Mr Loophole’ claims 20mph speed limits pose road safety and environmental concerns

Celebrity lawyer ‘Mr Loophole’ claims that the 20mph speed limit zones being rolled out across Britain are worse for road safety and the environment.

The legal expert, whose real name is Nick Freeman, claimed that the regulation does not take into account the design and technology of contemporary cars and instead advocates for 25 mph speed limits.

Mr Freeman stated that most modern cars are now automatic, meaning that even on the slightest decline, they are likely to exceed the 20mph limit because they are more liable to ‘free roll’. 

He also said that rather than relying on manual graduated gear changes to slow down and maintain a lower speed, automatic cars rely principally on brake pedals.

He cautioned that this makes drivers of modern automated cars more likely to obsess over their speedometer and less likely to pay attention to the traffic around them.

This news comes as London Mayor Sadiq Khan is making an accelerated push to ensure 137 miles (220km) of the capital’s road network will have a 20mph limit by 2024.

Camden, Hackney, Islington, and Tower Hamlets saw new limits on major roads launched in March amid his so-called ‘war on motorists’.

Later this year, work on more 20mph zones will begin in Lambeth, Greenwich, Lewisham, Ealing, Wandsworth, Southwark, Bromley, Merton, Chelsea, and Kensington.

Brake, a road safety charity, has begun a push for 20mph limits to be imposed on all roads near schools to reduce the number of child crash deaths.

According to campaign group 20’s Plenty For Us, 28 million people across the UK, equivalent to more than one in three of the population, now live in local authority areas that ‘accept 20mph as the right speed limit where people live, work, or play’.

But Mr Freeman, whose clients have included David Beckham, Frank Lampard, and Jeremy Clarkson, told MailOnline: “Cars are becoming increasingly sophisticated all the time.

“So it astonishes me that there has been absolutely no thought or consideration as to whether the design and technology of modern cars would be compatible with 20mph zones.

“As automatic cars are more free rolling, it means that even on the slightest decline such vehicles are likely to exceed the speed limit when that limit is as low as 20mph.

“And unlike manual cars, there is no hands-on graduated gear change. Instead, drivers of automatic cars rely principally on their brake pedals to cut speed.

“So, while they constantly brake, they are more likely to fixate on the speedometer and less likely to concentrate on what is happening on the road around them. So ironically 20mph zones actually pose a greater threat to road safety.”

Getting his nickname from his ability to win cases for celebrities on legal technicalities, Mr Freeman added that 20mph zones also pose a threat to the environment.

He said: “Constant braking increases particulate emissions from tyre and brake wear which has a huge impact on our carbon footprint.”

He argued that regions where the speed limit was once 30mph and is now 20mph should have only been reduced to 25 mph at most.

Mr Freeman, who himself drives around 50,000 miles a year, added: “But since 20mph zones are here to stay, these restrictions should only operate at peak times and in certain locations – such during school drop off and pick up times.”

One day after Brake released its campaign for a 20mph speed limit to be enforced on all roads nearby schools at all times, Mr Freeman spoke out, saying: “There is simply no sense in having a blanket 20mph limit – not least on empty roads, say later in the evening or at less busy times during the day.

“The problem is that legislation isn’t drafted by those who understand the roads or the law. Or if they do, one wonders if such lawmakers have a more fundamental agenda – to get cars off our roads?”

In the past, Mr. Freeman has asserted that lowering the speed limit to 20 mph makes roads more hazardous since slower-moving motorists are more likely to be lured to use their mobile phones.

He cited a three-year study by Queen’s University Belfast released last November that found restricting limits to 20mph in town and city centres did not seem to reduce road traffic collisions, casualties, or driver speed.

The University of Edinburgh’s study, which was published in October of last year, found that lowering the city’s speed limits to 20 mph decreased traffic fatalities by almost a quarter and serious injuries by a third.

Mr Freeman added: “Speeding is a serious criminal matter which, of course, must be controlled and regulated by the police in order to prevent devastating injury and fatalities on our roads.

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“But speeding is only one factor impacting on road safety – it’s vital that drivers concentrate on what is going on around them too.

“Thanks to the lack of consideration for automatic cars, the 20mph limit presents a danger to all road users – with a cost to the environment too.”

The Welsh Government is introducing a default 20mph limit on residential roads and busy pedestrian streets from September 17, making Wales one of the first countries in the world to bring in such legislation.

By 2025, all appropriate roads in built up areas will have a 20mph limit, the Scottish Government has pledged.

Parts of England have already seen roads adopt a 20mph limit, with zones around schools being the ones to have the new speed limit implemented.

But Brake said nearly two-thirds of parents reported that some roads near their children’s schools have higher limits, adding that cutting limits ‘saves lives’.

Department for Transport figures show 2,456 children aged under 16 were killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads last year.

“We know that excess speed is a factor in about a quarter of fatal crashes, and the physics is pretty straightforward: the faster a vehicle is travelling, the harder it hits and the greater the impact.

“A crash at 30mph has twice the amount of kinetic energy as a crash at 20mph. Reducing speed saves lives.

“We’re calling for roads around every school to have 20mph speed limits – and other measures to effectively reduce traffic speed – so children and their families can travel safely to and from school every day.”

Participating in Brake’s Kids Walk, which involves walking in groups and advocating for safe and healthy travel without fear of traffic, were kids from more than 700 schools and nurseries.

Linda Taylor, transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said: “It is up to each individual council to introduce measures based on their own local needs, taking into account the views of the school, police and local residents. Speed limits exist for a reason and road users must observe them to keep children and parents safe.”

A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: “Local authorities in England decide speed limits on their roads but we always encourage road designs that prioritise safety. There are no plans to introduce default or national 20mph speed limits in urban environments.”