which compared road collisions, injuries and deaths in London between 1986 and 2006 with speed limits on roads, also showed that the biggest drop in casualties came from children below the age of 11.
Study leader Chris Grundy says that the report backs up the government's plans to introduce blanket 20mph zones for residential areas in some London boroughs.
"This evidence supports the rationale for 20mph zones, not just in major cities in Britain, but also in similar metropolitan areas elsewhere," says Grundy. "Indeed, even within London there is a case for extending the currently limited provision of such zones to other high casualty roads."