m50 speed limit

johnfás

Hey folks,

Just a quick trivia sort of question wondering if anyone knew the answer to it. On the M50 between Firhouse and Sandyford the speed limit (in ordinary circumstances, excluding roadworks) drops from 120 km/h to 100 km/h and then goes back up to 120 km/h either side.

Does anyone know why this is the case? I have heard two differing explanations, wondering if anyone could shed some light on them or indeed offer an alternative explanation!

i) That as the motorway used to stop at Sandyford (prior to the Carrickmines part being completed) the speed limit dropped to 100 km/h as you approached the end of the motorway and that this has never been changed.

ii) That it is to do with the gradient of the road and that to have made the section of the road in question suitable for the higher speed limit an enormous sum of money would have needed to have been spent.


Any ideas?

aphex™

It's because there is a lot of deer in the area. For example, before christmas there was a dead deer in the outside lane right in the middle between firhouse and sandyford. You don't want to hit one of those whether it's dead or alive.

Longrangedriver

aphex™ wrote: »

It's because there is a lot of deer in the area. For example, before christmas there was a dead deer in the outside lane right in the middle between firhouse and sandyford. You don't want to hit one of those whether it's dead or alive.

Oh deer

There is a 100kmph lower speed limit here as its down to severe excess curvature between junctions 10 and 14. I used to think it was down to do-gooders p!ssing drivers off, but then having heard this from one of our construction contractors, it seemed right.

This is what could happen if you do hit one.

Sandwich

I thought it was because that section of the M50 was too 'twisty' - that visibility is too short on much of it to conform with guidelines(or legislation?) for what is classed as a safe road for 120kph driving.

milltown

And in true Irish style, for a while after that section opened, people on the M50 got signs to say the limit was 60mph, while traffic joining from Firhouse heading south had signs on the ramp telling them it was 70mph.

Seth Brundle

milltown wrote: »

And in true Irish style, for a while after that section opened, people on the M50 got signs to say the limit was 60mph, while traffic joining from Firhouse heading south had signs on the ramp telling them it was 70mph.

...in typical Irish fashion!

E92

milltown wrote: »

And in true Irish style, for a while after that section opened, people on the M50 got signs to say the limit was 60mph, while traffic joining from Firhouse heading south had signs on the ramp telling them it was 70mph.

LOL I love this country:D!

Oilrig

From someone who has been an ex-pat for many years, it never fails to amuse me how Paddy can be such a star when working abroad, yet his compatriots fall flat on their face when trying to achieve the same results at home...

Every ex-pat I know shares this view.

I blame Parochial Politics... they exist every where else, but apparently here they are so much more intractable...

I.S.T.

At the time two reasons were given

1. To limit the amount of noise as the new section was closer to houses. A lower speed limit of 100 kmh would result in less noise

2. As Sandwich said, too many bends making it unsuitable for 120kmh

holdfast

Does anyone know if the speed camera down from the M1 round about on the M50 south bound is in action. the road is reduced to 60kmph at this section due to road works i was doing 80kmph i forgot about it. hope i have explained its location ok

Seth Brundle

Did it flash?

holdfast

unsure i though it did but there was another car behind me so it could have been that. i have that sinking feeling i must say i just switched off and its a fair cop if i was. they probably lower the speed limit for the camera too when the works commenced.

Seth Brundle

Is there new speed limit signs along the N'bound route? There is southbound but there wasn't any heading towards the M1 last sunday

Steve

was wondering this myself - the stretch from sandyford to bray (assuming that you must obey the most recent speed sign) is:
a. 100kph if you come from firhouse
b. 50kph if you enter from the south at sandyford
c. 60 kph if you enter from the north at sandyford
d. 120kph if you enter a carrickines

!!!!?????

Just another excuse to extract speed tax from us...

smash

It's to do with the noise level for the close by housing estates!

And the speed limeit from Sandyford to Bray is 120, then down to 100 when it joins the N11 after the 2nd Bray exit.

