Clare motorists urged to obey local speed signs and not Google Maps when driving

Clare County Council has urged motorists in the county to follow local speed signs rather than what appears on Google Maps. 

In a Notice of Motion submitted by Sinn Féin Councillor James Ryan, he asked the Chamber to ensure all newly changed speed limits on Clare roads also correspond with what is shown on the web and mobile application. This was submitted after the Councillor's son noticed discrepancies between the two. 

In a written reply, Cyril Feeney, Senior Engineer for the Council, noted that the Road Management Office co-ordinate the local authority sector in the mapping of speed limits. He stated that once the new speed limit data has been validated across the country, it is intended that the information would be available under the Open Data Directive.

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This mandates the release of public sector data in free and open formats. The Directive was transposed into Irish law in July 2021.

The overall objective of this is to continue the strengthening of the EU's data economy by increasing the amount of public sector data available for re-use, ensuring fair competition and easy to access public sector information.

Mr Feeney said, "However, it is important to stress that the speed limits designated by the local authorities are the legal speed limits in the country." The engineer stated that Google Maps and other navigation technology companies, although providing a service to the public, may not be always fully accurate and therefore it is important for motorists to abide by the actual posted speed limit signs.

"The onus is not on the local authority to ensure the accuracy or otherwise of Google maps," he concluded.