Cork County Council workers 'are regular targets of road rage'
Padraig Barrett said the bad driver behaviour towards council staff 'wouldn’t have happened 10 years ago'. Picture: iStock
Cork County Council staff operating stop-go signs at roadworks are increasingly becoming victims of road rage.
A senior council official has warned that workers have been abused and their lives put at risk by aggressive drivers ploughing past handheld stop signs.
Padraig Barrett, who oversees Cork County Council’s roads and transportation directorate, said council workers have been abused by drivers who sometimes refuse to obey signs, describing it as behaviour that “wouldn’t have happened 10 years ago”.
He said gardaí “are now picking up” on a number of road rage incidents.
Co Cork mayor Mary Linehan Foley condemned the behaviour.
“Our staff are there to do a job and keep motorists safe from harm. Driver behaviour is getting increasingly disgraceful,” she said.
“In my East Cork region, there isn’t a day goes by without residents in estates pleading for traffic calming measures to cut down on speeding.”
Mr Barrett said motorists seemed to have become more impatient and aggressive, and he pointed to an increase in drug driving as a potential contributory factor.
Senior gardaí in the region have reported a serious decline in driver behaviour, including catching people watching Netflix when they’re behind the wheel.
Road rage incidents have been reported on the eastern approaches to the Jack Lynch Tunnel, where three lanes are now merging into one after a major overhaul of the junction itself.
Fine Gael councillor Michael Hegarty maintained congestion had become even worse since the new road network was introduced, describing the queuing as “horrendous” at peak times.
However, Mr Barrett said the €220m upgrade was crucial to controlling the congestion, as traffic numbers using the area are up by 10% on covid-era levels.
He said that the council is liaising with Transport Infrastructure Ireland to see if there are any ways to address tailbacks.
Carrigtwohill-based Fine Gael councillor Anthony Barry said the congestion has gotten so bad that he now avoids the tunnel and heads straight into the city when going to meetings in County Hall.
