RTE Radio 1 Drivetime Interview
June 29th, 2007Just off the Radio - had an interview with Mary Wilson regarding the Minister for Transport’s statement that he feels all Dual Carriageways should be changed to speed limits of 120km/h, from their current 100km/h.
The interview went well, and I got to talk about a number of other points related to Road Safety and our experiences in Donegal. My opinion on the changing of limits for Dual Carriageways is that it is something that needs to be done on a road-by-road basis, and not as an order coming down from the Department.
When we moved to Metric Speed Limits, all Regional Roads were reduced from limits of 60mph to 80kmph. This meant that many top grade, modern and safe roads in Donegal were reduced for no proper reason. The councils faced difficulty in raising these limits back to 100kmph - there was a specific concern about liability for accidents - but it has happened in some areas.
The Road Authority, and the Dept of Transport, should take steps to review the status of the Dual Carriageways. Many can take traffic at 120kmph, but not all. We have an opportunity to learn from a previous mistake, I hope the authorities will take it.
More info on “Stop the Carnage week” is available here.
You can listen to the interview by clicking the player below:
