New Legislation To Lower Speed Limits On Roads In Wicklow

Senior Ministers are expected to sign off on proposed legislation which will lower the speed limit on a number of our roads.

It follows a rise in the number of road deaths and serious crashes this year.

180 people have died on our roads so far this year - which is 29 more than the same time last year.

This proposed legislation aims to tackle three areas: speed limits, intoxicated driving and penalty points

The legislation would see default limits come into force, meaning for example a 30 km per hour limit would apply in built up areas.

The laws would also make drug testing mandatory at the scene of a serious crash.

It would also allow for the application of multiple penalty points on a drivers licence if they are breaking a number of laws in a single stop

There were also plans to have higher penalty points on Bank Holiday Weekends but that's not happening for now - as the proposed laws need more scrutiny.

This legislation is expected to be signed off by Cabinet but still has a number of stages to go through in the Oireachtas before offically becoming law.