Reducing motorway speeds would be just a ‘gesture’, says AA

Motorway speed limits should not be reduced until the Government has properly assessed the carbon emissions within the transport sector, the AA has said.

Responding to the publication on Wednesday of the National Mitigation Plan for climate change, the AA said there was a policy tendency to look at transport emissions, and then to take measures against the use of private cars.

The National Mitigation Plan which was published at midday on the website of the Department of Climate action lists a range of measures under consideration by Government aimed at decarbonising the transport sector by 2050.

These include consideration of reducing the speed limits on motorways, with the top speed for cars dropping from 120 km/h to 110km/h and the top speed for heavy goods vehicles from 90km/h to 80km/h.

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But the AA said the reduction as it applies to private cars would be “probably so marginal” that it could be considered only a gesture.

‘Disingenuous’ approach

The organisation said consideration of the emissions issue in transport usually begins “with the observation that transport generates CO2” and quickly moves to “the conclusion that policy should tax or frustrate the use of private cars”.

AA spokesman Conor Faughnan said the approach was “disingenuous”. He said the private car had made enormous reductions in tailpipe CO2 emissions since the change in taxation calculations to reflect emissions.

The majority of family cars were now in the lowest tax bands, A or B, due to reduced emission levels. He said new cars were now almost all in the A or B category, “a category which would have been considered in the low polluting category 10 years ago”.

The reduction to 110 km/h would save fuel, he said, but the amount has been disputed with estimates ranging from two per cent to 10 per cent, with driving style and the condition of the car also being factors.

The AA has said attention would be better focused on considering the transition to fuels such as bio fuel which are more environmentally friendly and electric cars.

Technological advances

Mr Faughnan said there were huge technological advances in low emission vehicles and “the Government should get behind electric vehicles and offer more support”.

The National Mitigation Plan said “consideration” should be given to to reducing speeds but notes that “a step change” in speed enforcement would be required.

It noted that during the recession between 2007 and 2012 “a significant reduction in Ireland’s transport emissions was achieved. It attributed this to a fall-off in freight activity, particularly construction freight; the introduction of a bio fuels obligation and “a step change in the energy efficiency of the car fleet”.