A dated and flawed approach…

“Even Minister Donohoe appears to be toeing the RSA line of victimising pedestrians rather than suggesting that drivers slow down. He should know better,” said Cuffe. “Instead of victimising children the RSA should also be seeking more low speed zones and pedestrian crossings. According to the RSA’s own research such zones have been successfully implemented in residential areas, and around schools elsewhere in Europe, with reductions in serious collisions by up to 70%.”
Rosie Brenann, the mother of six-year-old Jake Brennan who was killed when a motorist hit him on a residential street in a Kilkenny housing estate early this year, has been campaigning for lower speed limits and speed ramps on residential streets. On the Ray D’Arcy Show on Today FM, she recently outlined how the minister for transport, Paschal Donohoe, and his officials claimed that speed limits are an issue mainly for local councils.

However, while countries across Europe are expanding 30km/h speed limit zones in urban areas, the Irish Speed Limit Review report only mentions 30km/h in the context of trialling the limit. The report, published last year, seems to have been heavily influenced by the AA motoring lobby.

Car drivers (and I am one) tend to forget that they are sharing the road, and they’re driving a potentially lethal machine. I dislike speed ramps as a driver and cyclist (they’re a pain on a bike too) and would prefer some other method of slowing speeds (chicanes anyone?), but I do agree with reduced speeds in residential areas in particular. Housing estates are more often than not 50Km/h zones. Nuts.

via Road Safety Authority back-to-school campaign “dated and flawed” – IrishCycle.com.