Department of Transport defends amount of advertising surrounding speed reductions

As of Friday February 7, the speed limit on rural, local roads has now changed from 80 km/h to 60 km/h.

Government officials in the Department of Transport have welcomed this change, hailing it as one of a 'range of measures intended to reduce fatalities, and protect all road users.'

Many Portlaoise road users recently expressed their frustration to the Leinster Express / Laois Live that the advertising and education surrounding this campaign has been lacking.

The Department of Transport have since announced a series of advertising campaigns from the Road Safety Authority and Gardaí that will take place over the next month.

Pictured: a poster from the Department of Transport advertising the campaign

"The Department of Transport launched the Slower Speeds, Safer Roads Campaign in January," the Department have said.

"This is an integrated advertising campaign incorporating local and national radio, local and national print advertisements, social media advertising, digital display and Out of Home advertising.

"The Road Safety Authority (RSA) will launch a public awareness campaign on February 7th to highlight the updated meaning of the 'Rural Speed Sign," they said.

The Department of Transport have said that this campaign will encompass audio and visual ads across video-on-demand, radio, and social media until the end of the month.

"The campaign will educate road users on what the sign now means in the context of the change to speed limits for rural local roads," they announced.

"Key stakeholders, including the Department of Transport, Local Authorities and An Garda Síochána, will further amplify the message through their own social media channels.

"To further support the 'Slower Speeds, Safer Roads' initiative and the reduction of speed limits on rural local roads, the RSA will launch a new TV-led speeding campaign on March 1st," they said.

"Running for a full month across television, video-on-demand, radio, digital audio, social media, and out of home platforms, the campaign will underscore the dangers of casual increases in speed—particularly on rural roads," they finished.

The replacement of signage by Laois County Council workers is currently underway, with many questions surrounding the costs of replacements.

A Department spokesperson confirmed to the Leinster Express / Laois Live that the Department of Transport is providing grants to local authorities to fund these replacements.

"The Department of Transport is currently funding the procurement of the new poles and signage required for the implementation of the new 60km/hour default speed limit on rural local roads, in accordance with the recommendations of the ‘Speed Limit Review – 2023’," a spokesperson said.

"Local authorities are being provided with grant assistance to cover costs associated with the installation of new poles, signage, and related overheads, to facilitate implementation of the reduced speed limit on the rural local road network," they finished.

Government officials across the country have welcomed the first phase of speed limit reductions.

“Today’s speed limit reduction will save lives, because driving slower saves lives," said Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien.

"Driving at a lower speed means that if you get into a collision, either as a driver or a vulnerable road user, death or serious injury is a significantly less likely outcome. It also means you are less likely to be involved in a collision at all," he said.

“Death and serious injuries on our roads are not inevitable, they are preventable through tangible, sensible measures. This Government is taking action to reduce road fatalities and serious injuries.”

Minister of State at the Department of Transport Seán Canney, hailed this change as an "outcome of many years of consultation, deliberation and engagement across the system".

"This welcome change will give us all safer roads," he said.

"Systemic changes like today’s speed limit reduction and road safety education – along with enforcement – have helped us significantly bring down road deaths, but in recent years this trend has worryingly reversed.

"Together we can make our roads safer, by observing the speed limit, driving safely and looking out for one another on rural local roads.”

For more information on speed limits, visit gov.ie/speedlimits.