'Absolute madness': Can this city-wide speed limit proposal slow locals down?

As the debate over road safety versus driver convenience revs up, a controversial proposal recently sparked outrage and concern among motorists.

The suggestion of imposing a blanket speed limit across all streets received a chorus of disapproval, with some even calling it 'absolute madness'.


The Adelaide City Council proposed a speed limit of 30 km/h, which has been under review for over two years.

The proposed speed limit should make Adelaide's city roads safer for both drivers and pedestrians.

The proposal had three options:
  • A citywide 30 km/h limit
  • A 40 km/h limit for most roads
  • A mix of both with major arterial roads staying at 50km/h.
However, the 30 km/h limit has ignited the most heated responses.


compressed-Adelaide City Roads.jpeg
A councillor feared that the speed limit might affect locals' travel time and productivity. Image Credit: Pexels/Cameron Readius


Councillor Henry Davis did not mince his words when he condemned the idea.

'To my mind, this is absolute madness; you would shut down the city if that were the case,' Councillor Davis said in an interview.

'It's madness. I don't even know why we were sitting in a council meeting for about an hour and a half considering this as a viable option.'

The proposal also aimed to encourage 'riding in' with others, minimising car usage in the long run.

However, Davis argued that the slower traffic could have the opposite effect.


In the face of backlash, Adelaide Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith reminded the public that the proposal was still in its early stages.

She highlighted the balance between safety and convenience.

'On one side, if you go to the road accident research people, they will tell you if you're hit as a pedestrian at 50 km/h, you've got a 90 per cent chance of dying,' Lord Mayor Smith said.

'Whereas if you're hit at 30 km/h, you've got a 10 per cent chance of dying. The other side of the argument is people's convenience and how easy it is to get around.'

With all this in mind, Lord Mayor Smith said that the proposal still has a 'long way to go'.


The proposal came in at a time when Australia started grappling with preventable road deaths.

As part of the National Road Safety Standards Agreement signed in 2021, Australia should halve road deaths by 2030.

However, the country saw a 17.4 per cent increase in the national road toll.

About 1,288 people have died on Australian roads during the past year, with no state or territory on track to meet the targets.

'The road toll is clearly a tragedy,' National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA) spokesman Peter Khoury lamented.

The debate over the proposed speed limit was just part of a larger conversation about road safety.

It raised critical questions about how cities could balance efficient transportation with the importance of protecting lives.
Key Takeaways

  • Adelaide City Council proposed several speed limits to be applied across the city.
  • The proposal received significant backlash, with a councillor criticising it as 'absolute madness' that could stifle the city's daily operations.
  • Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith reminded locals that the proposal was still in the early stages and still has a long way to go.
  • The proposal came after the national concern over road deaths, as road deaths have increased over the past year.
We want to hear from you. What are your thoughts on the proposed speed limit changes in Adelaide? Would these measures improve safety, or would it create more problems? Share your thoughts and opinions with us in the comments section below.
 

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Maybe, it's time to raise the driving age to 21, when youngsters have matured enough, to be able to differentiate between risks and maturity, most young drivers want at some point in their driving experience, drive to see how fast they can drive, no thought of risks, just go for it!! I know this from experience, on training my son, he asked while out on a lesson to drive on the freeway for him to drive at 100 km ph. I refused, but garentee ed on passing his test, that's what he did !!
 
We had a trial of 30kph in our school zones some time ago now - it’s ridiculously slow and the trial proved it. Road safety is up to all of us. We need to teach our kids how to behave around traffic and when crossing roads and we all need to be responsible whether we are walking, riding or driving for our own safety and that of others. If we keep slowing down to Keep people safe we’ll end up doing 10kph in suburban areas, plus lowering the speed to 30 will only add more frustration to peak hour commuting, making it even more unsafe (I’m in Brisbane, the trial was across my State electorate at the time. The idea was soundly rejected after the trial)
 
sounds like when cars were invented i have my white flag to walk in front so the pe0ple can cross where ever they could save money by doing away with crossways and also traffic lights
 
Instead of seeing an overall death rate from road accidents, how about telling us how many have died on the streets of Adelaide CBD. This would be a better indicator of the need to reduce speed to this ridiculous low range.

How about we also make pedestrians responsible for their own actions on the road instead of making the car driver responsible for keeping them safe? How many of the pedestrians who were hit were looking at their mobile phones instead of looking at the traffic around them as they stepped off the footpath in front of a moving vehicle?

Road safety is a 2-way street & this has to be taken into consideration when trying to reduce the road toll. Everyone must be held responsible for their actions in all circumstances.
I agree 100% with everything you say. You have summed it up perfectly.
 
