Wales is set to become the first nation in Great Britain to set a 20mph speed limit in an effort to get residents to swap their cars for bikes or public transport.
A 20mph national default speed limit would apply on restricted roads, in residential areas and busy pedestrian streets, where streetlights are less than 200 yards apart - and anyone caught speeding could face a minimum £100 fine and three penalty points.
Many towns and cities across the UK have introduced 20mph limits but the new law would make Wales to first nation to make it the standard speed limit on all restricted roads. Scotland is considering legislation that would see it follow suit in 2025.
If the proposal gets the expected go-ahead on Tuesday after initial backing in the Senedd two years ago, the new 20mph limit - which will cost an estimated £33m to bring in - will come into force in September 2023.
The Welsh government claim that improved road safety and a reduction in average speeds could result in a £58m saving over 30 years because of reduced emergency service demand and subsequent hospital treatment.
'Give us an alternative to the car first'
Ministers in Cardiff are promoting sustainable travel - like cycling or walking - and hope the change to the speed limit will encourage residents to change how they travel.
However, those living in rural locations point out they lack alternatives to their car, with no infrastructure for cycle lanes or reliable public transport links.
"They would like us to stop using our cars and use our legs to cycle and walk, but we haven't got the infrastructure to do that here," Adie, a health and social care student at Chester University, told the BBC.
"We've no cycle lanes, have narrow lanes and public transport is poor. We don't all live in Cardiff and have Cardiff's infrastructure, public transport and industry on our doorstep."
"Give us the cycle lanes and an alternative to the car first."
Local residents in areas where 20mph have been trialed have criticised the scheme, saying the streets have become more congested and journeys are taking longer to complete.
More than half of the respondents to the Welsh government consultation on the proposal said they were not in favour - with most "strongly against" - of the speed cut on roads with street lights.
After a pilot in her community in Buckley, Flintshire, local mother Adie Drury started a petition against what she calls the "non-democratic whitewash" and has got more than 12,500 signatures.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa) has encouraged wider use of 20mph limits as a "considerably less expensive" way than introducing traffic calming measures, adding it "greatly improves the character of a residential area and quality of life for residents".
"We know that 20mph zones reduce speed of traffic, reduce accidents - particularly accidents to children," Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford said.
"We want to see that become the default position right across Wales."
However, a spokesperson for the RAC told the Telegraph that driver compliance with 20mph limits is "poor" as many road users view the slower speed as "inappropriate".
RAC road safety spokesperson Simon Williams said: "Research by the RAC suggests compliance with 20mph speed limits is quite poor with an increasing number of drivers believing the limit is inappropriate for the road."
"Rather than setting a default 20mph limit on all restricted roads it would be better to target areas where they are most needed – for example on residential roads or in areas where there is high footfall – as opposed to main ‘arterial’ roads where there are few pedestrians."
Latest police data shows the largest proportion - exactly half - of the 5,570 people hurt in collisions in Wales happened on 30mph roads and in more than 40 per cent of them, someone was killed or seriously injured.
Road collisions in Wales have fallen from more than 10,000 a year in 1993 to around 4,000 according to the latest figures.
Rospa research show pedestrians are 40 per cent less less likely to die is hit by a car travelling at 20mph when compared to a car travelling at 30mph.
Both Labour and Plaid Cymru, who have a co-operation agreement in the Welsh Parliament, back the countrywide rollout of 20mph and as they hold almost three-quarters of the 60 Senedd seats, Tuesday's proposal is expected to be passed.
"We are united in our belief that this change will bring about a reduction in road collisions and their severity, while creating more opportunities to walk and cycle in communities," said Plaid's transport spokeswoman Delyth Jewell.
"A 20mph speed limit in built-up areas will allow us to work toward providing convenient, safe, pedestrian access to the places people need to go."
