‘Slower Speeds, Safer Roads’ Information Campaign Launched Today Ahead Of Speed Limit Changes

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The newly appointed Ministers for Transport Darragh O’Brien and Sean Canney today launched the ‘Slower Speeds, Safer Roads’ information and awareness campaign, to highlight the forthcoming change in speed limits on rural local roads.   

On Friday February 7th  the speed limit on many rural local roads will change from 80 to 60 kilometres per hour. Tipperary Council staff have been erecting new signage but says the work has been disrupted due to the recent severe weather. The Government is seeking to reduce road deaths and serious injuries on Irish roads by 50% by 2030 and cites international research indicating that speed is a contributory factor in a third of fatal collisions, and that reducing speed significantly reduces road deaths. 

The Road Traffic Act passed last year changes the default speed limits for rural local roads, from 80km/h to 60km/h and will be the first speed limit to be lowered starting on February 7th.  Other changes to urban roads, regional and national road speed limits will follow later this year when the speed limit in urban cores, which include built up areas as well as housing estates and town centres, reduces to 30 km/h and the limit on national secondary roads is to reduce from 100km/h to 80km/h. 

Councillors will have the option at a later date of revising the speed limit upwards from the default speed limit on roads that they select for revision. Clonmel based Councillor Niall Dennehy is strongly opposed to the wholesale change to speed limits by legislation passed by the Oireachtas as he claims it is a “Reserved Function” of  Councillors.