The state of the nation's roads

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gebbel

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Had to drive a considerable distance today: from Drogheda to Tullamore via Mullingar and then on to West Roscommon via Athlone. It's not a journey I have taken before but hopefully will never have to drive the same route again. It was a really uncomfortable drive. Constatly braking and having to shift through the gears due to serious bends, potholes, poor road surfaces etc. Felt nauseated at the end, and this had led to this rant. I know that the roads I drove today are mostly not primary routes, but the state of them nonetheless leaves a lot to be desired. I also wonder what factor all this may have on the carnage on our roads.
And before you ask I was not in a hurry and generally stayed within the rules of the road at all times.
 
gebbel said:
I also wonder what factor all this may have on the carnage on our roads.
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THE leading contributor imho to accidents, death and injury, by a long shot - despite what our leaders lecture us about driver behaviour.
 
It is entirely unacceptable for either of you to suggest that the carnage on our roads results from anything other than speeding or drink driving. It has been decreed that all accidents are as a result of these two factors. No other factors are allowed into the equation.

There are no bad roads, only bad drivers. When are you people going to realise this.
 

Can't agree with whoever decreed that. Narcotics, ignorance, over-tiredness, careless driving, and without doubt, the foot-dragging of local authorities are also factors.

As an example of the latter, Larkins Cross in County Wexford was the scene of an absolutely horrendous accident in October 2006 in which a mother and two of her infant children were killed, and two others badly injured. This particular cross is an intersection between the main Wexford/NewRoss road, the N25, which takes most of the heavy traffic from Rosslare Harbour, is close to the entrance to a new "super dump" for the southeast, and main artery between both towns; and a very busy secondary road due to a large petrol station/restaurant, builders providers, garden centre and also used as a main artery to a large village. The traffic-flow layout has been criticised since it's construction, and has been changed once, the second layout more criticised than the first, and completed shortly before the accident. There have been innumerable "small" accidents at Larkin's Cross, long lines of tyre-rubber are common on the road surface.

The Road Authorities and the Wexford County Council were called upon by public representatives, leaders of the local business community and the local press to change the layout as a matter of urgency. The County Council agreed to put lights along the roadside (a half-solution in the first place, but better than nothing).

To date no work has been carried out at Larkins Cross.

Earlier this year the coroners report into the fatal accident severly criticised Wexford County Council for their inaction, and urged them to attend to the problem immediately.

Nothing has been done.

What I don't understand is this. If a careless driver can be prosecuted, and in the case of a fatal accident, imprisoned; why can't there at least be some consequences for those in charge of our roads who ignore critical problems, such as this?

Reading the following links will make your blood boil -

Here's a link to an RTE News report of the accident: http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/1012/rta.html

Here's a report from October, 2005, a year before the accident - http://www.wexfordpeople.ie/news/death-trap-roads-discussed-at-meeting-1180552.html

And this, 6 months before the accident - http://www.wexfordpeople.ie/news/no-traffic-calming-for-larkins-cross-974876.html

Shortly before the accident - http://www.wexfordpeople.ie/news/eight-taken-to-hospital-after-bus-crash-977190.html

And this a month after the accident http://www.newrossstandard.ie/sport...ures-at-larkins-cross-are-slammed-535127.html

A year later - http://www.wexfordpeople.ie/news/no...gic-accident-claimed-three-lives-1202072.html

And this last year http://www.wexfordpeople.ie/news/lights-for-larkins-crossand--more-improvements-to-come-1087653.html

In the meantime - http://www.wexfordpeople.ie/news/crash-drivers-escape-with-minor-injuries-697645.html


And the criticism from the Coroner - http://www.wexfordpeople.ie/front-page/larkins-cross-inquest-anger-1299850.html



Shameful.
 
I think that xavier left out the

Jack the Lad, I know the area well and agree that it's very dangerous.
I do have to qualify that by saying that every time I am in Wexford I am amazed at the speed drivers do there (especially along the New Line).
 
Oh... sorry Xavier!

Purple, agree with you on the speed issue. That, and for some reason, driving on the wrong side of the road on secondary and tertiary roads!

From observation the problem with speed is partialy linked to Rosslare Harbour, or rather, driver's attitudes to it. People running late for their ferry put the foot to the floor as they approach Wexford. It's a constant problem.
 
Indeed I was being facetuous in my original post. But it is a very serious issue which to date has had no real effort to confront. Policing the roads and enforcing the rules is alot more complicated than sitting with a hairdryer out the window or a camera on the side of a road.

I fear that we are in for a campaign of terror when the new cameras are rolled out. Why focus on catching and punishing? Why not focus on prevention and deterrance?

What good is it catching a lad on camera doing 80 if he crashes a mile later. The points in the post 6 weeks later really showed him didn't they!

