Momentum is building behind new blanket 20mph limits for Britain’s roads. In the week when Oxfordshire County Council is expected to confirm its plan for a 20mph limit in all residential streets in Oxford, the Government announced that it wanted others to follow.

Even Thames Valley Police softened its stance this week, saying that officers would deal with transgressions of the 20mph limit if the proof was there. Whether that would actually translate in practice into actual penalties is another matter.

There have been a number of loud voices raised against the new limits, calling them a waste of money on any number of grounds — not the least of which is that it is hard to drive at more than 20mph in Oxford anyway.

The new limit should serve to remind us all of the vulnerability of users of our streets, particularly of pedestrians and cyclists.

If the new limit leads to the saving of one life on Oxford’s streets then the £233,000 that the scheme has cost will have been well spent.