Journalism and Cycling 2: the difficult second album

a) those aren't accurate

b)The Guards never bother pulling anyone less than 10% over the limit, because its an easy challenge in Court for the calibration tolerance of the equipment.

c) nobody gives a toss about someone doing 57 in 50.

I have not logged on here in ages. Today is National Slow Down day... Ha, what a joke. It makes my blood boil they do this PR stunt.

Nothing changes as a result of these PR days for road safety. Today was no different to yesterday.

I cycle Enniskerry Rd 20 times a week, and it's madness. No speed checks, just a reliance on driver self regulation. The speed monitor near DLSRC frequently displays speeds way in eccess of 50kmph (and Labre34, its accurate to my GPS every time I pass it). Today, I seen it show lots close to 70, and one at 93. There are three schools on this road and some blind bends. I have seen it maxed out at 99 on more than one occasion. The limit is 50 up to the outskirts of Kilternan on the Enniskerry side. Many many motorists way in excess of 50 every day.

There are never any Garda checks on this road and I have only seen the camera van once on the stretch downhill to Kilternan. Lots of vulnerable road users on it every day, including today.

This is an appalling inditement of a failed roads policing policy, perhaps better known by those in higher echelons as 'policing by consent' . Consent of whom, the speeding motorist or implied consent of the vulnerable road users most impacted by speeding?

Education by media assumes the speeders give a crap about the consequences their actions. Most probably don't, just like they don't care about how poor their awareness of other road users is.

So I say to the RSA and AGS if you can do effective roads policing today, do it tomorrow and every day after that. Invest in technology to assist and improve detection of speeding, running red light. Use the statutes there to sanction offences and protect the vulnerable road users. Those who use the roads everyday, and who are everyday impacted by the fatalities and injuries associated with speeding, even the 7kmph over the limit of 50kmph that Labre34 says nobody cares about. I care a lot when someone speeds past me over the prescribed limit, cutting a corner, passing close etc. Its pretty serious, and it's endemic as its not being checked.

Anything less than 24/7 policing of speeding and all traffic offences in general is a pointless PR stunt that will result in more fatalities, which are already 20 more than the period last year, and 30% of all fatalities are attributed to speeding. RSA and AGS figures and stats.

Looking forward to "Please, No Shoplifting Today Day".

WTF?

Those aren't accurate. Good stuff, and we know that how?

Nobody gives a toss about someone doing 57 in a 50. I do. Thanks very much.

Local council did a speed survey here on a particular road and found 86% of drivers speeding. The Gardaí were out not long afterwards, parked in a visible location with a speed gun and I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't find anybody speeding on that occasion. Of course, later that day the road was back to 'normal'. The council refuse to build a pedestrian crossing on it because it's "too fast". It's a 60km/h limit. It's a shitshow.

I remember something about this from primary school, 30 plus years ago, you had to step onto a zebra crossing to obtain the right of way, and hope drivers stopped. For many,not an issue putting a foot on the crossing beside the kerb, for others with mobility issues or in a wheelchair, potentially impossible.

And it is not like drivers respecting them will ever be policed