Drivers lead the way in cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
All over Ireland people have pledged to keep to
80km/hr
as their top speed to combat climate change.
A National survey commissioned by 80 MAX found that 43% of people in Ireland support cutting the top speed limit to 80km/hr to cut greenhouse gas emissions, provide cleaner air and safer roads.
1221 pledged to keep to 80km/hr as top speed
103 pledged to keep to 100km/hr as top speed
Back window
Steering Wheel
What happens when you slow down to 80 km/hr as your top speed?
Immediately you will dramatically cut your emissions:
Wind resistance intensifies the faster you go, so you need more fuel for higher speeds but unfortunately you get far less mileage per litre.
Effects on air quality:
Transport has important effects on air quality. Road traffic is connected to the emissions of PM10 (particle matter) and NOx (nitrogen oxides). As with CO2, the emission of these particulates will decrease when a lower speed is established. However, there will be an even greater decrease than for CO2. The reason for this is that at higher speeds and larger driving dynamics the emission of PM10 and NOx increase faster than fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
The Constant Travel Time Budget:
No time is lost in the longterm as it is a fact that we have a natural built in budget for the amount of time we are prepared to spend travelling. This has not changed since they first started measuring back in the 1950s, even though we are travelling far faster.
In the longterm you will not only save money and cut emissions but you will also cut the distances you travel. This is due to the phenomenon known as The Constant Travel Time Budget. This simply means that we are prepared to only spend a certain amount of time in our day travelling. Averaged over the whole population it works out at around 65 minutes per day. With all the extra speed we have achieved, we still spend the same amount of time travelling as we did in the 1950s.
So we may assume that if we cut our speed to a max of 80km/hr we will also cut our distances travelled. This will all be done unconsciously.
The rise of better and faster means of transport has only resulted in covering longer distances and making more journeys rather than a decrease in time spent on travelling. We don't save the time we hoped to by travelling faster.
Smoother driving
With everyone's top speed at 80km/hr we will have smoother driving, less loss of power through acceleration and braking and a more relaxed driver at the end of the journey. The emotional triggers for feelings of inadequacy or competitiveness when someone passes you out are gone.