We had a trial of 30kph in our school zones some time ago now - it’s ridiculously slow and the trial proved it. Road safety is up to all of us. We need to teach our kids how to behave around traffic and when crossing roads and we all need to be responsible whether we are walking, riding or driving for our own safety and that of others. If we keep slowing down to Keep people safe we’ll end up doing 10kph in suburban areas, plus lowering the speed to 30 will only add more frustration to peak hour commuting, making it even more unsafe (I’m in Brisbane, the trial was across my State electorate at the time. The idea was soundly rejected after the trial)
Our school zones here in Adelaide are 25kph.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: Veggiepatch
Here we go again...! At least once a week you hear news about deaths on our roads having increased compared to last year. Duhhhhh!
When will it take politicians, statistics and news companies to understand that every year the population increases and now even more radically with all the 'refugees' and illegal immigrants hastening our population explosion?

Taking into consideration, drugs and alcohol consumption when driving - do you really think you will get someone with that level of incoherence to reduce their speed (excuse the pun)!?
Not to mention, the crime of stolen vehicles driven by children.

Rest assured, the speed limit will not only reduce itself, but more serious issues (like those mentioned above) will eventually come to light, but sadly too late!
 
Focus more on public voilence, murders, (stabbings, domestic violence , assaults, crime etc)

Is it the speeding killing people or is it the destractions, lack of focus or something else (car theft/hijacking/speeding, foreign country drivers/backpackers, etc) causing the accidents?
 
Well this has certainly stirred up the pot! I am 83 years of age physically disabled, deaf, and a sufferer of Alzheimer's for 15 years. So I am going to put in my piece for the elderly and young children. Like very young children I am never on my own when out and about; also I only have to face these dangerous situations on very rare occasions to attend appointments. At such times I am very nervous, yet have no choice but to take things very slowly. Unless my Government Assisted Carer cannot find one we always use a Zebra crossing, but it is very disappointing and upsetting to discover that in many instances a Zebra Crossing is missing in an area where it is obvious pedestrians continually use to get to a main shopping area for Groceries, a Chemist, or a Doctors. Another dangerous area is roundabouts. There is one in particular in Elizabeth next to the TAFE College. Here the cars come at top notch speed over a bridge, and many rarely slow down, leave alone stop and give way, to traffic on the roundabout which has right of way. I'm not saying road accidents in built up areas is always the fault of drivers, but I do think a blanket speed limit of 30 km/h would cut down the number of accidents and occurrences of Road Rage.
 
Here we go again...! At least once a week you hear news about deaths on our roads having increased compared to last year. Duhhhhh!
When will it take politicians, statistics and news companies to understand that every year the population increases and now even more radically with all the 'refugees' and illegal immigrants hastening our population explosion?

Taking into consideration, drugs and alcohol consumption when driving - do you really think you will get someone with that level of incoherence to reduce their speed (excuse the pun)!?
Not to mention, the crime of stolen vehicles driven by children.

Rest assured, the speed limit will not only reduce itself, but more serious issues (like those mentioned above) will eventually come to light, but sadly too late!
I agree it seems the problem is unsolvable when once issued a driving licence anything goes. It's the whole attitude of people driving on roads that needs to be changed but how. Showing grim images of road trauma gets a shrug from young drivers their mindset is that it wouldn't happen to them. Once they get a licence their whole behaviour changes at least for most of them that they own the road and I can drive better and faster than you. Penalties don't work they will drive unlicensed ,mobile phone use is still deadly on roads and on footpaths. Cars must be built with limited speed limits but that's been call for previously.WA has had it's worse year so far for deaths on our roads surely there must be a solution somewhere. I drive to the speed limit and I still get overtaken and not just by young drivers,get cut of as I merge into one lane it seems to be installed in their minds they must have no one in front of them and a look at me syndrome. Can imagine the road toll coming up to Christmas
 
I think we should address the elephant in the room, which no council seems to want to do. Excess road deaths could possibly be attributable to effects of the vaccine. Because every country in the world has excess deaths on roads and everywhere else, Australia is no exception. The only problem is the "government and councils" will never admit it because they have hidden the truth for 3+ years. Just my opinion but I been researching quite a lot this last 4 years.
 
When I had my old F150, Late one night I stopped to let car pass before making my turn as I did so I jammed on my brakes. Must have seen something, as I stopped some stupid bastard shot past me in a bloody Go Kart? If I hadn't have stopped he would have ended up under my motor with one of LPG tanks in his lap. Evidently the useless moronic tit was using the car I stopped for as it's lights? He was one extremely lucky bastard that night, "Oh" and I wouldn't have lost any sleep.
 

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