The Government couldn't care less about road safety

Paddigol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637900#Comment_121637900

Any source for that claim?

Paddigol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638114#Comment_121638114

How would you manage that system? Take the stats for the last 5 years and put signs up wherever there's been accidents? And then next year... do another review? And keep moving the signs around?

I wonder, with all the accidents in these 'black spots', how many of those accidents was inappropriate speed a factor.

As a driver, any seriously dangerous sections of road I've come across have always had plenty of warning signs - whether it's dangerous bends, sharp turn, steep decent, narrow bridge, humps in road etc. In all other cases, just exercise some personal responsibility and drive at an appropriate speed and you won't have an issue.

Baseball72

Motorists (and I am a motorist for much of the week), need to realise, their vehicle is potentially a lethal weapon. The onus is on ALL road users to concentrate whilst traveling.

We need to include cyclists who don't wear hi-viz when cycling and the scooter brigade as well.

Pedestrians stepping out onto the road, obsessed with their smartphones, often dressed in dark clothing also need to kop on.

Drivers not putting their lights on - especially around sunrise/sunset is also quite thoughtless.

We all have a duty of care to respect our fellow road users, and have a greater awareness of our surroundings, speed, and how visible we are (or not) to others.

The government provides funding to local authorities, RSA, Transport for Ireland, etc, but we are all responsible for acting properly when traveling.

One final point, in rural areas (and that can include country roads up past Dublin Airport, local authorities need to manage hedges and trees to enhance visibility (like much of France).

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637456#Comment_121637456

This is what I like about my 2017 Mazda 3. It disables the touchscreen while driving but has the old style modules with nice big physical buttons and dials for the things like windscreen demister, radio controls etc

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638306#Comment_121638306

There is a section of road on the N59 in Galway - 100km/hr limit. It goes from a long straight section to the most obscene bend with a big wall at the apex. It is now blackened from the flames of the car of a 20 something who crashed there before christmas and it's not for the first time that has happened and won't be the last. I've been driving that section for 15 years and it still takes me off-guard sometimes. A nice big sign saying accident black-spot would make sure everyone has their wits about them.

kippy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638236#Comment_121638236

You can never have "proper roads" if you can even define what that is, everywhere.

Cluedo Monopoly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637169#Comment_121637169

What happened to all those Accident Black Spot signs? I hardly ever seen them now. They were usually put where there was a fatality.

kippy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638346#Comment_121638346

I suppose, from a practical perspective - the question needs to be asked, if so many accidents are happening in the same location - why isn't there something done in relation to improving the safety at that location - putting up signs isn't really fixing the issue and in fairness combined with the distractions that can occur inside a car these days a spot like that isn't finished taking lives.

I am aware of the piece of road you are talking above, I thought there were a few warning signs in that area already but could be wrong.

In fairness I could tell you about at least three areas of road that I am aware of that had multiple serious accidents occur on them over the years that have been redesigned/remodeled over the past decade - these were areas with fatalities and regular accidents.

That said, not every poorly designed piece of road can be made better and it does come down to personal responsibilty on how you manage risk.

howiya

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638384#Comment_121638384

A single fatality doesn't make a location an accident black spot. The ones I remember, due to frequency of journeys taken in the past, were the ones on the N11 which had quite a few signs. I remember remarking in my childhood innocence why don't they fix the road instead of putting up signs. Obviously it is a much better road these days.

lawred2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637074#Comment_121637074

Exactly. Tesla being a prime example.

jackboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638251#Comment_121638251

Dont want to say beyond it is a very touristy area. It used to be listed in the media as one of the most dangerous roads in Ireland. The road surface was always fine but there were lots of bends so if you come around a corner and there is just something stopped on the road you are done unless you are going at a snails pace.

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638411#Comment_121638411

I agree with this, but this was my point in the original post. If the government are unwilling to act on fixing dangerous sections of road, the very very least they could do is inform us where these dangerous sections are!

The fact is, they do nothing. And as others have point out above - they used to have blackspot signs, they used to publish the data. Why have they stopped? Probably because it exposes the fact that their speed reduction campaigns and speed camera system don't improve accident figures.

