MOTORISTS might not always observe Oxford’s 20mph limits but cycling campaigners say the change has improved life for cyclists.

An Oxford Mail speed check on Wednesday found 81 per cent of drivers using Morrell Avenue in East Oxford were exceeding the 20mph limits.

Meanwhile Blackbird Leys Parish Council has lodged complaints that bus drivers working Stagecoach and Oxford Bus Company are exceeding the 20mph limit on the estate.

However, county council figures have shown a 6.7 per cent drop in accidents in the first nine months of the scheme, compared with the three-year average for the same period.

And James Styring, chairman of city cyclists’ group Cyclox, said the £300,000 scheme to convert almost all residential roads and some arterial routes to 20mph zones had been a success.

He said: “The drop in accidents is good news and it’s hardly surprising.

“Anybody who drives or cycles around Oxford will notice that speeds are slower.

“I think motorists now do 25mph instead of 35mph.

“That’s a great improvement on when the speed limit was 30mph and not everybody was observing the limit.

“I think it’s made a big difference to the quality of life in Oxford and has encouraged people to get out on their bikes more, knowing that the roads are safer.”

Mr Styring voiced his disappointment that the Oxford Mail had detected three black cabs, two private hire taxis and an Oxford City Council City Works department pick-up breaking the 20mph limit.

He said: “I have casually observed both taxis and buses breaking the speed limit in Cowley Road.

“Professional drivers should know better and definitely be obeying the speed limits, even if they don’t agree with it.

“It’s really important for them to set an example.

“If these drivers obey the limit it would make a big difference to the general public’s behaviour on the road.”

Father-of-two Richard Mann, vice-chairman of the group, said: “I feel more confident since the change that more vehicles will be going more slowly and I don’t need to have eyes in the back of my head all the time.

“I’m not so nervous taking my children out on the road either.”