No limit to rigid views on speed

REARVIEW:IN AFGHANISTAN, we're told, the Taliban would have kite flyers, music fans, female scholars, Christians and others meet the same fate. Not only that, but they wish to spread their message and their extreme views outside their borders and across the world. It is "my way or the highway" religion.

But we have a hotbed of extremists of our own, who lurk on every corner. They have not only taken over decision-making in the capital but have infiltrated the thoughts of logical folk and have seemingly successfully imposed their will on the masses. The two-wheeled Taliban and their foot soldiers are now fanning out from Dublin and moving to Cork and Galway to impose 30km/h speed limits on the motorists.

I am a cyclist, motorist, pedestrian and train-user. Is driving down an empty two-lane street at 4am at the speed of a bicycle going to assist in cutting road deaths and injuries? Let's confine this non-sensical city centre speed limit to rush hours at the very least.

What really took the biscuit last week was the Dublin Cycling Campaign's reaction to the announcement that cyclists in the capital are set to get a €10 million, virtually unbroken, road all to themselves, running from Portobello in the south to Clontarf in the north. Some 270 parking spaces for cars will be extinguished to make way for the two-wheelers.

Great news, you would think, but no, the Dublin Cycling Campaign complain that the largely off-road route would contribute to the perception that cycling on the street is unsafe. Fair enough, I could think of better use for my €1,000 a year car tax. How much bike tax do you pay? What's that, you got your bike half price under the Government scheme? Divine.