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638242#Comment_121638242

Because legislating for such hyperbolic emotional reasoning is bad law just as the imminent blanket lowering of speed limits because of hysteria and pearl clutching over increased road deaths is bad law.

As I said in the other similar thread here on this topic, while every death or serious injury is sad and a loss, there are multiple other factors involved in most of these cases than just "speeding".

- Drug-driving is a huge problem (per the Garda twitter feed)

- Significantly more cars on the road since Covid with more journeys being made. In that context alone the road deaths are actually very low

- Lots of disqualified and/or uninsured drivers out there (again per the Garda twitter account)

- Lack of enforcement of pretty much anything on the roads except speeding on motorways or straight stretches of national road. Nothing about tailgating, no use of indicators, no or minimal lights in poor visibility conditions, dangerous overtaking, people who speed up when being overtaken, unnecessary dawdling or lane hogging by people trying to police the road themselves etc etc

- single occupant late at night fatalities for reasons we probably can guess at (suicide) but don't like to talk about

.... And so on. It's a lot more complex than is often made out

Although, I do actually agree that big touchscreens in cars and burying essential functions under menus is a safety issue. The reason is cost saving. It's a lot cheaper for the manufacturers to slap on a screen than buttons that have to last for years and need to be ergonomically designed and tested , and this approach also allows them (as some now are) to put some features behind paywalls.

jmayo

Ok time to vent

The government, the muppets in media and road safety (and a lot of posters here climb on the bandwagon) will tell you it is all speed so lets drop the speed limit and wayhay aren't we great.

A lot of us are always saying it is inappropriate speed.

For instance for argument sake I could drive quite safely on a fine clear day at 120kph on a section of road between Tarmonbarry and Stroketown Co. Roscommon.

I am breaking the law, but I would be pretty safe as wide road, massive hardshoulder, great view of road ahead, great surface, etc.

Far side of Strokestown the speed limit is 100kph, but a lot of sections should only be driven at under 80 kph.

Some down to 60kph even.

Reason I brought up previous section is I was done for speeding there at 11am on sunny June morning.

Never any sign of Garda speedcheck there at 1am on Saturday or Sunday night withlads heading to Longford for the night.

Now other thing I always notice is some people should not be on the fooking road because they have no concept of driving.

Road may be 100kph so they drive at 80kph, road may be 80kph so they drive at 60kph.

Some will argue they are good safe drivers.

Except the fooking a s s holes proceed to drive through next 50kph village at least 10kph over the limit.

Hos is that safe?

The other night coming up to blind junction over a crest, met couple of cars, nothing, no flashing lights, no hazards.

Finally third car flashes lights.

Over crest at junction car has crashed and is in middle of my lane.

Only 1 of three cars had cop on to warn oncoming drivers.

Come across same thing where fookers can't be ar**ed warning you of sheep, cattle, pedestrians on road.

Nothing.

It is common decency and could save someone or somethings life.

The quality of driving is atrocious.

Latest thing is you have car headlights that could illuminate a football pitch.

And to make matters worse gobsheens don't realise a car is coming against them and don't dim until they blast you full on with the full headlights.

then it seems every fooking electric car now has light bars across front and back.

Next thing they will be mimicking KITT from Knightrider or a Cylon and be strobing across the back or front of car just to dazzle others.

And don't me started on the ones out of Dublin for that day on those Go cars.

BrianD3

There is an EuroRAP road assessment initiative, I don't know if the RSA feed into it, it seems to be mainly a UK thing. It was covered on the TV programme Fifth Gear years ago. As they say, bad driving causes crashes but road design and the presence of objects like trees beside roads compound errors that all drivers make. There are thousands if not millions of trees lining twisty Irish roads and we have a lot of single vehicle collisions into trees the early hours of the morning. Probably due to fatigue or intoxication. Possibly some suicides or medical issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWegXQ81TKw

Bad driving and utter stupidity are obviously the main problem though. So far this year there are 11 deaths with 3 of those on motorways. A single vehicle crash and two pedestrian fatalities. If anyone has the time to go through all the road death reports for 2023 they'll find reports on: Hit and runs (scumbag drivers). Single vehicle crashes on motorways. Pedestrians being killed including on motorways. Motorcyclists being killed. Tractors involved in fatal collisions. Collisions where it seems obvious that seatbelts were not being worn. Collisions involving children driving cars on public roads. But never mind all that, SPEEDING.

Gussoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637048#Comment_121637048

Our roads our Public, funded by the public, as are the emergency services that attend the accidents. I don't see why the information should not also be public?

Gussoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638578#Comment_121638578

The real reason is that it probably opens the local council or RSA to liability. Putting up an accident black spot sign is an admission that this stretch of road is dangerous and that the RSA knows that it is.

Atlantic Dawn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638042#Comment_121638042

I meant internet traffic, sites visited, texts/WhatsAps sent etc.

Clo-Clo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638848#Comment_121638848

Maybe treat all roads like a black spot. Drive more careful and less speed. Would that be an idea?

Gussoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121639136#Comment_121639136

With that logic we may as well remove all the signage that indicates a sharp bend. You in favour of that too?

batman_oh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638830#Comment_121638830

The focus solely on speeding is the most frustrating thing. Especially if you look at how it's done - only to be seen on motorways and big national roads in day time, often hiding in parts where the limit drops to 80. It's literally nothing to do with preventing anything and is just revenue collecting/being seen to do something that required minimal effort.

Unfortunately lots of plebs seem to think this is the way to bring our road deaths to the fantasy zero number that the RSA are aiming for and are all on board with reducing limits even further on these roads so we can speed camera the **** out of everybody

Clo-Clo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121639210#Comment_121639210

No, that's not the same logic at all.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638731#Comment_121638731

In shocking post person claims they are a great driver and everyone else on the road is an idiot compared to them.

😂

Just a quick FYI, GoCars are available all over Ireland. Not just from Dublin

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121639136#Comment_121639136

That's akin to the common problem of litter bins overflowing and rubbish left near them.

Local authority solution: remove the bins..

mikethecop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637174#Comment_121637174

It is generally , but them again drivers with multiple convictions even ones who have killed people on the roads some times get suspended sentences from watery judges backed by simpering free legal aid barristers. enforcement is a joke. the traffic unit is my area is down 2/3s and regular gardai are shackled to computers or directed to stand down when trying to catch dangerous drivers

Inexperienced drivers , drink and drug drivers. **** roads. crappy and mis recorded suicides, poor no no training for gardai all contribute

but also the government really don't seem to give a thinkers curse about road deaths but then again they never did , It was the RSA who pushed the improvements that reduced them from one a day at one point

animalinside

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638248#Comment_121638248

You won't do the limit if it's not safe to I hope. It can all change based on weather, other traffic, the state of your own car. Remember the same speed limits apply to motocyclists.

I can see how someone might see a speed limit as a signal for what speed could be gone at, but that's an unofficial and unwritten use of speed limits, do you really think the people putting up speed limits spend all day thinking about what limits to put up in random areas throughout the country - I'm sure they just throw up any old thing in some places. The best and safest use of speed limits is to completely ignore them and drive defensively at a safe and responsible speed.

eightieschewbaccy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637587#Comment_121637587

The move away from knobs etc is generally cost saving on manufacturers. VW have recently announced they're bringing back a lot of the older non touch screen interaction due to consumer feedback so I can see a lot of the industry going that way. I'm fine with linked info on a screen plus GPS for example. But the overall infotainment obsession is extreme. And voice controls are most definitely not the answer.

SuperBowserWorld

This morning, walked past two guys driving in a car going up a hill and around a bend. The passenger was engrossed in his phone and then I looked again and so was the driver.

DarkJager21

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121640097#Comment_121640097

Yet doing what you recommend is also dangerous. I have a local road near me which is full of blind bends and would be very easy to suddenly come upon a tailback of traffic doing the limit (80kph). There is one elderly driver who goes out each weekend and can barely hold 40kph. There are only 2 opportunities in a 20 minute drive to overtake.

