'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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And now they are legalising
e-scooters To use the roads, with no registration or licence required?
How many more accidents will this create,by these idiots taking over the road,and probably wizzing around faster, with no insurance if they cause an accident?
We don't need so called "experts" to tell us how we should live,and what we are allowed to do !!
A lot of us still have common sense, something that has disappeared because of this PC bullshit !!
Had a teenage e-scooter rider arrive opposite me at a set of traffic lights: I was about to turn right and waited for him to proceed first, going straight ahead. No - he was waiting for me, contrary to road rules!
Aside from that, he was wearing thongs (I hate to think what could have happened to his toes if he had needed to put his foot down to stabilise the scooter at speed), no crash helmet - and was doubling a teen passenger!
The intersection was 400m from the police station!
 
  • Wow
Reactions: deni67
Wrong, not an anti vaxxer, just a person with common sense who did not let the "government" force an experimental jab on me. Just think, if the so called pandemic was as bad as they reported, why were politicians, judges, police commissioners and health officials exempt from the jab. Go and look up Malcom Roberts from One Nation, Alex Antic from the Liberal party, Senator Gerrard Rennick, Senator Babet. Ask yourself why these politicians are canning the
'government" in the senate hearings but your main stream media fails to report it. When people cannot answer simple questions, they resort to name calling, a sure sign of immaturity. Research. Discussion closed.
You are a nit wit..all you named were & still are Anti Vaccer's Your Spiel is the Same Regurgitation
 
Lowering the speed limit is going to create more impatient drivers causing more road rage and more congestion. This is already happening resulting in so many road deaths but banning high powered cars for under 25's could help more.
 
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.
Yes, the vaccine. It has caused wars, natural disasters unemployment to name a few . Next ot will cause the fall of the Roman empire
 
  • Haha
Reactions: deni67 and magpie1
The problem is lack of crossings, not the speed limit. And for info, whilst pedestrians must be given way to at an intersection when the vehicle is turning, a driver does not have to give way yo a pedestrian at a roundabout.
A driver has to give way to any vehicle already on a roundabout. That is a dangerous place for a pedestrian to cross the road.
For speed limits my opinion is if the police are booking a driver for being 2k over the limit, either the margin of 2km is too small, or the police should lower the speed limit by 5km.
 
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.
Oh F**K!

You are the elephant shit on the road to Mandalay.

Next thing, you will be telling the members of SDC that Mortein fly spray causes radiation poisoning, resulting in a massive increase in skateboarding related deaths.

There is no relevance to COVID-19 in your dribbling dialogue.

Or mine! :ROFLMAO:
 
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.
Source of information, please.
 
  • Like
Reactions: deni67
Don't walk out or drive out of a side road in front of trucks trying to beat them. One saying in the transport industry is "even small trucks don't stop on 3d"
 
  • Like
Reactions: deni67

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