Proposals to introduce 20 mph speed limits in four Ross and Cromarty towns were approved by Highland Council this week.
Plans released by the local authority show large stretches of roads and streets throughout Dingwall, Alness, Invergordon and Tain will get the new restrictions.
The proposals will see signage, “roundels” painted on roads and speed indication devices installed throughout the four towns.
Ross and Cromarty Area Committee chairwoman Fiona Robertson said: “The aim of the 20mph programme is to save lives and to reduce accidents and injury, especially to our young people.
“The impact sustained by a child who is struck by a vehicle at 20mph is serious enough, but at 30mph the results could prove fatal.”
She added: “I am pleased that work to extend 20mph speed restrictions in Tain, Invergordon, Alness and Dingwall can progress.”
The move was tentatively welcomed by Dingwall and Seaforth Councillor Graham Mackenzie as it “could reduce or dilute some problems.”
He said: “I will reserve judgment on how extensive the use of 20mph will be as they can reach a point where they are overused.
“I am hoping more good can come of it so that parents will feel more confident in letting their children cycle to school with a 20mph speed limit.
“Old Evanton Road, where children walk to the primary school, has been the cause of serious concern from parents for years.”
Two access points toward both the primary and the academy run off the road where “there is a lot of speeding.”
“Those roads are used by kids aged four to 18 and so all in all I am pleased to welcome the changes.”
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents states that someone hit by a car doing 30mph is more than five times more likely to be killed than by one doing 20mph.
But statistics from the Department of Transport show that more than 80% of drivers refuse to adhere to 20mph limits.
The AA warned that without community consent such changes make it difficult to persuade people to obey the new speed limit.
The council said they will consult with locals and if there are “any relevant objections” then the committee would discuss the issue again.
What do the locals think?
“It’s definitely a good idea, I think safety should come first because we have got so many cars on the road.
“And then there are a lot of tourists as well who don’t know where they are going, driving on the wrong side of the road and all the rest of it. So yes, I am definitely 100% for it, for me it is a question of safety.”
Trudy Elliot, 52, Corbet Centre, Inverness
“I think 30mph is the right limit for it, If it is 20mph, it will cause quite a bit of frustration. They are maybe being a bit too cautious.
“When you are driving near a school you are expecting an influx of children and any sensible driver with common sense when they see a group of people will automatically slow down until they pass that group. You would slow down to the conditions.”
Alistair Macdonald, 63, Care Centre Driver, Inverness
“There is certainly a problem with what we would call boy racers but I am not too sure whether the 20mph speed limit would help that. In terms of safety I am not certain that it would do everything that they want it to do. If you put 20mph signs up everywhere people could get complacent because areas such as schools would not be highlighted. Targeting areas would work better because there is more emphasis on certain places.”
Natasha Shearer, 43, driving instructor, Invergordon
“It is a good idea if people adhere to it but that is the problem – will they? And I think the police have enough on their hands already to be enforcing it. There is more to gain by making people conscious of what they are doing, like when and where they cross the road. Generally, it is a good idea.”
Richard Pumphrey, 63, driving instructor, Tain
