Minister asked to defer Friday's 60kph to 80kph speed limit drop on Laois roads

A TD who represented Laois until the elections in November wants the government to defer the introduction of reduced 60kph speed limits on 80kph local and rural roads. 

Offaly Independent TD Carol Nolan called on Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien to defer the new speed limits which are due to come into effect from Friday, February 7.

The proposed changes will see speed limits on rural and local roads decrease from 80km/h to 60km/h. This will be followed by a similar reduction on national secondary roads 100km/h to 80km/h which is expected to take place in the summer. In Laois, the changes will cover thousands of kilometres of roadway. 

“The clear sense emerging from the conversations I have had with commercial drivers, farmers, businesses and constituents is that while the intention may be well-meaning the practical outcomes arising from the new limits are going to create a host of new problems,” said Dep Nolan.

“We know from the Government’s own Speed Limit Review and its Modelling Assessment Report that the evidence is, at best, mixed when it comes to the net positive impact of such changes particularly in rural areas. There is overwhelming evidence as well as common sense backing the view that journey times will increase, that drivers will compensate by re-routing and that the knock-on effect for deliveries and the commercial sector will be significant.”

“The Report also quite rightly alerts Government to how challenging the implementation of a blanket approach may be in terms of compliance and enforcement. Indeed, the Report specifically acknowledges the expert judgement of road safety and enforcement authorities who have concluded that compliance with speed limits, in particular on engineered roads which are designed for higher speeds, will be challenging in terms of public perception and buy-in,” said Dep Nolan. 

She said: “In terms of safety several of the greatest threats to motorists and pedestrians are actually from drink or drug driving, the use of phones or the failure to wear a seat belt.”

“I am also concerned about the economic cost as the longer drivers have to spend on the road the less likely they are to travel to and spend time in regions like the midlands and Offaly. There is in fact a definite sense that the new limits are simply detached from the kind of reality of rural Ireland at least in terms of the distances that many people have to travel on a daily basis.”

She questioned expressed concerns about the potential impact of the move.  

“It is not at all clear to me that Government has engaged properly or has conducted a full impact assessment of the social and economic consequences that will flow from these new limits, and that is why I think it is prudent that be shelved for the time being at least,” she  concluded.