PRIMARY ROAD SAFETY RESPONSIBILITY LIES WITH MOTORISTS SAYS CO COUNCIL AS SPEED LIMITS OVERHAULED

A timely National Road Safety Week appeal to motorist in the county to slow down and adhere to the speed limits was made by the members of Monaghan Co Council when they met for their October meeting on Monday last. The Council gave approval for the adoption of new speed limit bye-laws on a number of regional and local roads throughout the county – but councillors emphasised that such regulations could not by themselves resolve the many road safety concerns in local communities. Fine Gael’s Aidan Campbell said that changing speed limits was only part of the solution to road safety problems in the county.

“We need enforcement as well, and we need the public to obey the speed limits,” Councillor Campbell stated. Acting Director of Transportation Services Gareth McMahon told the meeting that the speed limit review had been a long process which commenced in the early summer of 2021. There had been quite extensive attempts to engage with the public, stakeholders and elected representatives and they now had the final version of the draft bye-laws. Kevin West, Acting Senior Engineer for Roads and Transportation, in his outline of the process which had led to the recommended changes, noted that…