Carnage
There was a little snippet of news that almost slipped by unnoticed this week.
Our Minister for Transport and Traffic Jams wants a review of speed limits.
In at least one news report, reference was made to the “carnage” on our roads. Considering that last year, road deaths here were at their lowest level for donkey’s years, I’m not quite sure where that carnage is supposed to be taking place. I looked up “carnage” in Merriam-Webster, and apparently the strict definition is “great and usually bloody slaughter or injury”. There is nothing like adding a drop of exaggeration to the pot, is there?
Yesterday, I drove a road I hadn’t been down in a while. It’s a nice road with lovely views off to one side. From the motorists perspective, it is absolutely dead straight and dead flat for about a mile and a half, or maybe more. As usual, I put the boot down and immediately Roger [my SatNav] started whinging about my exceeding the speed limit. Sure enough the limit on this road has been reduced from none to 50 [or 30mph in old money]. Why? There must be a reason, surely? Well, about halfway along there is a junction to a narrow winding lane that few people use. There is also a farm, whose entrance can be seen from either end of the stretch. Apart from those, there is absolutely nothing except hedges and fields. I can only presume that in the near future they are going to place a speed camera on it to earn some extra cash?
Speed limits here are a joke. I have mentioned before how dual carriageways often have much lower limits than narrow winding country lanes with grass growing down the middle. There is no reason or logic to them whatsoever to the point where they probably contribute healthily to the “carnage”. There is nothing like driving behind an old biddy who suddenly slams on the breaks because the limit has dropped from 110 to 50 for no reason.
the minister should abolish the fucking things altogether as they are a fucking menace.
Then he should abolish himself.
The N11 has so many different speed limits it would make you dizzy.
That stretch between the Glen o the Downs to Kilmacanogue? Heh!
Exactly GD.
I thought that carnage was just a quick way of asking if you drive and when you were born.
.
Where’s the boy fuckwit – the slow way of asking the whereabouts of tt (fia)
You should do what my sister does. Drive everywhere at high speed and in reverse only. Any Garda that screams at her she just yells out the window ‘Did you not see yer man with the gun?!’ They always forget to take her reg number … she’s getting very good at the reverse driving and a fellow from RTE said they’d love to film her in a rally car only people would ring up complaining about the VTR going backwards and Sheila on the phones would be driven demented and would go off sick again.
Soft enough day again today.
I’m still German I see. ‘Tis fitting I suppose with the days that are in it.
Where the speed limit is 35mph they drive at 50. Where the speed limit is 70mph they drive between 85 and 90. The only thing speed limits do is make for expensive fines for driving.
You should move to Montana GD. No speed limits. There again there is usually too much snow on the ground to drive anyway.
I’ve come across the Old Biddy’s too, GD. Crawling along in a Micra at a snailspace holding everything up, usually on a road with a single white line for no reason other than to piss everyone off.
I, given the power, would confiscate all the Noddy cars from these Old Biddys and replace them with super cars, Ferrari’s etc. Imagine the result, Heh!.
The confiscated Micra’s then would replace all the Fat Bastard Car Drivers (Mercs, the really big ones, SLR’s etc, BMW’s, Bentlys) cars. and all speed limits, road signs and markings would be removed.
What the hell, they drive like they have these conditions in Tallaght anyway.
Oh!, most important, I’d get rid of ramps and fucking speed bumps as well as the bugger who invented them.
Just seen of Donedeal.ie http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/boats/2993649
I’ve gotta have one. ‘I need a Dollar….’ heh!
While it’s generally accepted that they always make a balls of these things, their motivation is at least, positive: Faster limits on good roads, slower on shit roads- “I think everyone knows of places where speed limits are inappropriately high or inappropriately low. I am asking the NRA and councils to use their local knowledge to review speed limits that may be inappropriate.” Leo Varadkar. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0209/1224311518288.html
Con – Not a bad idea. I must try it sometime. Either that or get a blue flashy blue light for the dashboard? Congratulations on your new German EU Citizenship. Put the kettle on, as the rest of us will be joining you shortly.
Brianf – They wait for the 110 limit to drive at 50 here, and in the 50 limit they barely move at all. Instead of wasting a fortune on fucking speed limits they should put mor cash into driver testing.
tt – I’m on my way! Heh!
Slab – They have actually removed all road markings and even pavements in some European towns. I have seen it at work in France. The result? Motorists drive extra carefully if there are pedestrians or cyclists about. It struck me as eminently sensible.
I got in touch with the people in that ad. Unfortunately the postage was a little high so I let it go.
GGoblin – Letting the councils decide is a recipe for disaster. If they have to have speed limits they should be set to national levels – one for Motorways, one for National Routes and one for all other roads. Those limits should be a standard [for example, motorways – 140, National – 100 and all others 80. Let road conditions set the speed. Low limits could apply then only to points of hazard such as villages, sharp bends and other danger spots. And by limits for a village, I don’t mean for five fucking miles around!
At the rate motoring expenses are going, it won’t be long before all you will hear is the ‘Clip Clop’ of Horses pulling carts (of former motorists) along the M50.
I wonder what the toll charge for a horse is.
We currently have a system where roads are given standard limits and it’s an absolute disaster. There is such diversity to what a “regional” road can mean that an 80kph default speed limit can either be too fast or too slow. This review is mean’t to address this problem, where roads are individually inspected and given an appropriate limit for the conditions met. Proof that this can work came recently on the Fermoy road, where Cork County Council successfully requested to have the the old limit of 100kph reinstated after the road had been automatically decreased to 80kph simply because it was recategorised to a regional road when the M8 opened. Cork CC also managed to increase the speed limit on a dual carriageway to 120kph a few years ago based on the quality of the road, even though it wasn’t a motorway.
I might want to pour a jug of hot feculence into Veradker’s mouth most days but this review is most necessary. We were actually promised it would happen at the time of the mph/kph changeover but no, all that happened then was a simple sign change. That’s why I don’t hold out too much hope for this announcement either.