I frequently drive through the strawberry beds, and recently noticed that the speed limits have changed. From the Anglers rest junction, to (I think) Rugged lane, the speed limit is now 50 kph (30mph), it goes up to 60 kph (40mph) between Rugged land and Tinkers hill (the hairpin bend junction that goes to Clonee), and back down to 50 kph into Lucan village.
While this isn't a road to speed on, 30 mph on a two lane country road seems a bit mad, how do you go about appealing a speed limit? Has anyone done it successfully/ unsuccessfully?
It gets even worse. When you come over the bridge into Lucan and turn left to go up the hill, the speed limit drops to 30 kph (20mph) until you get past St Marys school on the LHS.
When you come round the roundabout, and start to drive up the hill, you are more concerned at looking for children, cars pulling out etc. than you are looking for an inappropriate speed limit sign. I don't have a problem with that speed limit, when the school is opening or closing, but that absurd speed limit is going to be in place 24/7. In addition there is a lolly-pop woman on duty there when the school is opening and closing and for most of the time the traffic is so heavy that nobody is going anywhere fast.
When the speed cameras are privatised and the new rules implemented, and the privatised companies are allowed to hide the speed cameras to catch unwary motorists, where do you think they are going to place them? On a stretch of road where deaths and serious injury are really likely to occur or in some place where they are shooting fish in a barrell and can miximise revenue.
(I know that some poor bloke was killed on that hill by an off duty guard recently but that incident occurred in the middle of the night/early morning and his death is still being investigated. I don't think imposing such a ludicrous speed limit there is going to solve anything)
What really annoys me is that the powers that be can impose any speed limit they like, anywhere they want. There should also be an onus on them to put in measures to slow the traffic down to a reasonable speed for the road concerned i.e. put in bollards in the middle of the road etc
My own personal favourite speed trap location is coming down the hill on the Ballymun Road Dual Carriageway towards Town. The carriageway is two lanes wide and there is also a hard shoulder/bus lane. There is a 30 mph speed limit in place and at the end of the hill is where you usually find our dilligent Boys in Blue. On a fine sunny day (never there when it's raining), when they have nothing more important to do, they try and catch the ordinary citizen, whose car has slightly speeded up coming down the hill, for exceeding the speed limit.
Well done lads. We're proud of you. Your doing a great job.
Murt