'Who was the genius who came up with the stripes?' Laois TD unimpressed with new speed signs

A Laois TD questioned new speed signs asking, “who was the genius who came up with the stripes?” 

Independent Republican Laois TD Brian Stanley expressed a hope that  the introduction of new speed limits on rural roads from 80kph to 60kph on Friday, February 7 would reduce road fatalities and injuries.

“Many drivers are travelling at speeds way over the limit on small rural roads. Anybody who canvassed in rural areas last year will have seen the speed at which people travel,”  Dep Stanley said in the Dáil on Thursday. 

However, the Laois TD told Minister for Transport, Darragh O’Brien, that he wasn’t as convinced about the new signs which had been introduced. 

“Speed limit signage will be changed or replaced with new speed limits but I am not that confident they will do the job that is needed. Will the change of the rural speed sign from five stripes to a smaller number work? Even more worryingly, are people even aware of what the signs mean?” he asked.  

“I have asked several qualified drivers but they do not have a clue, so this is a significant issue. Would it not be better to just put numbers on them such as 50, 60, 70 or 80 km? Would that not make more sense? Who was the genius who came up with the stripes? It is a bad idea that lacks effectiveness,” he said. 

Dep Stanley told the Dáil that signs alone won’t improve safety on the roads. 

“Signs are useless without enforcement. There need to be random Garda checks. They do not have to be there all day because word gets around on Facebook fairly quickly. There needs to be spot checks for 20 minutes or half an hour in different rural locations. The Government needs to get it across to the Garda Commissioner that this needs to happen so that gardaí are able to carry out random checks on rural roads and we have enough gardaí to do it,” he said. 

Deputy Stanley insisted radical change was needed and he said mobile phone use needed to be tackled.  

“In 2024, 174 people lost their lives on Irish roads, with 69% of these fatalities occurring on the roads we are talking about, so there is a particular need for radical change in how we address the situation on rural roads. The use of mobile phones is completely out of control. I have been raising this issue for 14 years. 

Drink and drug statistics are showing a rise again, unfortunately. Garda presence is also an issue. An Garda Síochána is taking some welcome initiatives, including using HGV vehicles for surveillance where gardaí can see into cars and see whether people are on Facebook or checking out somebody who is at the hairdressers or the races instead of driving the car,” said Dep Stanley. 

He told the Dáil that the issues needed to be addressed through education which he said should begin when students are in transition year.