Enforcement starts in Ceredigion lower speed zones

Changes to speed limits in more than 80 locations across Ceredigion have come into force.

The council announced the changes earlier in October following requests from a number of communities.

The first set of changes see the zones enforced around eight schools, three rural roads and residential areas of Aberystwyth.

However speed charity Brake said there was "room to do more".

Jasmine Wilson from the charity said she welcomed the changes, but she believed 60 mph was not a suitable limit on many of the county's country lanes.

She said: "I think it's essential that the speed limits come and I congratulate the council for their work.

"Unfortunately as individuals we've become extremely selfish. We want to get somewhere in the shortest time possible; we feel that we might have priority over others and that can be a danger point."

She would like to see the speed limit reduced to 50 mph in rural areas.

Ms Wilson, who lost her son in a road accident in 2003, added: "I'm sure that would be an unpopular thing with most drivers, but I'd challenge everybody to think about the value of life and how quickly things can change in the blink of an eye.

"Going from 60 down to 50, there's a better chance you could avoid an accident or that accident wouldn't be as severe."

Councillor Alun Williams said cutting speed from 40 mph to 30 mph decreased the risk of killing someone from 90% to 20%.

"That 10 mph makes an enormous difference. We believe that the safety of residents and visitors to Ceredigion will be greatly improved," he said.