Reducing speed limits on rural roads will increase, not reduce, road fatalities, according to an internal government report.
The Rural Independent Dáil group led by Mattie McGrath is calling out the Government’s plan to push new lower speed limits on national secondary, regional, and local roads as a misguided attempt at road safety that will only hinder rural motorists and users. McGrath alleges that the initiative is driven by political agendas rather than genuine safety concerns.
Deputy McGrath says Dáil approval for the measures in the Road Traffic Bill 2023 is an overreaction with no substantial evidence supporting its supposed safety benefits.
The Tipperary TD continued to say that the policy will not only inconvenience rural drivers but also pose economic and safety risks and cited a study conducted by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) in March 2022, which projected an increase in road fatalities by lowering speed limits.
The study also estimated a €3.8 billion cost over 30 years due to reduced productivity and increased travel times. Deputy McGrath says the real solution to road safety includes improved road design, investment in a better road network and enforcement of existing traffic laws.
Under the amended laws new default speed limits as follows are proposed –
National secondary roads reduced to 80km/h from 100km/h.
Rural or local roads (County Roads) lowered to 60km/h from 80km/h.
Urban areas/built-up areas lowered to 30km/h from 50km/h.
It is expected that each Council can make exceptions to these default limits for roads under it’s management.
