Silly speed limits on Irish roads

gerrymadden1

Is it just me or does anyone else feel that there are some downright senseless speed limits on Irish roads.

My most recent experience is the road into Kildimo, a small village in Co. Limerick.

Coming into the village from the Limerick city direction, the limit drops sharply from 100-60-50... Fair enough.

However, on leaving the village the limit remains at 50 for over a mile. The road is newly built, wide and straight. And needless to say, is invariably patrolled by a camera van.

Contrast this to the road between Ennis & Lahinch which is narrow, winding & dangerous but has a 100 kph limit.

RidleyRider

I'd say if the road in Ennis was to be reviewed or had major works the speed limit would be dropped. I see this a lot around area's that have had work done.

Mister Jingles

Always thought the Snugborough Road, Blanchardstown should be 80 kph and not 60 kph.

Never drove them myself but I remember ages ago as well the back roads when they were the old way coming from Finglas to the Snugborough Road one side was 80 while the other was 60, these were no road to speed on. Many a person killed along there.

jeffk

Mister Jingles wrote: »

Always thought the Snugborough Road, Blanchardstown should be 80 kph and not 60 kph.

Never drove them myself but I remember ages ago as well the back roads when they were the old way coming from Finglas to the Snugborough Road one side was 80 while the other was 60, these were no road to speed on. Many a person killed along there.

Here here for your post and the thread !

You could go faster on an old back road than a new fancy road with a hidden speed van.
@ one point the old road had ripples in it from buses a trucks on it and you where likely to meet one of them in the centre of a set of bends.
Also from what i Remember there where houses ontop of the road as well.

toastedpickles

The ring road in Waterford is 60, but should be 80
The road coming out of Newbridge to Naas by phizer is 50 and should be 60

There's a few more but they're the two that stand out

allthedoyles

Kildimo is accident black-spot

dgt

Meath co co reduced the limits on a lot of the surrounding roads and camera zoned them to force everyone to use the M3 :rolleyes:

gardengnomeo

Or the case when (wrongly) speeding, doing 69km/hr in a 60 just after coming out of an 80km/hr km section( grand wide straight road so I forgot myself!) got issued the fine and 2 points, as should be expected.... But to travel down that same road a few weeks later to see that they had upped the speed limit for the whole length of the road to 80km/hr, that is frustrating!

monkeypants

Coming off the M1 into Whitehall, the speed limit drops to to 60 and then to 50 as you're coming down a hill. Favourite spot for the Gardai to set up too, just outside the church on a weekend.

MugMugs

The old N1 is a joke.

From The Coachmans down to Pinnock hill is 60 and the Gardai LOVE it.

80 after that which is equally as insane because it starts to build up there until the Estuary.

The Dunleer / Collon link road is 80 and is a bit of a joke. Should be 100.

dlofnep

New road out by me which is in perfect condition is 50 all the way, just until the roundabout when naturally you'd think you'd need to slow down - Nope, the limit is raised to 80.

jeffk

dgt wrote: »

Meath co co reduced the limits on a lot of the surrounding roads and camera zoned them to force everyone to use the M3 :rolleyes:

Only the other week I seen a new speed camera sign around the entrance to the hill of Tara.
Then while doing the speed limit, most of the traffic(including buses etc) are up your arse and dying to overtake you and then they ignore the speed camera signs.

What gets me is a road without a speed limit sign to be seen and its as straight as an arrow with a speed camera. Came out of the square in Tallght via the sat nav(only been there once before)down a long road(car places and factories either side, eventually brought me by the Luas onto the M50)with no speed signs and oh look a speed camera.

monkeysnapper

There's a road by where I live and its 100 kph . One day I drove at 100 kph on it. Was suicide !!!!.! This road needs to be 80 . And like op we have a road coming into our town with a 50 sign about 2 miles out of town and nobody ever follows this rule or they'd be beeped all over the place

ironclaw

Do people seen a 100km/h sign and instantly floor it? Drive at the limit for the road, not the sign. Its entirely different to a limit being too low for a road i.e. 50km/h on those dual lane ring roads dotted around the country.

Grayditch

MugMugs wrote: »

From The Coachmans down to Pinnock hill is 60 andseemingly the Gardai LOVE it.

The grindiest of grinds, that section. I asked a taxi driver before why that's 60 and he said it used to be full of accidents, so if that's true, fair enough.

I can handle doing the speed limits, even when theyre mind numbingly slow, seemingly for the road that's in it, but when you get instantly tailed by someone who won't overtake you, it's incredibly difficult not to get angry.

Speed and get a ticket.
Do the limit and get tailed.

Not all the time, on either count, but it does my head in.

StompToWork

ironclaw wrote: »

Do people seen a 100km/h sign and instantly floor it? Drive at the limit for the road, not the sign. Its entirely different to a limit being too low for a road i.e. 50km/h on those dual lane ring roads dotted around the country.

I agree. The limit is just that - A Limit. Not a target!!

ironclaw

StompToWork wrote: »

I agree. The limit is just that - A Limit. Not a target!!

By the same token, don't be doing 50km/h when the full 80km/h is possible and is the posted limit. I believe if you can't drive at 90% of the speed limit of any given road, with the correct road and conditions, you shouldn't be driving.

Basq

StompToWork wrote: »

I agree. The limit is just that - A Limit. Not a target!!

