The Road Traffic Act 2004, which came into effect on 20th January 2005, provides the current legislative basis for the making of speed limits. The Act not only saw the introduction of metric values for speed limits, but in addition, provides for –

• the adoption of default speed limits of 50kph for roads in built-up areas, 100kph for rural national roads and 80kph for rural regional and local roads;
• the enhancement of the powers of Members of the Council in relation to the application of special speed limits, through the making of special speed limit bye-laws;
• the broadening of the arrangements for consultation on proposed special speed limit bye-laws by providing for consultation with the public;
• the application of a special speed limit at road works by Order made by the County Manager;

While normally default speed limits apply to the designated road types, there are instances in which it is necessary to intervene and change speed limits. This intervention role is vested in the Elected Members of Donegal County Council through the making of special speed limit bye-laws, in accordance with issued guidelines.
It must be remembered that a speed limit is the maximum speed at which a vehicle may be driven. It is the responsibility of a driver to obey a speed limit at all times. However the responsibility of the driver extends much further than simply obeying a speed limit. The driver is required to ensure that the speed at which his or her vehicle is being driven is appropriate for the prevailing circumstances, even if that speed is lower that the relevant speed limit applying either to the road or to the vehicle being driven.

In late 2004, to coincide with the introduction of the Road Traffic Act 2004, the Council carried out an extensive review of all speed limits in Donegal, and proposals in accordance with the guidelines went to public consultation, prior to their being implemented as special speed limit bye-laws. These special speed limit byelaws saw the extension of many of the built up area speed limits, to encompass the development that had taken place throughout the County since the previous bye-laws were implemented in 1997. The bye–laws implemented in 2004 have been further amended to incorporate the new Bundoran-Ballyshannon Bypass, resulting in the adoption of the current bye-laws which are designated the “Road Traffic (Special Speed Limits)(County of Donegal) Bye-Laws 2006.” The Council propose to undertake another review of all speed limits after an appropriate number of years, should development of built up areas continue at the same rate.

The Road Traffic Act 2004 also introduced the concept that speed limits may be deployed at selected restricted times. The purpose of this provision is to allow the Council to use speed limits to address particular road safety issues that arise at particular times only, for example outside Schools. Should funding be established for the implementation of these speed limits, the Donegal County Council propose to introduce these selected restricted time speed limits outside many of the schools in Donegal.

Useful Links:
http://www.gometric.ie