Motorists may have to drive slower on motorways under climate plan

keoclassic

So not only are the government happy to drive young people out of the city by crazy rents and inflated house prices, but they now want to increase the time it is taking us to commute into the city along the motorways!!! For a person who has a 1hr 20 min commute along the motorway in the morning, i am starting to wonder about this country :mad:, i have already given up all of my free time during the week so i can work a full time job in the city and have no time for my pastimes in the evening because im so wrecked, FU@k these "think-tanks" that come up with this stuff!!! Rant over.

The_Valeyard

I agree. 120 on some of our motorways is perfectly fine. This just seems to be a cash grab for speed vans, just using environmentalism as the cover for it.

Surely they should also be increasing the limit on 60km/h roads then?

Badly Drunk Boy

Since the OP isn't very informative, here's a link and a bit of the story.


A reduction in the motorway speed limit from 120 to 110 kilometres per hour and an extension of the Dart as far as Balbriggan, Co Dublin, are among the proposals in the Government’s climate action plan published today.

Ways to reduce the impact of climate change in Ireland and the status of the economy are to be discussed in a day-long Cabinet meeting to take place in Celbridge, Co Kildare on Wednesday.

The Cabinet’s first strategic planning session comes after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said nothing less than “fundamental societal transformation” was necessary to decarbonise the economy.

Cabinet members meeting at Castletown House will hear a 30-minute presentation from Minister for Climate Change Denis Naughten on the National Mitigation Plan which has already been approved by Government, but which requires “buy-in” on implementation from individual departments.

The plan, to be published on Wednesday morning, will include sections on measures already in place, measures under consideration and the distance to achieving emissions reductions targets.

eviltimeban

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrahQpIWD08

Chips Lovell

keoclassic wrote: »

For a person who has a 1hr 20 min commute along the motorway in the morning, i am starting to wonder about this country :mad:

Even if you drove your entire commute at 120kph (which I seriously doubt) the reduced speed limit would mean it would take seven minutes longer.

4068ac1elhodqr

Most likely in the future insurers will want to stick a black box in yer car to constantly monitor 'driving behaviour' (until the robots take control of actual driving, that is).

Along with urban limits on the horizon it makes no sense why car makers are constantly improving speeds and performance.

beauf

What difference in time will it make to your commute. Bearing in mind only some of your time is on the motorway.

https://www.timecalculator.net/speed-distance-time-calculator

topper75

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

Even if you drove your entire commute at 120kph (which I seriously doubt) the reduced speed limit would mean it would take seven minutes longer.

So, quarter of an hour lost every day, and that is only one person in a single day. To what end?

No government serious about being returned by the people would implement such a measure in this country. Ever. It's a one-way ticket to at least a decade in opposition. If you want to ignore realpolitik, you will perish alongside the Greens.

keoclassic

I would easily say 20 mins minimum, its not about the maths of speed/time, but the extra 10-15 mins your on the motorway could progress to another extra 10 in the increase in traffic in the city itself meaning you may have to leave 20-25 mins earlier.................and thats all going well!

Jayop

Why? Is it to reduce emissions?

The speed limit is already too slow on motorways

The_Valeyard

Jayop wrote: »

Why? Is it to reduce emissions?

The speed limit is already too slow on motorways

I'd increase it to 130

beauf

topper75 wrote: »

So, quarter of an hour lost every day, and that is only one person in a single day. To what end?...

Its more fuel efficient and less emissions.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/opinion/motoring/what-would-60mph-motorway-speed-limit-do-nox-emissions

In 2011, the European Environment Agency (EEA) published a report on the subject.

This study documented a detailed simulation into the effects of dropping motorway speed limits from 120 to 110km/h (74.5 to 68.4mph) for Euro 4-compliant petrol and diesel cars with engines between 1.4 and 2.0 litres in capacity.

With smooth driving and complete compliance with speed limits, the diesel car exhibited a 12% reduction in fuel use and the petrol car an 18% reduction. This is because there is less wind resistance, so the car needs less relative power to propel itself.

keoclassic

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

Even if you drove your entire commute at 120kph (which I seriously doubt) the reduced speed limit would mean it would take seven minutes longer.

Dont be kidding yourself!

alchemist33

Reminds me of when everybody in Star Trek agreed to not go over warp factor 4 for the universe's sake, except in emergencies. I'd say the evidence base for both proposals is.pretty similar.

Diemos

keoclassic wrote: »

So not only are the government happy to drive young people out of the city by crazy rents and inflated house prices, but they now want to increase the time it is taking us to commute into the city along the motorways!!!

Yes, this is all the government masterplan, to make everyone miserable.

professore

Just ban farming. Problem solved.



http://www.epa.ie/climate/communicatingclimatescience/whatisclimatechange/whatareirelandsgreenhousegasemissionslike/

beauf

keoclassic wrote: »

I... its not about the maths of speed/time, ...

It really is.

The counter argument about taking long is also about math of speed and time.

beauf

The_Valeyard wrote: »

I agree. 120 on some of our motorways is perfectly fine. This just seems to be a cash grab for speed vans, just using environmentalism as the cover for it.

