Speed limits should be reviewed and damaged or badly located signs should be replaced before the introduction of zero tolerance for speeding motorists, Fine Gael has said today.
The party's transport spokesman Mr Denis Naughten was speaking after the leaking of a Garda memo yesterday which instructed gardaí in Dublin to issue fines to people travelling even one mile an hour over the limit.
"While we must address the carnage on our roads, it is the case that some speed limits are badly located. Others do not make sense," Mr Naughten said.
"For example, a 40 mph speed limit on parts of roads with no housing, which have hard shoulders and public lighting within ¾ mile of a town, is virtually impossible to adhere to.
"But having a 30mph speed limit at a school is far to high a speed at such a dangerous location.
He also said damaged speed limit signs, or those which have been destroyed and not replaced, will cause drivers to inadvertently break the speed limit.
"There is an urgent need to review the design, location and maintenance of these signs and it is vitally important that the Minister for Transport facilitate this by providing the funds to Local Authorities," he added.
The leaked Garda memo was aired on RTE's Pat Kenny radio show yesterday morning. While it only referred to Dublin, the Garda confirmed the interpretation would apply across the State.
Until now, gardaí have been allowed some discretion in issuing speeding fines. People who exceed the limit by one or two miles have seldom been penalised. Gardaí had the discretion to caution the driver without imposing a fine if the driver was not flouting other road traffic regulations.
However, the memo instructed gardaí that "previous instructions in relation to enforcement thresholds will no longer apply".
The memo referred to the penalty points scheme and said there had been a "considerable reduction" in the speed of vehicles in the 50- and 60-miles-an-hour speed limit areas and "a limited reduction" in the 30-mile speed limit areas.