Yes... but I don't appreciate people doing 40km/h in an 80km/h zone either.

monkeypants

MugMugs wrote: »

From The Coachmans down to Pinnock hill is 60 and the Gardai LOVE it.

Love cycling along there as it's in good condition and quite quick. Driving it is painful.

Scortho

ironclaw wrote: »

Do people seen a 100km/h sign and instantly floor it? Drive at the limit for the road, not the sign. Its entirely different to a limit being too low for a road i.e. 50km/h on those dual lane ring roads dotted around the country.

Yes we should drive at the limit of the road and not the sign. In that case, id be able to do more than 80 km/h on the N4 and more than 100 on M50. I've drove from bray to J7/N4 without meeting a car on it. Its well capable of handling more than 100 km/h.

Another rediculous speed limit is 30 km/h on the quays at 7 am on a Sunday morning. Not a pedestrian and hardly a car in site. The country borreens with grass growing in the middle of them and an 80km/h speed limit. Last time I checked there was no grass on the N4!

Atomic Pineapple

We need to go back to the old way where on coming out of a restricted speed zone such as a town, school or particularly dangerous piece of road there is the black and white sign and the roads are governed by a national limit.

Of course in addition to this we would need to educate drivers how to drive to the conditions rather than the current attitude of driving to the preset limits, alas this will cost money rather than make it so won't be implemented and we will continue to use out dated thinking and fear tactics in hope of keeping the road deaths down rather than doing anything positive and productive.

Iwannahurl

The speed limit on this narrow two-way residential street in Galway City is 50 km/h. Same here. And here.

Speed limits are under national review at present, and with luck, a bit of cop on and some leadership from elected representatives (for a change), speed limits throughout the country will be set according to rational and evidence-based criteria.

dlofnep

dlofnep wrote: »

New road out by me which is in perfect condition is 50 all the way, just until the roundabout when naturally you'd think you'd need to slow down - Nope, the limit is raised to 80.

This is my personal pet peeve alongside the old N3 at Platagen/M3 toll where the speed limit changes from 60 to 80 km/h just before both roundabouts. But without a fail I always do my best to reach as close to 80 as I can when in those roundabouts.

MugMugs

Grayditch wrote: »

The grindiest of grinds, that section. I asked a taxi driver before why that's 60 and he said it used to be full of accidents, so if that's true, fair enough.

It claimed a few lives alright back in the late 80's and early 90's one of which was a family friend so yes, I can see the logic however.

There's now a Motorway taking the Belfast bound traffic so volume is lower and there's also a footpath as opposed to what used to be a four inch wide hard shoulder and a ditch.

There's also a nice handy spot to set up a speed trap down by the Texaco.

Fatalities, fair enough but when there's improvements made to completely prevent fatalities, it just strikes me as a revenue maker.

road_high

MugMugs wrote: »

The old N1 is a joke.

From The Coachmans down to Pinnock hill is 60 and the Gardai LOVE it.

80 after that which is equally as insane because it starts to build up there until the Estuary.

The Dunleer / Collon link road is 80 and is a bit of a joke. Should be 100.

I think it's up to the local council to amend/leave the speed limit as is. I know in Kilkenny they have been quite sensible (for a change) and all the best sections of the old N10/9 maintained their 100kmh limit after the M9 opened which made total sense especially as the traffic levels had dropped hugely.

woody33

The Waterford ring road has changed to mostly 80km thank God, I used to avoid it because keeping to 60km was like having teeth pulled. A bit of sense there, anyway.

gerrymadden1

allthedoyles wrote: »

Kildimo is accident black-spot

It may be an accident black spot but I'd wager that the majority of accidents were boy racers to whom speed limits mean little. (2 cases come to mind immediately)

And black spot or not, the 50kph limit outside the village is ridiculous. Just my opinion.

ofcork

The north ring road in cork is 50km/h which in parts you cannot drive at,it should be raised in places.

dgt

jeffk wrote: »

Only the other week I seen a new speed camera sign around the entrance to the hill of Tara.
Then while doing the speed limit, most of the traffic(including buses etc) are up your arse and dying to overtake you and then they ignore the speed camera signs.

What gets me is a road without a speed limit sign to be seen and its as straight as an arrow with a speed camera. Came out of the square in Tallght via the sat nav(only been there once before)down a long road(car places and factories either side, eventually brought me by the Luas onto the M50)with no speed signs and oh look a speed camera.

Yep! I know, it does my head in. A little space of that road before Dunshaughlin before it's zoned again

Worst part is the traffic when you go to let them by, force them by, just sit there. Gutless, gutless drivers :rolleyes:

Dwork

Blacktrench road into naas/newbridge is 60kph - dead straight road. The boreens off it either side are 80. You couldn't do 80 if you tried on them, suicidal. And doing 60 on the main drag is also almost impossible, it should be 100. Speed camera van there almost daily.:mad: The single lane "road" up to where I live is 80! You could in your hoop, 50 is flat out and pushing it. Winding, blind bends and nowhere to pass a car you meet. At 80??? You'd die. No common sense. Loads and loads more examples. Who sets these limits? A cyclist?

L1011

100km/h repeater signs approaching a steep, sharp bend complex on the N56. Even if a lower limit wasn't worth putting in place, the repeaters just make it worse.

Lucan Bypass - opened as 60mph, now that it has no traffic lights, median breaches or pedestrian crossings... its 80km/h. Its 120km/h quality now.