Heading to Croker final? Drive carefully

THOUSANDS of Kerry fans going by road to next Sunday’s All-Ireland football final in Croke Park are being urged to take special care.

Star Kerry midfielder Darragh Ó Sé was yesterday among those attending the launch of the safety campaign, in Tralee, to highlight the dangers of driver fatigue.

At least 12,000 Kerry fans are travelling to the game and many will undertake the 400-mile round-trip journey to Dublin in a 12-hour period.

Falling asleep at the wheel is believed to account for up to 20% of accidents on long journeys.

Darragh Ó Sé called on fans to wear promotional baseball caps on Saturday and to display balloons, currently being distributed to schools and libraries, to promote the safety theme.

“Like everyone, I’m saddened by the carnage on our roads. We’re urging all those travelling to the match to be aware of their surroundings and take into account how dangerous driver fatigue can be,” he said.

The safety campaign has been initiated by Kerry County Council and Kerry mayor Michael Healy-Rae said it was being targeted at people who will be driving the round trip on Sunday.

Drivers are being advised to take a 15-minute break every two hours, to stop if they are feeling sleepy, to drink coffee or another high caffeine drink and share the driving, if possible.

Also yesterday, Iarnród Éireann was called on to provide more trains to transport fans to Croke Park.

Kerry FG councillor Johnny ‘Porridge’ O’Connor said: “It’s a fright that when everyone wants to eliminate road deaths there are insufficient trains available to take people to Dublin.” Mr Healy-Rae agreed to take up the matter with Iarnród Éireann.

Independent councillor Danny Healy-Rae said all seats should be occupied before people requested extra trains.

“Whenever we get on trains we see piles of empty seats,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on at all. People can’t get tickets for trains, but maybe only two-thirds of the seats are taken up.”

Meanwhile, Kerry County Council is due to get a limited number of match tickets from the Kerry GAA Board and there will be a draw among the 27 councillors for the tickets.