NO new 20mph speed limits should be allowed until a Department for Transport study is published in 2017, motoring campaigners have said.

In 2014, the DfT began a three-year study into all the impacts of 20mph speed limits, including their effects on actual speeds, accidents, emissions and whether they encourage more people to walk or cycle.

The Alliance of British Drivers (ABD) has called for a moratorium on all new 20mph speed limits until its findings are known.

Edinburgh is due to convert more than 80 per cent of its roads, and the entire city centre, to 20mph, and cycling campaigners have lodged a petition calling on Glasgow City Council to do the same.

ABD chairman Brian Gregory said the organisation believes that "everyone has the right to choose the mode of transport that most suits them for each journey they make".

"They should not be made to feel guilty for choosing to use a car," he said. "Speed limits should be set for genuine road safety reasons and not to discourage car use."