NRA ‘playing with loaded gun’ on road safety
One could be forgiven for thinking he was referring to his own organisation’s contribution to our appalling road accident figures.
We have poorly marked roads that have a multitude of contradictory signs, road improvements taking place in a piecemeal, haphazard fashion, varying speed limits bearing no relation to the road the motorist is travelling on (alternating from maximum to minimum several times on any short journey, enough to confuse the most attentive driver). What will metrification bring? Another nightmare of an unfinished project for the motorist.
With reference to new motorways and dual carriageways, Sean Ryan TD has stated that “there is ample information available to show that protective barriers significantly reduce the numbers of fatalities, reduce the degree of injury and collisions, in the main, have caused property damage only”.
With last weekend’s accidents and the closure of one of our few motorways, why could the NRA not have done their homework earlier and saved numerous lives by putting barriers on these roads in the first place?
People lose control of their cars for various reasons. It may not be from careless or dangerous driving (although, unfortunately, this will happen) - it could arise from an unknown, unforeseen medical or mechanical condition which, God forbid, could happen to you or me causing a car to career onto the opposite carriageway.
With our new dedicated traffic corps maybe the gardaí will prosecute and the judiciary will jail the real cowboys responsible for deaths on our roads.
Until then the NRA may continue to play Russian roulette with all our lives.
John Gyves
11 All Saints Road
Raheny
Dublin 5
