3 mins read
Changes in place
The Road Traffic Bill 2024, enacted in April last year, marks a significant step in improving road safety across Ireland. The first phase of this legislation comes into effect this Friday, February 7th, 2025, introducing a reduction in speed limits on Local Roads, where the maximum speed will decrease from 80 km/h to 60 km/h.
The striped ‘rural speed limit sign’, which is used as an alternative to numeric speed limit signs on specific single lane rural roads, will also now mean that a maximum 60km/h limit is in force.
An information and awareness campaign: ‘Slower Speeds, Safer Roads’ has been launched by Ministers O’Brien and Canney in order to raise awareness of the changes.
The Road Ahead
Later in the year, additional speed limit changes will be rolled out as part of a broader effort to create safer roads for all users. These changes will see Urban area speed limits drop from 50 km/h to 30 km/h, while National Secondary roads will see a reduction from 100 km/h to 80 km/h. These adjustments aim to enhance road safety, particularly for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.
The Road Traffic Bill 2024 forms a crucial part of the Government’s strategy to achieve Vision Zero 2050—a long-term initiative focused on eliminating road deaths and serious injuries. As part of this commitment, Ireland has set an ambitious interim target of reducing road fatalities and serious injuries by 50% by 2030.