Deathtrap
MAG Ireland has today issued a press release in which we welcome the announcement by finance minister Michael Noonan that sixty million Euro is to be reallocated to the repair & maintenance of secondary roads.
MAG Ireland has long held the view that the poor standard of our regional and local roads represents one of the most significant hazards facing motorcycle users on a daily basis.
We regularly hear from riders who’ve had incidents, accidents or near misses on the sort of road surface shown in the picture, and we’re preparing to launch a new campaign on this issue soon.
The full text of our press release reads as follows;
MAG Ireland, The Irish Motorcyclists’ Action Group, welcomes the announcement by the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, that “an extra €60 million will be reallocated to invest in our regional and local roads to carry out much-needed surface restoration and road reconstruction works.”
We know from talking to motorcyclists from all over the country that many regional and local roads are now in such a state of disrepair that using them has become a life threatening act. MAG Ireland would urge both the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, and the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar, to ensure this additional funding is solely used for road repairs and is not spent on ancillary items like traffic management.
The state of Ireland’s regional & local roads as a result of two harsh winters in succession has made travelling anywhere in the country very hazardous away from the major road network. Indeed some regional and local roads have deteriorated to the point where they are no more than a series of filled-in potholes strung together with tarmac, just waiting to reappear after the next shower of rain.
MAG Ireland believes that poor road conditions are a substantial contributing factor in single vehicle motorcycle collisions and there is ample anecdotal evidence from motorcyclists themselves which backs up this view. We strongly feel that the state of our secondary road system should be investigated as a potential contributing factor in any accident occurring on such roads, particularly where vulnerable roads users are concerned.