A grief stricken mother, who recently staged a three day vigil outside Leinster House and urged the government to lower the speed limit in housing estates from 50km/h to 20km/h, will today see her efforts acknowledged in new laws, but the proposed changes may fall short of demands.

While the vigil led by Roseann Brennan, whose 6-year-old son, Jake, died after being knocked down in front of his own home last year, was considered a success, the new law which is due to be introduced later this year won't see the requested mandatory implementation of a 20km/h speed limit in housing estates.

At the time of Mrs.Brennan's vigil, a spokeswoman for the Minister for Transport, Paschal Donohue, stated: “The Minister is not opposed, in principle, to the application of 20km/h speed limits in residential areas, where it is appropriate.”
 


Following on from this, the Minister for Transport is today unveiling changes to 'urban slow zones' which will see the reduction of speed limits from 50km/h to 30km/h in housing estates, however the 20km/h limit will be optional.

Commenting on the changes, Minister Donohue said: "Speed limits should not be seen by drivers as setting a target speed, or as being appropriate in all conditions, nor are they intended to be"

Calling on drivers to make informed decisions depending on circumstance, Minister Donohue goes on to say: "Drivers must take responsibility to drive at a safe speed appropriate to the particular road and surrounding environment, while not exceeding the posted speed limit."

Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast today, the Minister said he is happy to include 20km/h provisions as long as local authorities are in agreement.

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