That would be true if it was enforced. But it mostly isn't.

Chips Lovell

Two pages in and I'm surprised nobody's come out with the "it's just a money making racket" one yet.

keoclassic

beauf wrote: »

It really is.

The counter argument about taking long is also about math of speed and time.

Fair point..............its also about the variables in the equation on any given day also.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

bmwguy

There was a temporary reduction on dual carriageways in the 1970s as there was a fuel shortage (don't think we had motorways then). It's no biggie lads it used to be 70mph before we went to kmph.

70 mph was 112kmph.

And I use motorways extensively.

Tabnabs

Don't upset the lobby groups...

ElKavo

A reduction as opposed to an increase in the dairy herd would be better for the environment.

Sofiztikated

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

Two pages in and I'm surprised nobody's come out with the "it's just a money making racket" one yet.

Em...

The_Valeyard wrote: »

I agree. 120 on some of our motorways is perfectly fine. This just seems to be a cash grab for speed vans, just using environmentalism as the cover for it.

Pac1Man

Hopefully this will lead to less flies being brutally murdered by the windscreen.

4068ac1elhodqr

Plant more trees, to suck up all the CO2, problem solved.

Ireland may be green in colour (due to all the rain and thus moss/grass).

But has the lowest forest cover of all European countries (Teagasc).
From 80% cover to less than 1%.

Shenshen

keoclassic wrote: »

So not only are the government happy to drive young people out of the city by crazy rents and inflated house prices, but they now want to increase the time it is taking us to commute into the city along the motorways!!! For a person who has a 1hr 20 min commute along the motorway in the morning, i am starting to wonder about this country :mad:, i have already given up all of my free time during the week so i can work a full time job in the city and have no time for my pastimes in the evening because im so wrecked, FU@k these "think-tanks" that come up with this stuff!!! Rant over.

Assuming you're driving in between 7 - 9am, and back between 4 - 6pm, how many minutes do you even get driving at 120kph as it is?

Honestly wondering, as my own (rather shorter) commute down the N25, which currently has a speed limit of 120kph, at between around 7.15 - 7.25am each morning finds me usually in so much traffic, I'm lucky if I manage to do 100kph.

So why the frustration?

Mycroft H

Shenshen wrote: »

Assuming you're driving in between 7 - 9am, and back between 4 - 6pm, how many minutes do you even get driving at 120kph as it is?

Honestly wondering, as my own (rather shorter) commute down the N25, which currently has a speed limit of 120kph, at between around 7.15 - 7.25am each morning finds me usually in so much traffic, I'm lucky if I manage to do 100kph.

So why the frustration?

Because it's a lazy, poorly researched, ill thought out post that uses the excuse of expensive quango "think tanks" to rubbish the idea of attempting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Maybe the extension of the DART will tempt people from their cars...

Collyb101

The Government is under pressure & will not meet the 2020 Gas Emissions targets. Especially as we are so eager to let Apple build their Galway Data Center. So if you look at the graph above, this means MORE yellow, LESS brown. Only problem is we need to transport ourselves to our commercial/industry positions. Makes no sense at all. I'm not sure if the Agriculture posts above are people joking or not but this probably would be the right way to go. UK will not be buying our expensive EU cheese for much longer and sadly, to export this, we need to use our roads!!!!

keoclassic

Shenshen wrote: »

Assuming you're driving in between 7 - 9am, and back between 4 - 6pm, how many minutes do you even get driving at 120kph as it is?

Honestly wondering, as my own (rather shorter) commute down the N25, which currently has a speed limit of 120kph, at between around 7.15 - 7.25am each morning finds me usually in so much traffic, I'm lucky if I manage to do 100kph.

So why the frustration?

In and around 45 to 50 mins. but i leave well before 7 or i have not a hope of being in on time. The point is, they work fine as they are so why change them, i give up enough time to commuting as it is, and i would hate to think that it would take longer to get to and from work! Its my issue and like i said its a rant more so than anything else but maybe it is worth discussing.:)

keoclassic

Mycroft H wrote: »

Because it's a lazy, poorly researched, ill thought out post that uses the excuse of expensive quango "think tanks" to rubbish the idea of attempting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Maybe the extension of the DART will tempt people from their cars...

Thats why its called a rant! When the dart goes to rural westmeath ill be sure to book a ticket.

Sofiztikated

keoclassic wrote: »

In and around 45 to 50 mins. but i leave well before 7 or i have not a hope of being in on time. The point is, they work fine as they are so why change them, i give up enough time to commuting as it is, and i would hate to think that it would take longer to get to and from work! Its my issue and like i said its a rant more so than anything else but maybe it is worth discussing.:)

Which is more important, in the long run.

You adding 6 minutes to your journey time

or

The planet being around a lot longer?

(FWIW, I think this is a drop in the ocean compared to some of the **** we get away with)

Jayop

If you have an electric car will you be restricted? what happens when everyone gets electric cars? Will the speed limits stay lowered like they are now for 1950's brake systems?

