Please offer to speak on your local radio station about a national change to a 20mph limit for the NHS.  Health services are facing their greatest ever challenge from Covid-19.  Every road crash victim fewer frees up NHS capacity.  Spread this message to empower politicians. The example email to a radio station below is based on Prof John Whitelegg’s letter to the Shropshire Star.

Search for your radio station email address online on online contact form. Submit the below as a story.  Follow up with a phone call if you don’t hear back within a day or two.

Anna Semlyen, 20’s Plenty for Us National Campaign Manager said

“Please support medics calls for 20mph for the NHS by offering radio interviews.  Every public call for 20mph limits empowers MPs and Councillors to do it!  It provides a mandate for change.  Speaking to amplify and spread agreement with the doctors call for 20’s Plenty for the NHS will make a difference. Use the above and add your local story and flavour. Get those interviews!”

Your address, email, phone number and date

Dear Radio xxxx

I support doctors who are calling for the Government to immediately declare a 20mph national speed limit. This would lower the baseline load on our overburdened NHS. Ambulance crews, A&E and hospitals face a surge in admissions whilst some staff are sick, or self-isolating. Slower speeds will help our NHS to cope by reducing care needs for crash victims and free up resources for other sick people.

Pre lockdown there were 35,000 admissions per year in England of road traffic casualties on all roads and 100,000 injured on 30mph roads. Even with much less traffic I’ve seen many vehicles speeding. Police say there’s been no fewer speed related crashes.  

109 public health experts wrote to the Times on 22 March demanding 20mph limits to ‘lower the baseline’ NHS load and raise critical care capacity in hospitals.  Key workers are warned off public transport so there’s been an increase in walking and cycling for essential travel and also for exercise. Social distancing means some people are stepping off pavements. 

Signs wouldn’t change short term and so this policy would have a minimal cost. Each driver’s journey times would not be much affected, yet many thousands of injuries would be saved. 

Nationally and internationally it is best practice to adopt 20mph speed limits where pedestrians and cyclists mix with motor traffic. England signed the ‘Stockholm Declaration’ for 20mph in February. A Canadian study found reducing speed limits to 20mph associated with a 67% reduction in major and fatal injuries.

The Isle of Man has lowered maximum limits to 40mph. Speed limits were reduced in the 1974 oil crisis for economic reasons.

I have asked my MP …………………………… and ………………………….. Council to support doctors calls for the Government declare a National 20mph limit to help deal with Covid-19. 

20’s Plenty for the NHS. A 20mph limit is coming and is needed now in this emergency.  Please protect us all and free up hospital beds by making 20mph the speed limit here.  

This health crisis isn’t going away soon. We must do all we can to protect people from preventable road injuries. Please see the 20’s Plenty for the NHS site supporting doctors wanting an emergency 20mph urban limit at www.20splenty.org/lower_baseline.

I am available for interviews. Please call me on 0xxxxxxxxxxxxx or call Rod King the Director of 20’s Plenty for Us on 07973 639781 to arrange interviews with the medical experts

Yours faithfully

Your name (and perhaps job title especially if it is health or emergency services related)