Most dangerous roads have no warning signs for motorists

THE country’s most dangerous roads have no special warning signs to alert motorists they are driving on routes with a high accident risk, it has emerged.

The National Roads Authority admitted yesterday that no specific signage is in place to warn road users that they are on stretches of road with a bad history for fatal accidents.

The admission came as a new study by the European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) revealed the most dangerous national routes in the Republic and Northern Ireland. However, NRA spokesperson, Eugene O'Connor said it did not mean there were no warning notices at particular locations along such roads to warn of "black spots."

Researchers collated information on collisions and traffic levels on all main national roads in the period 1998-2002 in data published on behalf of EuroRAP by the AA.

It identified six stretches of national roads in the Republic as posing a higher than average risk of accident to motorists. No road in Northern Ireland was deemed to be "high risk."

A notorious 13km stretch of road on the main Dublin-Belfast road between Dundalk and the Border which recorded 81 fatalities over a five-year period the highest accident rate in the Republic is only considered a "medium-high risk" because of the heavy volume of traffic on the route.

It is one of over 15 other sections of the national road network which have experienced above average accident rates.

Mr O'Connor pointed out that all the high-risk roads identified in the EuroRAP report were included in the NRA's programme of safety work due to be completed by 2007.

AA spokesperson, Conor Faughnan, said the survey showed that all the high-risk routes involved single carriageways, which account for 91% of all fatal collisions on Irish roads.

"Ordinary single carriageways have six times the motorway collision rate and twice that of dual carriageways," said Mr Faughnan.

The study reveals that 2% of the 5,400 km of national road network is considered "high-risk" with a further 10% classified as "medium-high risk."

The first pilot scheme on the new road design, which has been shown to reduce road fatalities by up to 50%, will come into operation in Ireland later this summer.

It consists of two lanes in one direction of travel and one lane in the opposite direction which are separated by a safety barrier.

Transport Minister, Martin Cullen said the report sent out the clear message that driver behaviour continued to be the biggest factor in traffic accidents, accounting for 86% of all road fatalities and injuries.