Pipe dreams
There will be no road deaths in Ireland by 2050.
Dream on.
The only way they could possibly achieve this is to reintroduce the red flag man.
Irish Motorway circa 2050
Naturally their preferred method of achieving this is to increase fines and penalty points.
As usual, they completely miss the point. They proudly brag about catching someone doing 190 on the motorway and isn’t that terrible? But what was the condition of the road? Were there other vehicles nearby? Was visibility good? Was he actually involved in an accident? I would contend that a speed of 190 is perfectly safe on a motorway if the conditions are right and the driver was experienced and knew his limits. They brag about the thousands of motorists caught speeding without seeming to realise that none of those drivers was actually involved in an accident.
Accidents aren’t caused by speed, lack of seatbelts or any of the other things they penalise people for. Accidents are basically down to one of two things. There is mechanical failure which I would imagine is rare enough. Then there is the driver. Accidents are caused by reckless driving where the driver doesn’t know his limitations or the condition of the weather, other traffic and the road itself. Someone doing 150 in fog, or on a narrow winding country road is just plain asking for trouble.
They are obsessed with speed. They are talking about introducing revised limits throughout the country and doubtless this will involve reduced limits in all the inappropriate places. It also means increased fines which I’m sure never crossed their minds.
What would be helpful would be listing the actual causes of accidents. I would imagine that a lot are caused by inexperience or lack of knowledge of the route. Some would be down to driver fatigue or distraction. Some are caused by young people showing off [it’s remarkable the number of young people involved in accidents]. The only way speed is a factor is in the severity of an accident but not the cause.
I don’t know how they hope to achieve their totally unrealistic target.
I just know it will be a pain in the arse..
The problem is that speed is a binary, a vehicle is either within or outside the limit and it’s now a techical doddle to measure/prove.
Unlike careless driving or merely driving inappropriately to the condtions, which are subjective and can be debated.
Although speed cameras never make roads safer, they do make lots of dosh for the operators and also the insurance companies, who then have an excuse to up the premiums.
Wonder who gets the back-handers from that channel? Just askin’ . . .
You also need to consider that some accidents are caused by idiot pedestrians not paying attention, looking at their phones when crossing the road. And it’s pure luck at times: if I’m going marginally slower, the idiot will be across the road by the time I get there; if I’m going marginally faster, I’m past them before they’ve stepped out.
As ever, so much of this is about fining people and raising money.
Watch out for deer crossing the road too! The usual issue is that if you see one, there’s probably another…
Just down the road from here, a speeding driver hit a deer head on, and the two cars belting along behind him bashed into his rear as well! Deer do make an awful mess of your car, but to hear drivers screaming away down the hill at all times of the night, I know that one day, there’ll be a huge prang, but plenty of venison for all!
Electric vehicles can cause accidents too, just by their nature. There were electric trolley buses in Belfast right up to the 1960’s. Apparently they got the nickname ‘Whispering Death’, because so many pedestrians walked out in front of them. Surely the increase in EV’s on the roads must be causing a similar problem? Perhaps they will ban those as well, or perhaps we will all be compelled to wear bubble wrap suits to protect us from ourselves?
Looks to me like that “red flag man is about to get himself run over.