Heading from Bray to Sandyford though with all the luas works it goes 100-120-60-120 - yet the other side of the road is 120 at the 60 zone northbound!

sgt.bilko

i have heard that the limit is reduced because if you are entering M50 N @ dundrum you are going uphill and if you are exiting M50 S @ dundrum you are going downhill which is the opposite to normal exit/entry to motorways.

Seth Brundle

If that was the case then the M1 and N2 junctions would have a lower limit

Bearcat

the camera north bound on the M50 north of the tallaght exit is live. Beware to those doing 120kph slowing to 60kph for the camera.....a few of the well fed traffic corps hide before the camera along the slip road catching motorists who are slowing down yet doing over 60kph.....this type of childish behaviour will not effect the number of fatalities on our roads. Traffic corp in their skin tight leather suits and hats were out again this morning at whites cross foxrock doing their usual bus lane duty. Saving lives my hat.....

Silent Partner

Ladies and gents,
Does it really matter whether the M50 has a speed limit or not? For most of the time that you are driving on it you will not exceed 10 km/h on large sections of it. Outside of rush hour, you have this feature which seems to be unique to the M50 where drivers pick a lane and pick a speed and stick to it. So you'll get some spanner in the outside lane, bent over the steering wheel and wide eyed with fear....doing less than 80km/h and will not move. At all.

greatdeeds

Bearcat wrote: »

the camera north bound on the M50 north of the tallaght exit is live. Beware to those doing 120kph slowing to 60kph for the camera.....a few of the well fed traffic corps hide before the camera along the slip road catching motorists who are slowing down yet doing over 60kph.....this type of childish behaviour will not effect the number of fatalities on our roads. Traffic corp in their skin tight leather suits and hats were out again this morning at whites cross foxrock doing their usual bus lane duty. Saving lives my hat.....

Never a truer word spoken.

Would it be impolite to fwd your message to the press office boys in the phenoix park....

All the spin about road safety and the traffic corps, and yet they still play 'tricks' like hiding ahead of a fixed camera. That kind of behaviour in my opinion, is about as far removed from road safety as you can get. Smacks of a revenue generating initiative.....

Omcd

stevec wrote: »

assuming that you must obey the most recent speed sign

I thought that was what you were supposed to do, but ....

If i'd have been doing that on the M7 southbound beyond the roadworks at Naas I would have still being doing 80ks on the Portlaoise bypass !!

Bearcat

Our uniformed brigade read this forum.....

Road safety policing for me is not "willy waving" ones presence on major routes but on the places that count. A good example of this is on the kilcullen to athy road N78 approaching the junction to Caverstown. There is a school approaching this junction and it is a fast piece of road. Speed limit here is 60kph and the boys in blue enforce it. This is good policing and common sense unlike previously mentioned where easy pickings gain no respect from joe public.

batman2000

holdfast wrote: »

Does anyone know if the speed camera down from the M1 round about on the M50 south bound is in action. the road is reduced to 60kmph at this section due to road works i was doing 80kmph i forgot about it. hope i have explained its location ok

Yes it works(it flashes, whether there is any film in it is another story !) at 120kmph but nothing lower from what I have seen.

Steve

Omcd wrote: »

I thought that was what you were supposed to do, but ....

If i'd have been doing that on the M7 southbound during the roadworks at Naas I would have still being doing 80ks on the Portlaoise bypass !!

Yep - it's only recently been fixed.

Does anyone know what the law has to say about it?
If you're on a motorway and pass a sign - say at roadworks - at 60kph and then you pass an entry which says 120kph but the sign is only on the entry not on the motorway (so technically you haven't passed it or even seen it) what speed limit applies????

There are a number of areas where the opposite also applies - it's possible to get to certain housing area streets in dublin having not passed a 50kph limit sign even though every other approach to the street says 50kph.

If only some of the cash the government robs from us poor motorists actually went back into better roads and safety...