Local Authorities are being urged to reduce the speed limit to 30 kilometres an hour to save lives.
Ireland is falling behind Europe in setting 30 kph zones in towns and cities around the country.
While recent research by the RSA found that almost six in 10 drivers break the speed limit in urban areas.
At the start of road safety week, the Road Safety Authority is urging town and city councils to introduce more 30 kph zones.
While the 30 kph limit has been extended in Dublin, 50 is still the default limit in the rest of the country.
RSA chief executive Moyagh Murdock believes there's a reluctance to do so.
I think there's a fear that it's going to be received negatively by the motoring community. It's an bit like that the smoking ban. A lot of people are afraid of the unknown and what it might do. That it might create congestion. It might slow people's journey times down. But really that is a fallacy. That is not what happen.
She says the onus is on drivers to just slow down.
Speed kills and it's just too dangerous in urban areas to be speeding in those locations.
For more information log onto. http://www.rsa.ie/RSA/Road-Safety/Campaigns/Current-road-safety-campaigns/Irish-Road-Safety-Week-20171/
