8th Annual Academic Lecture - 30km/h limits

The Road Safety Authority held their eight Annual Academic Lecture, marking the first day of ‘Irish Road Safety Week’ which ran until Sunday 8 October. The theme of the lecture was ‘30km/h limits’ and was attended by over 100 road safety stakeholders.

At the lecture the RSA urged Local Authorities to introduce more 30km/h zones in towns and cities around Ireland, as international evidence shows that Ireland is falling behind Europe in setting 30km/h speed limits. The annual academic road safety lecture featured insights on the subject from international and national experts. 

Speakers at the event included Rod King MBE, founder of the ‘20’s Plenty’ initiative in the UK which campaigns for the roll out of 20mph (30km/h) limits across the UK. Over 15 million people live in local authorities in the UK that have implemented 20mph speed limits in both urban and residential streets.

Antonio Avenoso, Director of the European Transport Safety Council provided an update on the progress of 30km/h limits across Europe. In the last couple of years there have been significant moves towards 30km/h becoming the default speed limit in urban areas on the continent.

Dublin City Council’s Dermot Stevenson updated attendees on the introduction of 30km/h speed limits in the city and the Council’s future plans to expand the network of 30km/h speed limits across the city.

30km/h limits in our towns and cities also means a safer place for our most vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and children. The RSA’s Free Speed survey which was conducted last year found that most drivers are choosing to speed in our towns and villages, when they should be choosing an appropriate speed for their surroundings. For example, the percentage of car drivers breaking the speed limit on Irish urban roads (where speed limit is less than or equal to 60km/h) was 57%. The survey also found that speeding is a problem in urban areas for other categories of vehicles such as trucks, with 55% of all rigid and 55% of all articulated trucks speeding in urban areas.”*

The RSA is reminding road-users that small changes to our behaviour on the roads can have a significant impact.

Please see Rod King presentation here and Dermot Stevenson presentation here