Fresh 20mph speed limit push to protect Fareham schoolchildren backed by mum whose son was killed

A Liberal Democrat motion to ask Hampshire County Council to reduce the speed limits of roads around schools to 20mph to protect children will now go to the next stage.

The motion made by Councillor David Wilshire (Lib Dem, Portchester Castle) at the Fareham Borough Council full council meeting (May 8) will go to the council overview and scrutiny for discussion.

Cllr Wilshire said he made the motion after parents in his ward had alerted him to “near misses” on roads outside schools, including Castle Primary and Portchester Community School. He said cars had left skid marks from heavy braking and parents were fearing for their children’s safety on a simple journey to school.

He said: “Across the borough, roads outside our schools are treated like shortcuts and racetracks.”

The motion said “20mph is plenty” and lowering driver speeds means safer streets, especially around schools where children are more vulnerable. It urges Hampshire County Council to prioritise reducing speed zones as a matter of public safety to protect children outside schools.

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The motion said reducing vehicle speeds during pick-up and drop-off times is important. A pedestrian hit at 30mph is seven times more likely to die than if hit at 20mph and crashes on 30mph roads account for more than half of all road casualties.

Slower speeds also result in 25 per cent less air pollution and 50 per cent less noise, it added.

During the meeting, the council officer read a letter from Kaz Moore whose son Ben Munday died after being hit by two cars crossing Southampton Road near Titchfield School in 2019.

Ms Moore said: “The drivers were not speeding and only going 30 to 40mph and that speed still killed my child. We must stop treating speed limits as targets. Almost 2,000 children are injured within 500 metres of their school each year.

“We need to remind drivers that speed kills, even at legal limits.”

Cllr Wilshire also launched an online petition to further the “20mph speed limit on school roads” campaign.