Numerous cases of wrong-way drivers on motorways among 86 'near misses' on Ireland's roads

In one case in County Offaly last year, a motorway off-ramp was temporarily closed for works when 'a member of the public took it upon themselves to move cones' and proceeded to drive up the exit. File picture

A speeding car which undertook an articulated lorry on a hard shoulder and knocked the wing mirror off a stationary work vehicle was among nearly 90 close calls reported on the national road network.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) said it had logged 86 cases it categorised as “near misses” over the past five years including multiple cases of vehicles travelling the wrong way on motorways and others in which staff were subject to abuse.

In one case in County Offaly last year, a motorway off-ramp was temporarily closed for works.

While the works were going on “a member of the public took it upon themselves to move cones” and proceeded to drive up the exit, followed by two cars and a truck, TII said.

A couple of months later in neighbouring Westmeath, a supervisor spotted a wrong-way driver going on to the M5 motorway and driving 15 kilometres in the incorrect direction.

A note of the incident said: “The ‘ghost driver’ was stopped and exited the motorway at [another junction]. From the report, it seemed the driver was under the influence and irate. [Staff] immediately alerted work crew ahead and reported to An Garda.” 

In another case in 2022, a truck suddenly veered into the hard shoulder where it glanced off an impact protection vehicle that was there to protect workers.

An account of the near miss explained: 

The HGV driver pulled in and returned to the scene where he admitted to having dropped a cup and was reaching to get it when he started to veer into the hard shoulder. 

In Carlow in 2023, there was a full “overnight carriageway closure” in place when a car deliberately broke through the traffic management system.

“The car was forced to stop as the carriageway ahead was blocked. The works supervisor spoke briefly to the occupants of the vehicle before they became aggressive,” said the incident log.

“At that point, the supervisor instructed the crew to move the plant and allow the car through. The event was immediately reported to gardaí.” 

Staff were also threatened by a coach driver late last year when they were marking lines with the driver trying to move cones and go straight through a work site.

Other close calls reported by TII included one where workers were removing ivy from a wall with a chainsaw. As they removed the overgrown plant, they discovered that there was a duct sticking up out of the ground with what looked “like a power cable coming out of it”.

In Dublin last year, a motorway patrol vehicle came across a homeless encampment on the M50 ring road. On investigation, it turned out that the occupants had been able to tap into power lines on a mast, which had caused electrical supply problems in the area.

In another wrong-way driving case, two workers were doing some litter-picking on the M7 when they were alerted to a car travelling on the wrong side of the carriageway. An incident report said: “Having only a moment to think and with a good sighting distance, they proceeded to stop the oncoming traffic.

“When the traffic was stopped, they [managed] to get the elderly gentleman to pull the car into the hard shoulder. An Garda were then notified and attended the scene.”