OPINION: Lower speed limits benefit us all

“Everyone wants progress but nobody likes change.” I’m reminded of this expression whenever a new idea is put forward, only to be struck by an inevitable backlash from people who are more comfortable and familiar with the status quo.
Anyone who watches the RTÉ archival series ‘Reeling in the Years’ will have seen old footage of people voicing their opposition to such novel proposals as the outlawing of drink-driving, the enforcement of seat belt wearing and the removal of motor traffic from Grafton Street in Dublin or Shop Street in Galway.
Of course you’d be hard pressed to find people who oppose those ideas now, but when they were first suggested they caused controversy, and it took time for some people to accept that the greater good was being served.
The most recent road safety proposal to challenge the status quo is the widespread reduction of speed limits, including the introduction of a default 30km/h limit in urban areas and the lowering of the default speed limit on national secondary roads to 80km/h from 100km/h.
One point I’d like to emphasise here early on – and it’s often missed – is that ‘default’ does not mean ‘blanket’, so if you hear of a default 30km/h speed limit being introduced in your local town, that doesn’t necessarily mean that every single road will have that limit; some arterial roads might have a higher speed limit where appropriate, and other streets might even have a lower speed limit of 20km/h.

Slower speeds save lives
The fundamental reasoning behind lowering speed limits is that it increases the safety of everyone, but particularly that of people who walk and cycle. Research shows there is an 80 percent risk of dying when a pedestrian is knocked down by a vehicle travelling at 50km/h, but this falls to 10 percent if a vehicle is being driven at 30km/h.
Evidence from London tells us that there has been a 25 percent reduction in the overall number of road traffic collisions and a 25 percent fall in serious injuries and deaths since the speed limit was lowered from 30mph (50km/h) to 20mph (30km/h) in March 2020. Collisions involving pedestrians have decreased by a massive 63 percent.
Ireland is often a little behind the international curve when it comes to road safety and such is the case with speed limits too. Our near neighbours in Wales are introducing a 20mph (30km/h) urban speed limit this very week, while cities and towns across the EU have been rolling out 30km/h urban speed limits in recent years.

Healthier and happier
If improved safety isn’t enough to convince people on its own, then thankfully there are a whole range of co-benefits to lower speed limits which help to improve people’s everyday lives.
Vehicles travelling at lower speeds use less energy, aiding fuel efficiency and reducing the consumption of petrol and diesel – or electricity from the grid in the case of electric vehicles.
The amount of tyre and brake dust produced by vehicles is also reduced, especially in urban areas where drivers are accelerating and braking more frequently. These tyre and brake particles are one of the biggest sources of microplastics in our waterways.
Noise pollution is often overlooked but it has a major impact on our health and wellbeing. Noise from traffic can also be reduced when speed limits are lowered, something which can benefit people living in both urban and rural areas.
Roads and streets with lower speed limits are more inviting for people to walk and cycle on, enabling more people to choose these sustainable methods of transport for their everyday trips to work, to school, or just down to the shops.

Reeling in the Years
Not only are lower speed limits safer, but they’re actually popular too. Research on the introduction of lower speed limits in Wales found that 80 percent of people were in favour of the planned 20mph (30km/h) urban speed limit. In households where children lived, that support rose to 87 percent.
Media coverage of proposals such as lower speed limits can often amplify the extreme views at either end of the spectrum, creating a false sense of contention or controversy when the reality is that most people are actually quite supportive of initiatives that make them and their children safer.
Decades from now, when our children and grandchildren are watching the Reeling in the Years episode about 2023, they will chuckle at the soundbites of people opposing lower speed limits, and be horrified at how we tolerated the old speed limits for so long.

• Kieran Ryan is a communications professional from Kilmeena who works in the transport industry.