NRA to improve safety on six most dangerous roads

The National Roads Authority (NRA) is undertaking remedial works on a series of roads identified as the most dangerous in Ireland in a motoring report published yesterday.

The authority admitted that none of the six roads identified as "high risk" in the AA EuroRAP report had been signposted as accident blackspots.

However, traffic calming, junction improvements and other road safety schemes are under way in each location.

The six most dangerous routes, revealed by The Irish Times yesterday, are: the N54 between Clones and Monaghan; the N53 between Dundalk and the border; the N55 between Edgeworthstown and Granard; the N52 between Mullingar and Tyrrellspass; the N78 between Athy and Castlecomer; and the N75 between Thurles and the N8.

Publishing the report, AA public affairs manager Conor Faughnan said 91 per cent of fatal collisions occurred on single carriageways. "We simply must find ways of making those roads more forgiving," he said.

At an event in Dublin to mark the publication of the report, the NRA confirmed that it would shortly introduce a new road design in dangerous locations, which had been shown to reduce fatalities by half in Sweden.

The NRA's head of road safety Harry Cullen said the first "two plus one" road, incorporating intermittent overtaking and safety barriers, would be opening "in the next six to eight weeks" on the N20 between Rathduff and Mallow. A further three such roads are due to open before the end of the year: on the N4 between Dromod and Roosky; on the N2 between Clontibret and Castleblayney; and on the N15 between Ballybofey and Stronlar.

Asked about the lack of signposting at high-risk locations, Mr Cullen said: "We have moved away from blackspot signs. We would rather do something positive, and see if we can improve the road either by sorting out a junction or some other measure."

The NRA's head of project management, Eugene O'Connor, said up to €1.4 billion was being spent annually on roads over the next five years, including €40 million on road safety this year alone. Asked were roads getting too much money, Mr O'Connor replied, "certainly not", adding that the safety dividend from road investment had been demonstrated.

Minister for Transport Martin Cullen said the figures from the NRA showed road factors contributed to only 2.5 per cent of fatal and serious injury. In contrast, driver behaviour, including speed, no seat-belt wearing, drink and drugs, accounted for 86 per cent of such collisions.

The EuroRAP report can be read in full at www.aaireland.ie