100 km/hr madness

Lennoxschips

I noticed that almost all the N-roads seem to have 100 km/hr limits. This is insanity on many stretches.

In the Netherlands these types or roads are usually 80 km/hr, but some of the N-roads in Ireland (especially the ones built in the last 10 years or so) can handle the higher limits.

However, there are some stretches, like the N-71 between Bandon and Roscarbery which I drove on today, where a 100 km/hr limit is completely unsafe. Even 80 would be beyond the limit of acceptability on this road. The lanes are narrow, there is no hard shoulder, there are bends and bumps, potholes.

Then there are some of the R-roads where the limit is 80 km/hr, but where 60 or perhaps even 50 would be more acceptable.

The government really needs to look at lowering the limit on some of these roads. If you tell people they can drive 100 they'll think it's safe to do so, when in many cases they could be doing better to be going 30 or 40 km/hr slower.

cast_iron

I think you are missing an important point.
They are speed limits - not targets.
You a required, by law, to drive to the conditions of the road at the time.

You can be prosecuted for doing 100km/hr in a 100km/hr zone - dangerous driving (as the case may be).

cormie

But 100kmph is the limit, it's not the speed you're supposed to be going for the whole journey. There may be stretches of 300M or so where it is perfectly safe to go 100kmph. Again it comes down to driver education, road users should be able to use their own discression to determine what speed they should be doing. Unfortunately not many road users can:(

Victor

Its for councils to set limits other than the defaults.

Lennoxschips

Virtually the whole stretch of the N71 from Halfway onwards is unsuitable for 100 km/hr.

I think it's pretty dumb to have such high limits on unsuitable roads. You can say it's up to the drivers to drive slower, but setting very high limits on roads that are not suitable for such speeds isn't a good way to encourage safe driving. I think it's a bit of a joke.

Gurgle

Lennoxschips wrote:

I noticed that almost all the N-roads seem to have 100 km/hr limits. This is insanity on many stretches.

Its just more typical Irish beraucratic incompetance.

When the speed limits were being changed to km, it made sense to split the general 60mph limit to account for the wide variation in the quality of roads.

As the council were going to be driving up and down every stretch of road in the country, it was a perfect opportunity to implement limits based on the actual stretch of road.

Then whatever gobsh`ite was loudest in the commitee managed to preclude all intelligent thought with a decision that 'N' roads would be 100km/h, 'R' roads would be 80km/h.

There are hundreds of km of 'N' roads where 100km/h is dangerous and just as much 'R' road where 80km/h is ridiculous.

cormie

as there are N roads where 100 is too slow too. What did they do before there were speed limits by the way? when were they introduced?

Victor

cormie wrote:

What did they do before there were speed limits by the way? when were they introduced?

Man walking in front of car waving flag.