Speed limit drops to 60km on rural local roads

Council crews in Westmeath and Roscommon have been working to install new speed signs in recent days, with the speed limit on rural roads decreasing from 80 kilometres per hour to 60 kilometres per hour from today (Friday).

Westmeath County Council confirmed that the new 60km per hour limit is being introduced across all rural local roads in the county.

In county Roscommon, meanwhile the new lower limit applies to all rural local roads except the L1244 (Former N5 road through Ballaghaderreen), which is retaining the 80km per hour limit.

The Government said last week that the lower speed limits were being implemented as part of its effort to reduce the number of serious injuries and fatalities on our roads.

It announced a 'Slower Speeds, Safer Roads' information and awareness campaign which is to be rolled out on media outlets in tandem with the new speed limits.

Commenting on the change, a Westmeath County Council spokesperson said last week that it had commenced its speed limit review process last year by firstly examining rural local roads with a current posted speed limit of 80km per hour.

"Signage installation works by our District Staff are nearing completion with new speed limit poles and signs being erected at the required locations in advance of the commencement date which is set from Friday, February 7," stated the council.

A spokesperson for Roscommon County Council said it had also carried out a review of its local road network in accordance with Department of Transport guidelines, and that the L1244, through Ballaghaderreen, was the only road which had "passed the stage one and two assessment to remain at the 80km/hr speed limit."

"A new Special Speed Limit bye-law, keeping the speed limit at 80 on this road, was passed in November," the council in Roscommon added.

"Workshops were held with the elected members in 2024 where all local roads were reviewed and it was agreed that the 60kph speed limit was appropriate for most local roads in the interest of road safety.

"Works are ongoing to have all the signs in place as soon as possible."

Last April, the Road Traffic Act 2024 was signed into law and included provisions to amend the default speed limits on rural, local roads, urban roads and national secondary roads.

In addition to the lowering of default speed limits on rural local roads, changes are due to be implemented in future in built-up urban areas, where default speed limits are expected to be reduced to 30 km/h.

The Department of Transport said last week that local authorities had received grants to change speed limit signs from '80' to '60'.