LATEST: Kildare Gardaí handing out €160 fines for drivers breaking new speed limits

Drivers caught exceeding the 60km/h limit on affected rural roads in Kildare "will be dealt with" and will face a fine of €160 and three penalty points, according to Kildare Gardai.

If the fine is not paid within 28 days, it will increase to €240, and if unpaid, the driver will be summoned to court.

This Friday, February 7, the speed limit on most rural local roads will change from 80 kilometres per hour to 60 kilometres per hour.

The change is intended to help reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on Irish roads, in line with the Government's Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030.

Kildare Gardaí said: "An Garda Síochána Kildare will be carrying out enforcement actions monitoring speeds on the roads.

"Anyone found in breach of these limits will be dealt with accordingly in line with current legislation. Slow please Slow down and obey posted speed limits."

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New speed limit signs from 80 to 60 on relevant local roads will be in place on February 7, so road users can see clearly which limit applies.

"The striped rural speed limit sign, which is used as an alternative to numeric speed limit signs on specific single lane rural roads, will also now mean that a maximum 60km/h limit is in force."

For information on specific changes in their local area, the public can check with their local authority or visit this www.gov.ie page.

Of the 130,000 fixed charge notices issued last year for speeding,  around 40% of these detections took place on on rural roads.