You could argue that that person is entitled to travel at half the speed limit of the road, completely oblivious to any carnage that might unfold behind them, all caused by their driving. I'd argue that if you can't comfortably operate a vehicle to within at least 10kph of the designated limit, you shouldn't be on the road. Slow drivers are as dangerous as drink drivers

Baba Yaga

speed is a small enough part of it i think...as has been said mobile phone usage is off the charts from what i see everyday when im either driving or walking,the inside of every few cars is lit up from a phone either in the middle of the dash,stuck on the windsreen or in the drivers hand/lap,ffs put away the phones!!! also i get the impression theres alot on cocaine,the amount of pure aggression on the roads the last couple of years is nuts,i dont exactly hang about,id be as they say "making progress" but holy jebus! calm down a bit...just look at particularly the m50 in dublin,every day theres several smashes on it...i for sure dont have the answers but maybe just get off the phones and calm to fcuk down a wee bit when driving..

Clo-Clo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121640556#Comment_121640556

People are just clowns. They prefer to leave 5 mins after they should and then try to make up the time on the road. It's not just on the main roads, as I posted on another thread we live on a road which is used as a way to skip traffic, the clown first of all think they are on the M50 and take over the entire road. Don't seem to understand that it is not salted, plus going at least 20-30kmph more than they should be.

In terms of phones, I seen people doing video calls while driving with th ephone slapped in the middle of the screen in front of them so they have to look past the phone to see the road.

Honeslty the IQ of the population is going in one direction and it ain't the right direction

Rubberchikken

Crap. No road is dangerous. Dangerous is the tool of a driver not paying attention. Drink and or drug taken, speed etc.

Drive to suit the road and weather conditions. Stay off phone. No alcohol or drugs in your system and stop being a complete tool.

cj maxx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058332100/the-government-couldnt-care-less-about-road-safety

2016 the RSA decided to pull the black spot data that they previously published (very quietly) on a monthly basis. For what reason? GDPR of course. All I want is a crude map of the country with a giant black dot on the area that is dangerous for me to drive through. I'm not looking for the PPS number, the eircode, the death certificate of every person who died there 

^^^^^^^

this . Companies and people are held liable under strict safety rules but Co Councils and other agencies can’t be . A local man died a few years ago on a road that was black spotted . The cause wasn’t drink or speed . It was due to a slump in the road on a corner . It had been pointed out to the council many times without anything being done . The day after the accident it was fixed .

Why can’t the RSA simply put signs up saying that this particular stretch has a higher than average accident risk .

animalinside

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121640581#Comment_121640581

Right about certain people leaving late. If they went earlier then they'd not only be a lot safer, they could have a pleasant drive and able to contemplate things, prepare what they will say, etc on the way. It actually saves time.

As you suggest most of these people aren't actually short of time at all, they just leave it late. It's as if they have so little going on in their lives they get addicted to the adrenaline rush of trying to make it on time to give a little excitement to their otherwise mundane lives.

animalinside

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121640154#Comment_121640154

This is an extremely ridiculous post on many levels.

Del2005

Listening to the radio a while ago and a minister talking about blanketing the country in speed cameras after an RSA report. The report said that DUI and distracted driving has massively increase, so the solution is to use speed cameras!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121640108#Comment_121640108

And voice controls are most definitely not the answer.

Why isn't voice control the answer? I can press a button on my steering wheel and tell the car to warmer or colder, I can get it to call someone, I can get it to change my music, I can get it to set my sat nav. It can adjust everything that you need to take your eyes off the road for a second to find the knob to adjust. Voice control is safer than buttons as you keep both hands on the wheel at all time and don't have to glance down to find a button/knob.

eightieschewbaccy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121640905#Comment_121640905

Cause as other posters pointed out, it's not very reliable. A family in a car for example, can end up with functionality not working very well if everyone is talking while you're trying to tell the car to indicate or whatever. Ignoring that, plenty of car models have it randomly activating and misbehaving. So no, I can't see it becoming the norm in the near future.

Flinty997

Voice control doesn't work reliably...yet..

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121640755#Comment_121640755

Nope, he's spot on.

Inappropriate speeding doesn't just work one way. Slow dawdling drivers on national roads or motorways are essentially a hazard - they're a rolling road block and they are also in my experience the same drivers who will then continue at that same speed (now in excess of the limit or what's appropriate) as they pass through the next town or village.

These drivers are inattentive to the conditions of the road and the problems they are causing behind and around them, and equally they are slow to react to changes in those conditions resulting in more problems.

