Originally published in the Business Post.

The Road Safey Authority (RSA), in its wisdom, has gifted us a national speed limit reduction. Admittedly, it wasn’t acting alone. The previous government commissioned a task force on speed limits of which the RSA was co-chair.

If one applies the old saying that if all you have is a hammer the world looks like a nail, it is probably unsurprising that a group commissioned to look at speed limits in response to a (largely imagined but heavily publicised) national crisis would ultimately recommend lowering them.

It would be a brave review group that would sit for months then say “you know, it’s pretty much grand, leave it be”.

No-one in the road safety business has ever been criticised for recommending lower speed limits. It feels safer, scratches the itch of being seen to do something, and is relatively simple to implement. Unfortunately, it won’t do much to address the actual problem

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