Kevin Leyden

1. Once the driver has reached a certain number of moving violations, their driver's license should be suspended.
2. Don't all these violations affect the driver's insurance rates?

Switching 50km/h speed limits to 30km/h would protect cyclists while barely affecting commutes, research finds One expert says a cyclist hit by a car travelling 50km/h has about a one-in-10 chance of surviving, while at 30km/h it is a nine-in-10 chance

“If you get hit by a car travelling at 50km/h, you’ve only got a 1.5-in-10 chance of surviving. If it’s going 30km/h you’ve got a nine-in-10 chance.”

“But it was not enough to put up a sign that says 30km/h…there also needed to be design changes to slow down traffic.”

Speed is always a factor.

The plastic inside us: how microplastics may be reshaping our bodies and minds The particles are in our blood, brains and guts – and scientists are only beginning to learn what they do

How microplastics may be reshaping our bodies and minds.

“The particles are in our blood, brains and guts – and scientists are only beginning to learn what they do.”

Microplastics like those from car tires. The bigger and heavier the vehicle, the more microplastics shed.

Forget EVs. Cycling is revolutionising transport Pedal power is booming, spinning up a new culture war

“In London cyclists now outnumber cars in the City by 2 to 1. Paris, where they now outnumber motorists across the whole city, is catching up with Europe’s traditional bike capitals, Amsterdam & Copenhagen…In Copenhagen, bikes account for almost half of commuter trips to work/school.” @economist.com

"Nothing works like negative campaigning," according to Ivan Yeats.
His suggestion that Humphreys should create fear during the election campaign is right out of the Trump handbook.
#aras25

Calls for additional Galway service for morning commuters – ‘If you start work at 8:00am the bus arrives too late’ Bus commuters travelling from Oughterard into Galway are calling for a second morning service on the 419 routes, with Galway West TD John Connolly pressing the National Transport Authority (NTA) to ad...

Thank you Galway West TD John Connolly for supporting additional bus services in Galway!

m.independent.ie/regionals/ga...

Opinion: Those outraged by a €100k bike shed should look at the annual cost of renting out car park spaces We have completely normalised investment in congestion, pollution and the continuation of car-first planning, writes Ciarán Cannon.

'The real scandal here is not “bike shed groundhog day.” It’s the groundhog day of car dependency, subsidised at vast public expense, locking us into congestion, pollution, poor health and missed climate targets.'

Great piece from @ciarancannon.bsky.social

www.thejournal.ie/readme/bike-...

E-bikes could cut carbon, congestion, and costs — if cities take them seriously E-bike sales are booming, providing a clean form of transportation that also improves public health. Yet cities remain committed to cars.

“The e-bike market is skyrocketing — and, according to some studies, outpacing electric cars…The question now is: Do officials double down on deadly car-centric urban design, or do they rethink cities to encourage people to ditch four wheels for two?”

Via @grist.org grist.org/transportati...

Promising innovation from the @dubcitycouncil.bsky.social

@tinydbass.bsky.social @irishdocsenv.bsky.social @olaln.bsky.social @fhmediastuff.bsky.social @kleyden.bsky.social 👇

No, Defensive Walking Isn't The Solution For Road Deaths - Jalopnik It's victim-blaming, it's bull, and it's not the solution we need.

“In 2023, cars and their drivers killed 8,820 American pedestrians and bicyclists — 7,314 pedestrians and 1,166 cyclists. They injured another 136,281, an increase of over 5,300 injuries from 2022.”

Put the responsibility where it belongs. Via @jalopnik.bsky.social www.jalopnik.com/1979666/defe...

Car tyres shed a quarter of all microplastics in the environment – urgent action is needed Tiny flakes of plastic, generated by the wear and tear of normal driving, eventually accumulate in the soil, in rivers and lakes, and even in our food.

Every year, billions of vehicles worldwide shed an estimated 6 million tonnes of tire fragments. These tiny flakes of plastic, generated by normal driving, account for 28% of microplastics entering the environment globally.

Heavy vehicles eg SUVs/EVs especially.

Via @us.theconversation.com

After Kirk’s Killing, Obama Says the Nation Is in a ‘Political Crisis’

Speaking yesterday about the current extreme divisiveness in America, Obama said "at moments like this, when tensions are high, then part of the job of the president is to pull people together.” It is what American presidents do.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/u...

