Speed limit cut unlikely on busy Totnes road

Councillor wants 60mph limit cut by half

Campaigners calling for the speed limit to be reduced on a busy stretch of road on the outskirts of Totnes look likely to be disappointed.

They want speed cut to 30 mph on the A381 as it leaves Totnes heading towards Ipplepen and Newton Abbot. The stretch past a group of houses known as The Bourtons is currently 60mph, as it is a derestricted single carriageway road.

The issue will come before a meeting of the South Hams highways and traffic orders committee next week.

A report to the meeting says a local councillor has made the request, but officers say the proposed reduction would go against national guidance as well as its own policies.

The request is to extend the 30mph limit, or introduce a 40mph limit, from the bridge over the river at the bottom of the hill to a point just past The Bourtons. The stretch of road includes a storage site, a farm and the main entrance to a large water treatment plant.

But the report points out that there is no significant history of speed-related injury crashes on this stretch of road, which is straight and has good visibility.

“Introducing speed limits where there is little or no development visible to the driver will usually lead to the speed limit being disregarded, which in turn could place an unrealistic demand for enforcement on the police,” the report adds.

“The introduction of inappropriately low speed limits can also introduce a false expectation of low vehicle speeds to pedestrians and other vulnerable road users, who may take less care when crossing or using the road.”

Officers say they have no plans to change the speed limit on the road.