A government commissioned report has recommended reform of the speed limit system for Irish roads.
One of a number of points made in the report is the removal of misleading '80km/h' speed limits on narrow country roads and the end of 'silly signs' in inappropriate locations.
The Speed Limits Working Group was set up by the Minister for Transport last year. It also proposes that every speed limit in the country be audited every five years by the National Roads Authority (NRA) or the local authority.
The goal is to ensure that the speed limit on any given road is a fair reflection of the road conditions.
Other recommendations made include:
- New appeals mechanism for inappropriate speed limits
- Road work speed restrictions will be limited to construction period
- Variable speed limits, average speed detection, and in-car satnav speed warnings will be piloted
Minister Leo Varadkar said "This detailed report sets out a new approach, and the Department will now work with the NRA, local authorities, the gardaí, and the AA to implement its recommendations...If people are going to respect speed limits, then we need to ensure that speed limits respect the motorist. But we must also ensure that every limit is safe and sensible".
Conor Faughnan of the AA added "Irish Motorists have been hugely supportive of road safety policy in recent years. AA members are continually telling us that they support speed enforcement but that many speed limits across the country are set incorrectly. The updated policy announced today is a huge step forward in addressing those anomalies".
The Chairman of the Road Safety Authority (RSA) says most Irish people do not understand speed limit signs. Gay Byrne has welcomed the plans to address the issue.
