Motorcyclists are facing serious - possibly fatal - hazards with the Luas tracks, claims John Wheeler
Last September, in the wake of the Tánaiste's pronouncement that the Luas crossing of the Red Cow roundabout was "incredible - a dreadful indictment of our processes", we told how the Irish Motorcyclists Action Group (MAG Ireland) raised serious concerns about the Luas project at both of the public inquiries.
These concerns related to the construction phase, where motorcyclists feared dangerous road defects, and once Luas became operational, particularly where the lines became on-road. I have good reason to remember these inquiries well because, at the time, it was my lot to present MAG's case.
In short, the CIÉ team, which has now become the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) assured the inquiries that the construction contracts were absolutely rigorous, and that our fears about hazardous road defects during construction were groundless. The chairman's reports of both these inquiries disregarded motorcyclists' concerns, accepting the CIÉ/RPA assurances. And what have we seen during this phase? Hazards that even on an Irish scale beggar belief.
Luas will soon, we are assured, be in operation. In anticipation of that event the RPA recently produced a poster advertisement, which was featured in The Irish Times, and other papers on April 13th. This poster, aimed specifically at motorcyclists, makes several points, amongst them that:
". . . Tram rails can be slippery - be careful and avoid braking where possible.
". . . Wheels may be trapped in rail grooves - stay clear and cross rails as close to right angles as possible.
". . . Where tramways are not intended to accommodate other road vehicles, the surface will be unsuitable for motorcycles".
Motorcyclists should perhaps be grateful that despite the CIÉ/RPA team rubbishing the motorcyclists' concerns on these very points at the inquiries, despite the inquiry reports barely mentioning them that, at last, our concerns are being recognised.
I remember the inquiry being told that slippery rails would not be a problem, the type of rail and the way it would fit into the surrounding road surface would not cause difficulties.
This novel type of rail, which looks virtually identical to tramways elsewhere, would have little impact on motorcycles, and so on. All of us, not just motorcyclists, were beguiled into a scheme, more a conglomeration of compromise for the sake of doing something, rather than getting it right, that would have unacceptable inherent hazards and that will result in serious accidents and fatalities.
It is little consolation to see now that the concerns motorcyclists expressed have, on the evidence of this poster, become accepted by the RPA. We are stuck with a host of new hazards, as if Irish roads did not have enough already.
The rails are not just slippery in the wet, they are slippery in the dry. Even worse on many sections they are set - and we were assured this would not be the case - in furrows between cambered road surfaces, a design guaranteed to affect adversely the handling of any two-wheeled vehicle.
Should circumstances dictate that you have to brake when on a rail, expect the worst. The best you can do is to "keep your distance" from the vehicles in front of you, and keep your observations brilliantly sharp.
Yes, the poster's advice to cross "as close to right angles as possible" is correct. The problem is that car, van, truck drivers will not be expecting you to make the kind of manoeuvre that will be required to achieve the right angle approach. If you do at times drive a car, van or truck please expect motorcycles to slow down and manoeuvre carefully.
Experience elsewhere, where similar hazardous systems have been introduced, shows that there is a very long learning curve and that serious motorcycle accidents and fatalities are virtually certain.
Make sure you do not become a statistic.