Govt must act on speeding outside rural schools

Cllr Ronan McKenna has said lives will be lost if the government fails to act on speeding outside rural schools.

According to the Trim Fianna Fail councillor, the speed of some road-users passing schools in the Trim area and throughout the county is 'shocking'.

'A number of parents have told me about their fears for their children when travelling to school,' he said. 'So far, calls for safety measures that could save lives have been ignored by the government and the National Roads Authority (NRA).'

According to Cllr McKenna, it is only a matter of time before County Meath faces a tragedy outside one of its rural schools. The FF councillor said he has been in touch with a number of road safety experts to discover the safest way to protect rural schoolchildren from irresponsible driving.

'I'm calling on the minister to introduce Australian-type school zones. These are clearly designated parts of roads where, at particular times, the speed limit outside schools is greatly reduced,' he said. 'These areas are brightly marked with flashing signs on timers to alert drivers early that they are entering a school zone.'

According to Cllr McKenna, such measures have been very successful in modifying motorists' behaviour and protecting children both arriving at and leaving school. 'These measures, together with a rigorous enforcement policy by An Garda Siochana, will save lives,' he claimed.

Cllr McKenna has committed to writing to the Minister for Transport and the NRA imploring them to introduce these 'relatively low-cost' measures which, he said, would make school journeys safer for the thousands of children attending rural schools in the county.