New speed plan is ‘crazy’ say councillors
A NEW lower speed limit that came into force in Tipperary and the rest of the country on Friday, February 7, has been branded as “crazy” by local county councillors.
Many of the 40 elected members of Tipperary County Council have spoken out against the move to reduce the speed limit on many local rural roads from 80kph to 60kph.
The new speed limit is just the first reduction in a series of new lower limits soon to be enforced under a direction from central government that had angered representatives, and indeed much of the general public.
Speed limits in urban areas are due to be slashed from the current 50kph to 30kph later this year.
Limits on arterial roads and radial routes around urban areas are to be set at 50kph. Limits on National Secondary Roads are to be cut from 100kph to 80kph.
Tipperary Independent councillor, Richie Molloy, branded the moves as “crazy”. He said he has got a huge negative reaction on the move to the lower speed limits when he posted news of the upcoming changes on social media.
Cllr Molloy said a more effective way to make roads safer and cut down on road deaths would be to properly enforce the laws on speeding that already exist.
“If we only enforced the law that we already have we could go somewhere,” he said.
NO LOCAL INPUT
Cllr Molly said Tipperary County Council was given no input in the discussion leading up to the plan to introduce the lower limits. They were now being enforced by central government.
He said councillors and local authority officials on the ground knew better than anyone about what limits were needed in their local areas.
“I think that reducing the speed limit on local roads from 80 to 60 is crazy,” said Cllr Molloy.
“It looks to be like a tick box exercise that at the stroke of a pen you are going to reduce these limits.”
Lamenting the abolition of town councils, Cllr Molloy said the demise of this arm of local government meant more decisions were taken at a central level and that “ordinary people were not involved in the process”. “That’s where it goes wrong, I think.”
A number of councillors in Tipperary are on record as having said that the speed limit reductions could actually lead to more road fatalities.
At a county council meeting in Nenagh last October a motion submitted by Independent councillor Niall Dennehy was adopted calling for “common sense” to apply in relation to the rollout of speed limits
Cllr Dennehy was of the opinion that the new lower speed limits would result in drivers being banned from driving due to minor infringements.
‘MADENESS’
Cllr Dennehy said the plan to cut the speed limit in urban areas from 50kms per hour to 30kms per hour was “madness”.He argued that modern cars were not designed to travel at some of the new lower speed limits being proposed.
Cllr Mairín McGrath said the proposals were “ill thought out”. One of the biggest problems currently was that many drivers simply ignored speed limits.
‘ROAD ANGER’
Cllr Jim Ryan said the lower limits would cause huge frustrations for drivers stuck behind slow-moving vehicles and would result in more accidents and lead to more “road anger”.
Cllr Ann Marie Ryan said she lived on a narrow rural road where the speed limit was currently 80kms per hour. Even if drivers were limited to 60kms per hour on that road it would still be crazy because the road was so narrow.
Cllr Ryan said the new limits would not reduce accidents if the government pushed ahead with a one-fit approach to implement its proposals across the board, ignoring local concerns.
‘TOTAL FARCE’
Cllr Roger Kennedy said things would be “a total farce” if the plan went ahead.
Cllr Michael O’ Meara said a lot of the current problems on our roads were caused by a lack of gardaí to enforce existing speed limits.
Another issue leading to increasing road accidents, he said, was driver distraction due to new car models that now came with so many “bells and whistles”.
Council CEO Sinead Carr said the limits were national policy and the council had to abide by the directions.