Hauliers' chief wants speed limit for large trucks increased to 55 mph

Road safety is a huge issue for road hauliers and many are keen to impress their concerns on their insurers, Mr Jimmy Quinn of the National Road Hauliers' Association said yesterday.

At the launch of the National Roads Authority annual report, Mr Quinn said the majority of hauliers complied with speed limits. He was speaking in response to statistics released by the authority which found high levels of speeding among lorry drivers.

But he called for the law limiting the speed of lorries over seven tonnes to 50 m.p.h. to be increased to 55 m.p.h. This was because the lorries were themselves fitted with a limiter, restricting them to this speed. A new limit of 55 m.p.h. would prevent a lorry driver from inadvertently letting his lorry exceed the speed limit. miles. He also said there were now long stretches of dual carriageway roads where oncoming or crossing traffic was not a factor and where a limit as high as 55 m.p.h was appropriate.

Mr Quinn also took issue with the Government's proposal to restrict "super trucks" from the streets of Dublin, as well as banning them on height grounds from using the port tunnel when it opens in 2005. He said the move made no sense and criticised Dublin City Council for refusing to lower the tunnel floor to allow for taller lorries.

The National Roads Authority report also revealed that fixed speed cameras were installed at 20 sites in counties Dublin and Meath as a pilot programme. However, after evaluation of the results it was concluded that while the cameras had a role to play, it was necessary "to supplement the fixed cameras with increased usage of mobile speed detection units".