Hauliers ‘risk lives’ by avoiding tolls

TRUCK drivers who use rural routes to avoid road tolls will put thousands of lives at risk, the National Safety Council (NSC) warned yesterday.

Lorry drivers have criticised the tolls on the M1 motorway and many are taking longer routes through rural areas to avoid them.

Brian Farrell, spokesperson for the NSC, said the council was extremely concerned about the problem.

“If lorry drivers put the economic argument before safety then more lives will be put at risk,” Mr Farrell said.

He said drivers were passing through rural roads and villages that were never intended for large volumes of traffic.

“If this traffic continues to go through non-national routes then the roads will become more dangerous instead of safer,” he said.

There is a €4.90 toll on large trucks at the Drogheda bypass and smaller lorries have to pay €3.80.

This road links Dublin and Dundalk with 72km of continuous motorway that was built at a cost of €230m.

However, road hauliers insist the charges are too high and the tolls will cost them tens of thousands of euro annually.

“It will cost me €25,000 annually to use that stretch of road on a daily basis. I also pay €2,000 a year in road tax, something that my colleagues in France don’t have to do,” Irish Road Hauliers Association spokesperson Jimmy Quinn said.

“There is also a huge difference in the rates charged by hauliers on the Continent and those charged here. We simply can’t afford this.”

But the NSC, and the National Roads Authority, say truck drivers will bypass several black spots if they are willing to pay the toll. Towns such as Slane and Drogheda and the notorious black spot at Tullysker are bypassed by the M1 motorway.

“I don’t see any justification for this. Drivers in Europe don’t seem to have a problem paying around €250 to drive from Calais to the South of France. Drivers here will only have to pay €3.65 when you include discounts and VAT rebates they can claim,” Mr Farrell said.