Mycroft H

keoclassic wrote: »

Thats why its called a rant! When the dart goes to rural westmeath ill be sure to book a ticket.

I used to live out that way and would have been up and down the M4/M6 regularly.

At peak hours you're never going to average near 120km/h anyway. Distances travelled won't have a realistic difference in time in the car either...

Wait until there's emission charges for entering urban areas. London has it and Manchester will have it by 2019. Older cars are outright banned from Paris due to emission problems.

duffman3833

Sofiztikated wrote: »

Which is more important, in the long run.

You adding 6 minutes to your journey time

or

The planet being around a lot longer?

(FWIW, I think this is a drop in the ocean compared to some of the **** we get away with)

why not blame the yanks in their v8 power plants, bigger population and way more thirsty cars. Start with them, not us

Shenshen

keoclassic wrote: »

In and around 45 to 50 mins. but i leave well before 7 or i have not a hope of being in on time. The point is, they work fine as they are so why change them, i give up enough time to commuting as it is, and i would hate to think that it would take longer to get to and from work! Its my issue and like i said its a rant more so than anything else but maybe it is worth discussing.:)

I would agree that the limits work in terms of road safety, from what I can tell from accidents statistics.
However, the proposal isn't about road safety but emissions. I'd be curious to see how much less emissions would be measured from your average car if the speed was reduced from 120 to 110. I can't see numbers on that, but given that the report has a long list of other initiatives, I suspect that the reduction would not be groundbreaking.

My own view is that variable speed limits (VSL) introduced in areas with periodically high volumes of traffic followed by low volumes would probably work best for traffic flow. There lots of data on that here
There is an actual observed reduction of emissions mentioned, too.
However, it's a complex system to introduce, and given the average Irish motorist's tendency to utterly ignore any speed limit at all (due to the very patchy enforcement), I'm not sure it would actually work here.

Victor

We are living beyond our 'means'. Those creating the most CO2 should make the greatest reductions.

Ashlynn Greasy Beard wrote: »

Plant more trees, to suck up all the CO2, problem solved.

You would have to plant trees on all the roads (and everywhere else) to achieve this.

Ireland may be green in colour (due to all the rain and thus moss/grass).

But has the lowest forest cover of all European countries (Teagasc).
From 80% cover to less than 1%.

Erm ....

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/forestry/forestservicegeneralinformation/Annual%20Forest%20Sector%20Statistics%202014.pdf

The area of forest is estimated to be 731,650 ha or 10.5% of the total land area of Ireland (NFI 2012);

MOH

keoclassic wrote: »

In and around 45 to 50 mins. but i leave well before 7 or i have not a hope of being in on time. The point is, they work fine as they are so why change them, i give up enough time to commuting as it is, and i would hate to think that it would take longer to get to and from work! Its my issue and like i said its a rant more so than anything else but maybe it is worth discussing.:)

In fairness if I had a 130km commute I'd probably be unhappy at the prospect of anything that would make it longer, though realistically it's less than 5 minutes difference, even if you're manage the full 120km all along that stretch. Plus if the suggestion of a 12% fuel saving is accurate, mightn't be a bad tradeoff costwise.

Rubberchikken

drivers can't abide by the speed limits so will hardly slow down for the climate.

beauf

duffman3833 wrote: »

why not blame the yanks in their v8 power plants, bigger population and way more thirsty cars. Start with them, not us

Unfortunately, if you want yank rules, you kinda have to live there not here.

...their beef isn't a patch on ours though...

beauf

keoclassic wrote: »

Fair point..............its also about the variables in the equation on any given day also.

Also maths

a quantity which during a calculation is assumed to vary or be capable of varying in value.

GG66

Is not drilling for fossil fuels off our coast also a recommendation?

HigginsJ

Jayop wrote: »

If you have an electric car will you be restricted? what happens when everyone gets electric cars? Will the speed limits stay lowered like they are now for 1950's brake systems?

It will be a long, long, long time before everyone gets electric cars. It had been planned that there would be 50,000 electric cars on the road by 2020 but that number has been scaled right back as they are not being taken up. Electric is a phase that will pass, Hydrogen is the future.

Interesting I found that the original target set in 2009 was 350,000 electric cars by 2020, that was reduced to 50,000 but now that is not going to happen either.

beauf

In fairness that is largely down to very little policy to encourage their use.

http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/adrian-weckler-ireland-needs-uturn-on-electric-car-policy-35404932.html

Not that electric cars are suitable for all users, they aren't.

Same way diesel and petrol only make financial sense for certain users. But again the suitability of diesel or petrol is largely a result of policy like taxation.

frozenfrozen

cant wait until I have to top up my pre paid power style vehicle black box to be allowed on the road.. 10c per km going up to 20c during peak times

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

beauf

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I think the real issue that people have to do a 120 min commute. Not the 6 mins.

http://www.finance-magazine.com/display_article.php?i=8286
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/census-2016-revealed-irelands-fastestgrowing-town-the-county-with-65pc-born-elsewhere-and-the-urbanrural-divide-35703706.html

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.