I am very glad to second this motion, not so much because I think the motion to establish a speed limit in built-up areas will solve our traffic problem or even reduce very considerably the number of accidents as because I think it is important that it should be known that this House is aware of the serious situation that exists and the extent to which traffic has got out of control, especially in the City of Dublin.
A speed limit such as is suggested in the motion applies only to the built-up areas and in the built-up areas I venture to say the necessity is greatest in and around the City of Dublin. At the same time I do not want to suggest that it would not be beneficial in many country towns and villages. In fact I regard it as absolutely essential that motorists should be compelled to slow down as they pass through towns and villages.
I regard the traffic problem as a three-fold problem—a problem of control, a psychological problem, and a physical problem, by which I mean the planning and lay-out of the roads and all that goes with it. This question of the speed limit touches on all three aspects of the problem. There is first of all the question of control. In order to implement the speed limit, we would have to have adequate signs and warnings at the entry to every town. We would have to have a considerable amount of supervision in the early years in order to catch people who were breaking the regulations. What is far more important, and what Senator Duffy has already referred to, is that we would have to have the necessary powers to enforce substantial penalties when the culprits were caught.
In the Dublin Corporation I have been on committees that have discussed this problem with the Garda authorities and I have also discussed the matter unofficially with members of the Garda who are responsible for carrying out traffic control. They are of the opinion that a speed limit will be of immense value but they feel very strongly that, under present conditions, the value of the penalty would be lost by the fact that it is almost impossible to apply the penalty within a reasonable period of time. All offenders under the Road Traffic Acts pass through the ordinary District Courts. Often the cases are held up for months and by the time the culprit is brought to court he has forgotten the offence or the prosecuting Garda has not the same keen idea of the degree of the offence. There is not the same effect as immediate action would have. I would suggest that unless means are adopted by which the penalty under such a regulation could be enforced quickly a great deal of its effect would be lost.
I am not suggesting that that is the only traffic control that has to be looked into. The fact that a speed limit is imposed on mechanically propelled vehicles would convince pedestrians, who are often just as much to blame as drivers and riders, that there was some consideration for them. They would not feel, as they do at the moment, that they are the forgotten section of the community and that mechanical vehicles have the exclusive use of the roads. Of course, in law that is not the case but it is the idea that the pedestrian has, that he is not entitled to any consideration. It would also mean that there would be some degree of usefulness in pedestrian crossings which at the moment are of very little use to pedestrians from a safety point of view. If there is no speed limit, it is very doubtful whether a car can slow down quickly enough at a pedestrian crossing to allow the pedestrian to cross in safety.
The speed limit concerns the psychological approach to our traffic problem. Far too little thought has been given to this aspect of the problem. By far the greatest number of accidents and the greatest amount of confusion and congestion is caused by lack of road manners. That can only be initiated in the very young. The introduction of the speed limit would act as a code. The fact that at the entry to every town there would be a large sign indicating that the speed limit was 20 or 30 miles an hour, as the case might be, would have a psychological effect. People would slow down automatically; they would take a little more care and be a little more on the look out for people stepping off the pavement. The whole tempo of traffic would be slowed down. From that point of view, the speed limit would be of immense value.
There only remains the physical aspect of the problem, and by that I mean the general layout of the roads and the congestion caused by bad planning in towns and cities. The speed limit would be difficult to enforce in a town that is badly laid out and on roads that are unsuited to traffic. It would be difficult to arrive at a uniform speed limit that would be suitable to overcome all the difficulties that exist. Dublin, for instance, where the greatest problem exists from the point of view of congestion, is an old city. It is congested in its centre and, except for certain streets, is unsuited to modern traffic. Certain proposals have been made by the planning authorities for arterial roads, and for linked roads to take the heavy traffic, which could bye-pass the city. If these proposals could be speeded up much of the congestion in the centre of the city would be disposed of.