I drove by a camera the other day, it was hidden in a driveway ready to catch all the people comming home from work. Now I could have had no tax, no insurance, 4 bald tyres and been drunk and not a thing would have been done to me cause I cruised past at 30...

Our friends in England decry the fall in driver standards since the reliance on automated policing of their roads. Some have even gone so far as to question their usefullness at all as a way of policing. What chance do we stand here where standards are low already?
 
I agree that Rosslare is a problem but in my experience the locals also drive much too fast.
 
Well, yes they do. But that problem is hardly specific to these parts.

I wasn't blaming the ferry for all the speeding btw, I did say partialy linked to Rosslare. All I can say is that a lot of Garda speed traps on that stretch seem to be set up to coincide with the traffic flow to the ferry.

I drove in California once. Drivers actualy slow approaching T-junctions to let you out on to the road in front of them!
 

There is a brand spanking new 100km road between mullingar and tullamore. Did you not find that?
 
There is NOT a new road between Mullingar and Tullamore.

The N52 between Mullingar and Tullamore has been improved in various stretches, but it is not 100km of new road.
 

Hear hear. The stats prove that the speed cameras in the UK have done nothing to lower the level of deaths on the road. In fact, road deaths have increased almost in tandem with the increase in speed cameras. Though this is not proof of a relationship between the two (aka tiger rock Simpsons scenario)
 
The name of this thread is the "state of the nation's roads". The posts are now focusing on "speed cameras". This, to my mind, indicates the crux of the matter when it comes to road safety.

On one hand, we have state-of-the-art motorways built with european money. On the other, we have substandard roads maintained by County Councils, to varying degrees, depending on how much money is allocated to them by central government adn how they manage that same money.
 
Tons of money has gone into building motorways but many smaller local county roads are in bits.
In Meath, where the M3 is ploughing its way across the county, the local village-to-village roads are in worse than third world conditions. Pot-holed and cracked, they are poorly maintained by filling in holes with dollops of tar which then form small hills on the road, and after heavy rain open up again, with bits of tar debris all over the road. I have never seen roads as bad as those in Meath. The council always complains of having no money.

Also, I skidded on a road which had those infamous 'loose-chippings' put down as part of a resurfacing job, thus rendering the road LETHEL after rain.

It'd be interesting to know how many non-fatal accidents are caused by poor roads in this country - these wouldn't even make the news headlines.

Calming down now...
 
redstar said:
the local village-to-village roads are in worse than third world conditions.
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Comments like that make me smile. Try driving in Tanzania at the end of the rainy season...

Anywho, back on topic; The fact is that a few years back the social partners all came up with the great idea of Benchmarking. This involved big pay increases for all the people employed by local authorities (amongst others). Central government, along with the social partners, also decided that this would not be funded by increases in direct taxation since the whole thing was going to be self financing due to increases in productivity and efficiency (stop laughing). Therefore the increased cost to the local authority was not funded by central government. This meant that they had to start charging for bin collection, and water, and other things which used to be covered by income tax and VAT receipts. If you are well off console yourself that the double taxation (or indirect taxation for services that your direct taxes should be paying for) affects the poor the most. This is because they get hit with the same charges which are a higher proportion of their income. All of this is dressed up as "Eco" or "Green" taxation which makes it OK.
Obviously local authorities have limited scope to generate income so in the real world of limited resources current budgets are looked after first and capital expenditure comes next. Or, to put it another way, you can't have your cake and eat it.
 
Welfarite said:
On one hand, we have state-of-the-art motorways built with european money.
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Correction - we have bits of state of the art motorways. This is the country where we have "a fine stretch of road" but no actual "fine road" between any of our major cities, or between any of our coasts.
 
shnaek said:
Correction - we have bits of state of the art motorways. This is the country where we have "a fine stretch of road" but no actual "fine road" between any of our major cities, or between any of our coasts.
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The reality is though that we have only one city in Ireland and that's not really a major one. On the mainland (Europe) there is sufficient traffic between major cities, and transit traffic through countries, to justify a massive motorway system. This country is not densely populated and so the justification for a major motorway network is questionable. I would love to see it in place but it might be more cost effective to just have a good A-road network with a motorway between Dublin and Wexford, Cork, Galway and Belfast and a Western corridor dual carriageway or Motorway. I think this is the plan anyway. Good wide single land roads with hard shoulders and the odd stretch of overtaking land would be what I would hope for around the rest of the country.
 
A question for all you people from Eastern Europe: How do the roads in Ireland compare to the ones back home?
 
Well, I suppose I'm from East of the Dirty Aul' Town, so........

the roads here are a national disgrace.
Some work done, more to do, as someone almost said.

The money the Govt spent subsidising Aer Lingus then Aer Arran to fly so many domestic routes could have gone a long way in road-building.

To answer the specific question - much, much worse. Particularly in rural areas. It's always one of the first things friends & family I've taken to Scotland on holiday comment on.
 
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