Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 9 February 2005
217 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Transport the reason a national speed sign (details supplied) has been removed; if a sign indicates a certain speed now, if a person is to presume that bends on a road can be negotiated at the specified speed limit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4125/05]
View answerThe working group established in 2003 to review speed limit structures and policies recommended that the general speed limit of 60 mph that applied in respect of rural roads other than motorways should be replaced by separate default maximum speed limits for the rural national, and rural regional and local roads. The general speed limit sign, while it did not refer to the actual speed limit value, indicated the locations from which the 60 mph speed limit applied. The provisions in the Road Traffic Act 2004 establishing the default speed limits for roads generally reflect that recommendation by providing for the introduction of a default speed limit of 100 km/h for rural national roads and 80 km/h for rural regional and local roads.
The working group also recommended that each new speed limit sign should display the value in figures together with the unit 'km/h'. The Road Traffic (Speed Limit — Traffic Signs) Regulations 2005 support the structures provided in the Road Traffic Act 2004 and provide for the deployment of regulatory speed limit traffic signs to indicate to road users that a speed limit of 120 km/h, 100 km/h, 80 km/h, 60 km/h, 50 km/h or 30 km/h applies. In the case of all speed limits applying under the Road Traffic Act 2004 or previously under the legislation that preceded that Act, the speed limit represents the maximum speed at which vehicles may be driven in optimum circumstances. In all cases a driver must not drive a vehicle at a speed exceeding that, which will enable him or her to stop within the distance he or she can see to be clear. This rule applies irrespective of the speed limit.