It is unfortunate that the road plan for Dublin, which has been lodged in the Local Government Department for the last two years, and on which there has been no comment whatsoever so far, has been held up in this way. This may seem irrelevant to the question of a speed limit, but I should like to point out that whenever the question of traffic is mentioned in the City of Dublin we are always told by the Garda authorities, and other responsible bodies, that there is no possibility of improving traffic conditions while certain congested areas are allowed to exist. We are told that as long as bridges across the Liffey are not constructed that we must accept the condition that we have in the centre of Dublin. We are told that, as long as the widening of streets leading to the bridges is not proceeded with, there is no point in discussing other aspects of the traffic problem.
I do not subscribe to that at all. I merely mention it in passing because I feel that it will be an argument that will be put forward, and to emphasise the need there is for speeding up a decision from the Department of Local Government on road planning. There are other reasons why it should be speeded up. In the meantime all proposals for rebuilding must be decided on the basis that the plan submitted for the roads of Dublin will be accepted. There is nothing else to go on. Meantime, buildings are going up and repairs and reconstruction are going on. If one street is widened by one, two or three feet that will involve the City of Dublin in immense sums by way of compensation. This hold up in the road plan is made the excuse by the traffic authorities for taking no action.
There is another matter concerning traffic congestion in the city and speed limits. It is a ridiculous position that in this country anybody, the halt, the lame and the blind, can apply for a driving licence without providing any evidence that they are capable of driving. It may seem slightly ridiculous to refer to a speed limit at all when such a state of affairs exists—that we have no driving test in this country.
There are many other things which would help in the safety of the roads such as more islands, the marking of separate lines for traffic and crossing lines for pedestrian traffic. These will all be useless if we cannot instil into the people of the country a code of good manners on the road. I feel, as regards speed, that the worst offenders are young men in their 'teens and their twenties. I have been driving a car myself for about 14 years and while in no way trying to exonerate women drivers from the desire to speed, I have no hesitation in saying that the youths evidently find some excitement in driving at a high speed. They do not appear to have developed a great sense of responsibility.
From my experience in other countries, I have come to the conclusion that a speed limit is essential. Last year I took a car across England, to Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Germany. I drove through all the capitals of those countries and through many of the small towns and villages. In not one single town or village through which I passed was there the absence of a speed limit. In most cases it corresponded to the English 30 miles an hour. I do not feel myself competent to express an opinion as to what would be a suitable speed limit in view of the vast strides which have been made in the design of cars. It might be more dangerous to suggest 20 miles an hour than 50 miles for a certain type of car. That is a point on which only the expert can give us advice. I feel, however, that a speed limit would be of immense value.
Senator Duffy referred to alternatives to apply in the built-up areas. I think that the argument that the people would not co-operate has been disproved by the reactions of the driving public to traffic lights. When they were first suggested quite a number of people asked what was the good of having them, but experience has shown that they have been a success and are being obeyed.
The only other objection that I could imagine anyone offering to the motion is the cost, but if you can improve the safety of the roads and save human lives that is not something that can be measured in terms of money. We do feel obliged to spend money in trying to make our roads. safer. I feel certain that the Government, and particularly the Department of Local Government, do want to make our roads better and safer. I hope that the Department will do all in its power to hurry up planning legislation which would help to relieve congestion and would to a great degree solve our traffic problems in the cities and towns.
In Dublin we have the oldest tradition of a planning authority in Europe. We had the Wide Streets Commissioners, a body which was set up in 1754 for the express purpose of making our streets and laneways safe for vehicular and pedestrian traffic. We know the magnificent work which these commissioners did. Between 1754 and 1840, when they were abolished, they were responsible for the provision of our wide, open streets, for the wide and spacious bridges in our city and for one of the first circular roads in Europe which set a headline for other countries to follow. Our Irish Parliament, all through its years of struggle for Irish independence, passed 16 Acts of Parliament over a number of years and gave large sums of money for the widening and improvement of the streets of Dublin. I have much pleasure in seconding the motion.