As I said, if you can't - or won't - drive at the limit or speed of the rest of the traffic around you when there's no valid reason not to, then you shouldn't be on the road. If you're being overtaken by car after car, or if you're being passed by buses and HGVs then you're doing it wrong!

Strumms

Quality of driving is at an all time low.

So is from what I can see the amount of enforcement. I rarely see any traffic corps unless it’s tax / insurance checkpoints…

Speeding and mobile phone use is far more prevalent than a few years back. If I notice it from my seat…..so should the Gardai.

the phone thing I find difficult to understand or have even a sliver of sympathy for as if you are one of those people that constantly is a needy waster… simply get a car with phone tech that allows you to talk hands free…. Even some 10 year old cars have that tech and if they haven’t get yourself a Bluetooth hands free kit, one of those Parrot jobs…you’ll get a very good one for 200 quid…

animalinside

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121641978#Comment_121641978

Slow driving can be hazardous, I didn't deny that, nobody denied that. Driving slowly without a valid reason (you don't know what problems a car is facing) is also illegal.

Packrat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121642280#Comment_121642280

And when was anyone ever prosecuted for it??? Even that it's a constant hazard.

Clo-Clo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121641978#Comment_121641978

It doesn't matter what speed you are at in Ireland, you will always find some gobsh**e on the rear of the car thinking he should be allowed go faster.

Blaming people for going "slow" as if they are a danger is hilarious. The person going slow is not the problem, it's the 20 clowns behind him willing to kill themselves and others to get past the car which are the danger.

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121642584#Comment_121642584

Ah so essentially the "it's not me who's wrong, it's everyone else around me" driver mindset. Yep that's exactly my point.

Driving isn't done in isolation. You have an obligation and requirement to not just look out for yourself but others using the roads with you - be it pedestrians, cyclists or yes, other motorists!

So while there are definitely times that you should ignore the posted limit and slow down (heavy traffic, beside a school at finishing time, bad weather, poor surface etc) so too should you recognise that if you have lots of cars/vehicles building up in a queue behind you and an increasing amount of them overtaking you at the next opportunity, that it's probably you that's the problem and you should either speed up appropriately or move into the hard shoulder (if available and when safe to do so) to allow them to pass safely.

Before the same argument starts on THAT point as it regularly does in the Motors forum - you are completely legally permitted to move in and out of the hard shoulder (I don't mean weaving erratically) to allow traffic behind you to pass. What you shouldn't do though is travel continuously in the hard shoulder - but again a competent driver will know the difference (the same way as undertaking in the left lane is when traffic is congested or stopped in the right lane, not for passing someone doing 100 km/h).

And again, if someone isn't capable of driving at 100/120 km/h when there's no valid reason not to be, then they shouldn't be on that road as they are a hazard to other drivers (again because they generally travel at a rate significantly slower) and add to traffic congestion and unnecessary braking which itself is another hazard as well.

blackbox

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121642584#Comment_121642584

I drive reasonably quickly, but sometimes a faster driver comes up behind me.

Do I speed up? Do I block him/her because he is driving too fast?

No, at a safe section I slow down and invite him/her to pass.

Now everyone can proceed at the speed that feels comfortable for them without any stress.

zell12

RSA's Liz O'Donnell coming up on Newstalk to preach road safety. See, the Government do care 😋

tabby aspreme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638236#Comment_121638236

I know the sections of road where 3 of this year's fatalities have occurred, and no way could you fault the quality of these particular roads

batman_oh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121642721#Comment_121642721

Best get those new big wide open road speed cameras, extra points and bigger fines in sharpish. It's a guaranteed fix!

zell12

"there is just a significant male skew across everything [in collisions & deaths]" "it is everything to do with male [driver] behaviour"

tabby aspreme

I think more unmarked Garda cars would be a way better deterrent than speed camera's, a lot of bad driving doesn't involve speeding and goes unpunished.

As for slow driving/ lane hogging, I see it most mornings on the M7 Naas bypass, why someone who's driving on the left lane of M9 at under 100km moves into the right lane to merge onto the M7, and then proceeds to create a tailback by staying in the center lane is beyond me.

65535

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121642745#Comment_121642745

Of course not, there are incidents of 'human error' - it's not all just the road but a lot of it is - if a road is engineered for 100 then you should be able to drive 100 on it.