Impact of the 20 MPH Speed Limit on Spinal Trauma Admissions to the Major Trauma Centre for Wales

Aims Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) are a common cause of spinal trauma. On 17 th September 2023, Wales issued a new default speed limit of 20mph. We assessed the number of MVC-related spinal trauma admissions to the Major Trauma Centre (MTC) for Wales, 1-year before and 1-year after implementation of the 20mph speed limit. Methods For all patients admitted to the MTC between 17/09/22-04/01/25 and who sustained spinal trauma from a reported ‘vehicle incident’, data was analysed regarding demographics, mechanism of injury and management. Results There was no statistical difference when comparing the total number of MVC patients who sustained spinal trauma before (n=136) and after (n=140) introduction of the new speed limit, X² (1, N=1306) = 0.196, p=0.658. Patient demographics were similar for both groups; there was no statistical difference in mean age on admission (P>0.05, 95% Cl -6.85, 3.05) and the majority of spinal trauma patients were male, both in the pre-20mph (73.4%) and post-20mph (66.4%) groups. Car occupants were the most common road users to sustain spinal trauma, both before (44.9%) and after (47.9%) introduction of the new speed limit. Conservative management was the most common approach for treatment, both pre-20mph (83.8%) and post-20mph (83.6%). Conclusion We can conclude that the 20mph speed limit has had no significant impact on the number of spinal trauma admissions to the MTC for Wales. Further studies would be beneficial in determining the long-term effectiveness of the 20mph speed limit on spinal trauma.