Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This matter is related to speed enforcement zones and something that was raised with me by someone in my own locality. We all know that the safety of children of special concern to many professionals and the public due to their increased vulnerability. Due to their smaller size, they are probably less conspicuous to drivers and their behaviour can be more unexpected compared to that of adults. It is also more difficult for a child to judge a vehicle's speed and distance. When we discuss speed enforcement and speed limits near schools, it is important to remember that at certain times, there are heavy flows of traffic into and out of the schools and when oncoming traffic does not heed speed limits or warnings during these times, the lives of children, their parents and teachers are put in danger. This is particularly the case on main roads off which schools might be located as is the case with a school in my area which is also near many bad bends and has experienced a number of accidents and the movement of large vehicles due to its closeness to a quarry. It is not rare to see speeding cars coming up the road without any thought for school traffic or having to brake suddenly, which may risk an accident. Parents have approached me with concerns about the speed of some of these drivers during these important times, be it in the morning when they are dropping off their children or in the afternoon when they are collecting them.

I am inquiring about how speed enforcement zones are delegated and if consideration is given to the location of schools along roads, particularly main roads and primary roads. I am aware that the demand for speed limits in these zones is not necessarily 24-7, 365 days a year. However, during these peak hours, particularly during the school term, there should be some kind of enforcement or indeed speed van to make sure that drivers are heeding any speed limits or are slowing down and not driving dangerously and putting the lives of young children, teachers and parents at risk.