Slower Speeds, Safer Roads: Ireland’s New Speed Limits Take Effect in 2025
🚦 Big changes are coming to Ireland’s roads in 2025, with new speed limits designed to improve safety and save lives.
On Friday, 7 February 2025, the speed limit on many rural local roads will be reduced from 80 km/h to 60 km/h as part of the Road Traffic Act 2024. This is the first phase of a broader speed reduction plan that will also impact urban areas and national secondary roads in the coming years.
Why Are Speed Limits Changing?
The changes stem from Ireland’s Government Road Safety Strategy 2021–2030, which aims to reduce road fatalities and serious injuries by 50% by 2030—a key milestone toward achieving the EU-wide Vision Zero goal by 2050.
International research consistently shows that speed is a factor in one-third of fatal crashes. Slower speeds give drivers more time to react, reducing both the likelihood and severity of collisions. In France, similar speed limit reductions led to a 10% decrease in road fatalities, while the UK saw lower insurance costs as a result.
The ‘Slower Speeds, Safer Roads’ Campaign
To raise awareness of the changes, Ministers O’Brien and Canney have launched the ‘Slower Speeds, Safer Roads’ campaign. Running across radio, online platforms, print, and billboards, this campaign emphasizes the benefits of slower speeds in reducing accidents.
What’s Changing and When?
🚜 Phase 1 (From 7 February 2025):
🔹 Rural local roads: Speed limit reduced from 80 km/h to 60 km/h.
🏙️ Future Phases:
🔹 Urban areas, town centres, and residential estates: Speed limit to be reduced to 30 km/h.
🔹 National secondary roads: Speed limit recommended to drop from 100 km/h to 80 km/h.
Local authorities are already updating speed limit signs, ensuring drivers can clearly see the new limits. The striped rural speed limit sign will now indicate a maximum 60 km/h limit.
Who’s Behind the Changes?
The Speed Limit Review, published in September 2023, brought together a working group of experts from:
✔ Department of Transport
✔ Road Safety Authority (RSA)
✔ An Garda Síochána
✔ Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII)
✔ National Transport Authority (NTA)
✔ County and City Management Association (CCMA)
Their findings reinforced that lower speed limits save lives, particularly for vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists. For example, a collision between a car and a pedestrian at 50 km/h is far more likely to be fatal than the same collision at 30 km/h.
What Officials Are Saying
🗣️ Minister for Transport, Darragh O’Brien:
“Speeding is a major factor in road collisions. By reducing speed limits on rural local roads, we are taking real action to prevent deaths and serious injuries. This is part of our long-term commitment to making Ireland’s roads safer.”
🗣️ Minister of State, Seán Canney:
“Many crashes happen on rural roads that are narrow and winding, with poor visibility. Slower speeds give drivers more time to react and reduce the severity of accidents. This is just one of many initiatives to improve road safety, including increased enforcement, education, and infrastructure investment.”
🗣️ Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan:
“I fully support the ‘Slower Speeds, Safer Roads’ campaign. Road safety is a shared responsibility, and these new measures will help prevent tragedies on our roads.”
How to Prepare for the Changes
✅ Be aware of new speed limits – signage will be updated by 7 February 2025.
✅ Follow local authority updates – different roads may have special speed limits.
✅ Expect enforcement – An Garda Síochána will actively monitor compliance.
✅ Drive with caution – speed limits are a maximum, not a target.
Final Thoughts
These changes are a step forward in making Ireland’s roads safer for everyone. Whether you’re driving through rural Ireland, a busy town centre, or a residential estate, slower speeds mean fewer accidents, fewer lives lost, and a better environment for all.
📢 What do you think about the new speed limits? Will they make Ireland’s roads safer? Let us know in the comments!