Are you going west for the August Bank Holiday weekend? If you are, let me give you some advice about the road from Dublin.
There is a new slogan for westbound travellers: "Goodbye Kinnegad, hello Moate."
Sometimes described as the country and western capital of Ireland because so many musicians live there, Moate, Co Westmeath, has become the latest black-spot on the way to the west.
There is nothing wrong with Moate as a town and I would suggest that there is more there for the eye than in Kinnegad.
However, most drivers do not really relish a crawl through the town as traffic builds up to Dublin city's gridlock proportions, even on ordinary working days.
The fact that the town has one of the widest streets in the State adds to the mystery of the traffic problem.
A local newspaper has pointed out that the problem is not just caused by the volume of passing traffic but by local people, especially the business community.
Last year concern was expressed about the problem and local traders launched an initiative which involved parking their vehicles and employees' cars in their yards.
This had an immediate impact and people could travel freely through the town. People who wished to stop and shop could find parking.
However, it appears old habits die hard and gradually locals began to park on the main streets again. Shoppers and stoppers now park their vehicles where they can, resulting in traffic chaos at times.
The town has grown substantially over the last decade and the additional traffic generated by new housing has also had an adverse impact.
There is a growing number of people who commute daily to Dublin from Moate by road or rail, which takes just over an hour.
Yet where there is a town there is always the possibility of a bypass and Moate is also set to get one.
Ryan Hanley Consultant Engineers, Galway, in association with WSP Consultants of Basingstoke, England, has been appointed to draw up plans for the work.
It could be some time before the bulldozers move in but perhaps in the meantime local traders, who do not seem to realise they are losing trade by not freeing up parking spaces, should consider returning to the good behaviour of last year and parking off the main street as much as possible.