Toulouse, being a growing city, has the usual growing city pains. Probably the most usual one is traffic. Toulouse has a large by-pass, that we affectionatly call the Rocade. That's what it was called 20 years ago when it was but a short part of a highway protuding a couple of miles past the toll.
With summer coming up, the city council has decided to lower the speed limit on the Rocade from 110km/h to 90km/h. As with any government decision, this one was, of course, heavily criticised, although no-one seems to care enough to strike about it. Of course, no-one strikes during summer, striking during the holiday period would go against union regulation, thus you'd have to strike against the strike, which would result in endless confusion.
Now, the arguments I've heard against that limit are actually quite funny:
Because of the slower limit, people don't respect the safety distances anymore.Well, that's true, but it's sort of an ostrich argument (one that doesn't want to look at the actual truth): people didn't respect the safety distances when driving at a 110 either. Generaly speaking, the distance between vehicles averages 5m, irrespective from the speed.
It's harder to merge into that dense trafficHarder than merging into a faster traffic?
Now trucks can do the speed limit, so you see them overtaking other trucks and blocking all the lanesRight, so they prevent you from speeding?
90 is sooo sloooooow I am boredI actually agree with that one. Then again, 130 on highways feels a little slow, and I remember reading that argument when they changed the limits from 180 to 130. Yet I don't think anyone still seriously suggests we should push the limit up to 180 (thus defying logic: Germany has no limit at all on a portion of their highway system, yet a lower death toll on the roads).