30k speed limits for all urban areas on the way

[sarcasm]Yes, because every journey occurs at peak times and every road in all urban areas has a stop light every 200 metres. Also bus passengers don't exist.[/sarcasm]

Oh and by the way, the claim that this has anything to do with road safety is a stretch at best. Road deaths in Ireland are so rare that they have to be measured per billion vehicle-kilometres, and even then only occur in the low singe digits.

I've already explained what's wrong with Irish school "planning" in a specific thread. If you disagree with my view on that or think there are too many secondary students being driven to school, you need to explain how come even countries like the U.S. can have fewer students being driven to school than Ireland. Even if we assume that the supposed lack of students cycling to school is some sort of problem, how do 50kph limits directly cause it?

Unfounded fears? If someone has a road with the footpath and they won't walk on it because they're too scared of all the "maniacs" driving at 49kph, the problem is with them, not everyone else. And when could you play on a main road? Either in an urban area or otherwise?

It's more like you have 2.8 million drivers in this country who are almost all totally blameless for these things. They might wonder why they should be punished for things they by-and-large have nothing to do with, let alone be responsible for.

If we didn't have so much one-off housing, no footpaths etc. you can bet our pedestrian fatality rate would be lower.

In urban areas it's not motorists putting people off walking it's cyclists on the footpath and SDCC for one encourages this!

You must have missed all the cars on footpaths around Dublin, can't walk 50 metres without encountering one. Also having a "footpath" and having a footpath that is designed for the comfort of those on foot are two different things. Loads of examples in urban areas where there's a "footpath" i.e. https://www.google.com/maps/@53.3672474,-6.250216,3a,75y,320.93h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sa75xM5YQWzXN6hhNd6RxmQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

A lot to unpack here. First I can't comment on the speed limits on the road(s) to Damascus, but I was responding @Seth Brundles bizarre idea that Ireland in decades past was some kind of lost Garden of Eden. But the main reasons there were so many fatalities back in the day was because everyone drove home from the pub after 10 pints and thought nothing of it and because all the main roads for long distance travel were glorified 16 century goat tracks.

Also this idea from @[Deleted User] that I'm "promoting illegal cycling" ... no. Footpaths are de-facto cycle lanes. That's just reality. I'm not promoting anything.

As to this nonsense "If I understand you right, you are against further reductions in speed in built up areas because the current level of deaths and serious injuries is good enough and we should just leave it at that. Did I get that right?" That is false. My argument is that regulations should be balanced and proportionate - and given that 99+% of Ireland's 2.8 million drivers are not even involved in, let alone the cause of these incidents, your measures are not proportionate.

@magicbastarder interesting how you try to equate Ireland with Latvia and Romania. Let's see how those numbers stack up shall we?

Ireland, 3.3 fatalities per billion vehicle kilometres, Latvia 9.7, Romania, no data on vehicle distance. (source)

As for deaths per 100,000 population and per 100,000 motor vehicles: Ireland, 2.9 and 7.5 respectively. Latvia 6.9 and 24.8 respectively. Romania, 9.6 and 31.4 respectively (source). Any claim on inference that Ireland is in any way comparable to either of these countries is disingenuous in the extreme.

As to the last post from @Seth Brundle I don't know where to start. Firstly, it's a fact that large scale speed limit reductions were part of the Go Metric program: all R and L roads outside of urban areas went from 60MPH (96kph) to 80kph with the metric change. Secondly, I am a routine pedestrian on all types of roads and streets in Ireland (urban and rural) and from my practical experience as well as the data, I have no idea WTF you're talking about. As a pedestrian I've had way more problems with lawbreaking cyclists than with drivers. Dramatically so. I created a specific thread about school transport issues and if I had kids, I would want them to be guaranteed a place in a designated universal local school and be assured they could use the school bus if they could not walk. Finally, this bizarre idea that "However, the road improvements have not been made for anyone not inside a car" really? Do you even live in this country?

Yes, you need to examine stats properly and see what they actually say before throwing up headlines. Unfortunately, The Examiner didn't do so.

Would also agree that blanket statements like "Ireland's roads are extremely safe" are unhelpful and potentially misleading. With 155 road deaths last year and many more injuries, they obviously weren't extremely safe for the victims.

However, it's a statistical fact that Ireland has some of the safest roads in Europe, in terms of fatalities per head of population.

Source: https://transport.ec.europa.eu/background/2021-road-safety-statistics-what-behind-figures_en

But even still, that doesn't tell the full story. For example, drivers in larger (and ostensibly "more dangerous") countries like Italy or Poland may make longer journeys more frequently, leading to more cases of driver fatigue and associated collisions and fatalities.

Always dangerous to draw conclusions from any set of statistics without checking to see what exactly they measure, or considering whether or not they tell the full story!

Christ! Wherever it was you grew up sounds pretty depressing!!

Back in the day I clearly remember being able to cycle through low car traffic Dublin city streets without high vis/helmet and daytime running lights...Now you need to dress like a builder going to a rave just in the hope that some idiot behind the wheel of the cars flooding the city's streets doesn't hit you and send you flying into the back of an ambulance!

When there was a bus strike we walked 5 miles without complaint, try that now to the cosseted kids used to being ferried around town in their parents SUV's..

All the jobs were local, housing was affordable in the city... Now people have to live outside the city and travel back in.. just a shame there's no cycle lane network and the city speed limits aren't 30kph around the small city streets to keep people safe..

I don't "claim" that Irish motorists are safe. The facts speak for themselves.

As to the rest of your post: In addition to being a motorist, I'm also a regular pedestrian. In that capacity, I get far more respect from drivers than I do from cyclists. Dramatically so - it isn't even close.