Images of Dutch bike infrastructure

IMPORTANT: The Dutch invest €595 million annually on urban biking, resulting in €19 BILLION saved in public health care costs alone. That’s how smart govts do the math on investing in better mobility.

Let’s be clear— it wastes public money to NOT do it.

#CityMakingMath HT @modacitylife.bsky.social

The impact of congestion charging on car ownership: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment Urban Vehicle Access Regulations are experiencing a resurgence in interest as practitioners grapple with prominent challenges, such as traffic safety,…

Congestion charging in London caused an average of 7% drop in car ownership in affected areas (outer London near the charging boundary).

If we want fewer cars in our streets, and all the benefits that brings, this is one of the tools that we know works.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Very good piece authored by @cianginty.bsky.social.

Cost of running a car hits €10,373 in 2025 - OUTsurance New analysis by OUTsurance Ireland shows that Irish motorists can expect to spend an average of €10,373 a year to keep an average petrol or diesel car on the road in 2025.

"The steepest cost comes from depreciation - a 2024 Hyundai Tucson valued at €40,000 will have depreciated by about €6,274 over the course of this year, based on standard valuation tools."

www.rte.ie/news/busines...

The puzzle.

Urbanist Brent Toderian Says Tall Buildings Are Not the Problem “Sarasota has a huge disconnect between the types of developments being built and the actual needs of the community."

“You have to hold developers to high standards. You don’t just let anything get built. The answer isn’t to say ‘no’ to everything—it’s to say, ‘Yes, if.’ If it meets our vision. If it improves our public realm. If it creates benefits, not just burdens.”

My @sarasotamagazine.bsky.social interview.

Using natural experiments to evaluate population health and health system interventions: new framework for producers and users of evidence Natural experiments are widely used to evaluate the impacts on health of changes in policies, infrastructure, and services. The UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and National Institute for Health and ...

COVID-19 was a "black swan event" because it was unexpected and disruptive. It revealed hidden dynamics in traffic patterns, allowing the researchers to study cause & effect essentially as a Natural Experiment. The same conditions could not have been created deliberately.
www.bmj.com/content/388/...

The Shanghai study shows that congestion increases in a nonlinear way. A small rise in the number of vehicles can cause a big spike in delays & bottlenecks. This is because traffic jams often spread like a chain reaction, with one blockage triggering many others across the network. Intuitive, right?

Study Shows Bike Commuting Is Still the Smartest and Healthiest Way to Get to Work For urban cyclists navigating city streets every day, the benefits of bike commuting often speak for themselves

NEW STUDY: A new study “confirms what many riders already know—cycling to work makes you healthier, more productive, and even reduces sick days.”

“The most active cyclists chalked up 531 fewer sick days per 100 person-years compared to non-cyclists.”

Via @momentummag.bsky.social

More Americans died while biking than in any previous year -- ever.

(Sources: @bikeleague.bsky.social & injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicl...)

New Report Reveals Concerning Cyclist Safety Statistics on Irish Roads New RSA report shows 45 cyclists died and 1,278 were seriously injured on Irish roads from 2020-2024. Urban areas and male riders aged 56-65 most affected.

New RSA report shows 45 cyclists died and 1,278 were seriously injured on Irish roads from 2020-2024. Urban areas and male riders aged 56-65 most affected. csalert.ie/43lUj5d

People who cycle in Galway – for transport, utility or convenience – do so despite, not because of, the City Council's policies.

What's particularly galling in this context is that the Council has literally campaigned for decades to unleash "suppressed demand" for driving.

This urban greenway in Galway, Millers Lane, is part of a well-planned train network 🚂🧵

Permeability of Galway City Centre for bicycles. A thread on contra-flow cycling🧵

Numerous one-way streets throughout the medieval city centre core create challenges in relation to permeability for cyclers. 🧵1/5

Kaitlan Collins on X: "Upon his arrival, President Trump is attending a big lunch here in Riyadh which has quite the guest list, including Elon Musk, Larry Fink, Sam Altman, Andy Jassy and Reid Hoffman, to name a few. https://t.co/jLSi3Uhlz0" / X Upon his arrival, President Trump is attending a big lunch here in Riyadh which has quite the guest list, including Elon Musk, Larry Fink, Sam Altman, Andy Jassy and Reid Hoffman, to name a few. https://t.co/jLSi3Uhlz0

Never mind, MAGA, this is who Trump really represents.
x.com/kaitlancolli...

Acting like Brownshirts?