Minister urges NRA to rethink policy

The Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen has urged the National Roads Authority (NRA) to reconsider its decision to block plans for service stations on motorways.

It is understood Mr Cullen has voiced his concerns to the NRA that heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) will be diverted through urban areas.

The Minister’s intervention came after the NRA announced it would object to any plans to build service stations along Ireland’s motorways, as the services existed in villages and towns bypassed along the routes.

Despite the NRA’s claims that its decision was down to safety reasons, the policy has drawn widespread criticism from political parties and commuter organisations alike.

The chair of the Dáil Transport Committee , Fianna Fáil TD John Ellis, plans to ask the NRA to appear before the Committee to discuss the policy.

"The decision taken by the NRA is astounding, and is contrary to common European practice," said Mr Ellis. "We in Ireland are the only country without such stations in place along motorways. We cannot be lead into a situation where long haul drivers, of articulated trucks and other vehicles taking a chance if there is no service area, which may lead to an accident and in the worst case scenario, fatalities."

The Fianna Fáil TD quoted Australian research that discovered 17 per cent of road crashes resulting in injury or death were due to driver fatigue.

"The extra minutes taken to get off the motorway, and to the nearest service area may be one minute too long, and be fatal," he said.

The Progressive Democrats have also expressed their opposition to the NRA's policy, with spokesman on transport, Senator Tom Morrissey described the NRA’s decision as "short-sighted in the extreme".

"Motorists may be less inclined to take a break when they need one, thus contributing to driver fatigue and a rise in the number of road accidents," the senator claimed. "The temptation for motorists will be to keep going, rather than divert through a town and village, and add to their journey time."

This year, there have been 157 accidents on Irish roads, with 175 people killed as a result - 16 more than the same period last year.

Mr Morrisey added that the NRA’s policy was anti-motorist and undermined road safety strategies. "Why is the NRA ignoring standard European practice and pursuing this go it alone, short sighted route? Why are the genuine concerns of the National Safety Council being ignored?" he asked. "Claiming we already have a sufficient number of service stations is nonsense. We do not have enough service areas where we most need them, along our motorway network."

The Labour Party has also slammed the decision, with the party spokeswoman on transport Roisín Shortall describing the policy as "ludicrous".

"Driver fatigue could be responsible for a significant number of accidents on our roads," she said. "Taking time out in a service station could mean the difference between life and death. So for this reason alone, the NRA's decision makes no sense whatsoever."

However, Mr Michael Egan of the NRA has put the NRA's strategy down to safety reasons. "We have concerns in relation to safety, from our own research. We have reviewed the accident records based on data supplied to the authority by the gardaí," he said. "Approximately 50 per cent of all accidents involved turning movements on to or off of roads."

Mr Egan said the State's motorway and dual carriageway network involves frequent interchanges to access towns and local communities - providing access to existing facilities. "What we are striving to achieve is a situation where the private sector will respond to the demand such as is out there for these types of facilities," he explained.

"But they would ideally be located close to purpose-designed interchanges, that, as I say, will be constructed at relatively short intervals along the motorway/dual carriageway network. "So the authority will facilitate the public in identifying these facilities through an appropriate signage programme."

Although the NRA has been criticised for ignoring international best practice, the organisation has pointed out that the Irish road network was small by European terms. Mr Egan said there had been a strong response from the private sector to provide rest areas, restaurant and parking facilities close to interchanges to motorways.

Mr Jimmy Quinn of the Irish Road Hauliers Association (IRHA) said the strategy as flawed. "There is a major safety issue," he warned. "Any day you have drivers driving for a potential stretch of three to four hours and no facilities to stop and rest and take a statutory break, you would certainly have a safety issue.

"From a tourism point of view, from a road safety point of view, the strategy is flawed."

Mr Quinn said many shop owners in towns along the main routes do not like hauliers arriving in the early hours of the morning looking to access toilet facilities and buy a coffee.

"We are not looking for full five-star services every 20 minutes but at least a rest area with an automatic toilet, that people can get some respite because you cannot predict when you are going to get tired," he said.

Mr David Maher, public relations officer for the organisation, urged the National Safety Council to take a stand on this issue. "The NRA can not be allowed to continue to make decisions that endanger the safety of the public in such a reckless manner," he said.

"HGVs account for 80 per cent of cyclist deaths in Dublin and 50 per cent on a national level. What the NRA are planning to do is simply madness, that will undoubtedly cost lives".