Legal Roadwidth

J

Jon_08

Registered User
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13
Hi all,
Just trying to figure out the legal road width for roads around Ireland.

concentrating more on the country road. Is there any specific widths the lanes must be?

There's a road in question and its not wide enough at all. If your met by an on-coming lorry you have nowhere to go..

I'm trying to fight the council to widen the road, but they just came back saying I don't have a leg to stand on.

Is there a legal width of lanes of a public road? anyone know of a website where I can find this info out??

I've looked everywhere"!

Thanks
 
The is standards for the construction of new roads "design manual for roads and bridges", but it isn't retrospective.

there are a lot of boreens in ireland that are as you described

here is the national roads authority website on the DMRB
[broken link removed]

and this is the relevant chapter
[broken link removed]
 
Jon_08 said:
There's a road in question and its not wide enough at all. If your met by an on-coming lorry you have nowhere to go..

I'm trying to fight the council to widen the road, but they just came back saying I don't have a leg to stand on.
Click to expand...

I'd say the council are right - having to widen every boreen in the country would cost hundreds of millions I would think!

It sounds like you are have to use a road which is notwide enough for the type of traffic that use it - perhaps you could pursue having them designate it a 3 tonne road - ie no lorries allowed.

As for having nowhere to go when you meet a lorry - well the basic rule of the road is that you should be driving slow enough to stop when you meet an obstruction on the road - which is what a wide lorry would be. At least that way, if you stop the car and they crash into you, they are totally at fault.
 
Jon_08 said:
Hi all,
There's a road in question and its not wide enough at all. If your met by an on-coming lorry you have nowhere to go..
Click to expand...

A regular occurrence where I live. (Although luckily there are enough gates/entrances etc to pull into in the event)

Thought it just went with the territory and never thought much of it TBH.
 
collieb said:
As for having nowhere to go when you meet a lorry - well the basic rule of the road is that you should be driving slow enough to stop when you meet an obstruction on the road
Click to expand...

I think the point here is that one of them (the poster or the lorry) needs to reverse to an entrance to make space for the other to pass...nothing to do with speed.
 
Hi,
Thanks for the replies.

The road in question is in Dublin actually, in a fairly central main road area.

I wasn't driving fast. I did stop dead... BUt the lorry came and stopped in front of me.. Neither of us had anywhere to go.. I had to mount the curb in order to allow him to pass.

I wish there was a driveway etc that I could of pulled into. The road has hedges on eitherside, and only a foot path appearing towards the end..

The road is one side of a t-junction. I'll be travelling on a main road, turn onto this road, and be met by a truck halfway down. I cannot avoid this even if I tried.

I also requested the council put a weight restriction on this road.. they simply said, we're not doing that. There's other routes... use them..

the reason this all came about was I was met by yet another truck.. Again I stopped dead, but he kept coming.. I had to decide, move over as far as I could, or allow him to plow into me.. Yes, right now I wish I let him plow into me, but at the time instinct told me to move over.. I did, and doing this scratched the whole side of my car against the hedge.

I complained to the council, not for the repairs to my paint job, but more out of frustration. I see numerous close calls on this road with cars, let alone lorries..

I was looking for a bit of hard evidence stating the road was unfit for use by trucks and something had to be done.

But, to date the council have simply given me the two fingers and advised me to go an alternate route.
 
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