AA expect up to 1,500 breakdowns over jam packed bank holiday

Golfers notorious for locking their keys in the car, says AA

AA Patrols are preparing for their busiest weekend of the summer this August Bank Holiday with the Galway Races at Ballybrit and The Irish Open in Killarney among other events expected to generate bumper traffic volumes.

“The August bank holiday is one of the most hectic weekends for travel in the calendar year and based on previous years we’d expect somewhere in the region of 1,500* breakdown call outs this coming  weekend.” Say Noel Keogh, Head of AA Rescue.  “Horseboxes, jockeys, pro golfers and golf carts, we’re prepared for the lot.  In fact golfers are some of our best customers, so to speak, when it comes to locking their keys in their car.”

The AA reports that their Patrols are regularly tasked to golf club car parks to assist golfers who have locked themselves out or lost their keys somewhere on the fairway.  “Golfers have a real habit of putting their keys in their golf bag, then locking the bag  along with their keys in their boot after the they finish their round. ” Says Keogh.  “Hopefully none of the players at The Open find themselves in the same predicament!”

AA Roadwatch identifies the following likely bank holiday traffic hot spots:

Top 5 Traffic Hotspots: 

*GALWAY* The N6/Bothar na Dtreabh (Dublin Rd) in Galway due to the Galway Races taking place from Monday 25^th until Sunday 31^st July.

*KERRY* The N72 Killarney/Killorglin Rd due to the Irish Open taking place at Killarney Golf and Fishing Club from Wednesday 28^th until Sunday 31^st July.

*MAYO* The Louisburgh/Westport Rd (R335) due to the Annual Pilgrimage to Croagh Patrick taking place on Reek on Sunday, 31st July.

*LIMERICK* The N21 Limerick/Tralee through Adare as traffic goes down to one lane through the town.  Causing up to 30 minute delays on a regular Friday, delays are likely to be longer during the August bank holiday.

*N7/M7* Dublin/Limerick Rd leaving Dublin and also further south between J7 Kill and J9 Naas North (Big Ball).

For further traffic and travel advice throughout the weekend motorists can log on to: www.theaa.ie/roadwatch.  Motorists who log on to the site can also avail of a special August Bank Holiday promotion of AA Membership with Rescue Plus all for just €149 meaning a saving of €71.

In light of expected delays, AA Patrols remind motorists to be well rested, give their cars the once over, carry their AA Membership cards and fill their tanks before they head off – Over the June bank holiday weekend, AA Patrols rescued 11 drivers who had completely run out of fuel on an Irish motorway.

The AA offers the acronym FLOWER as a handy pre journey vehicle checklist:

•Fuel: keep at least a quarter of a tank of fuel, in case of unexpected delays;

•Lights: clean and check for blown bulbs and cracked lenses;

•Oil: cars can consume as much as a litre of oil every 1,000 mi/1,600 km, so check the level when the

engine is cold;

•Water: check coolant and windscreen wash levels, topping up as required;

•Electrics: make sure that your electric radiator cooling fan starts running when the engine gets hot – check this by running the engine with the car stationary;

•Rubber: check tyre tread and pressures and increase pressure if carrying full load; inspect wiper blades for any damage and replace if necessary.

In addition to ensuring their car is in good shape, the AA is also urging drivers not to ignore one major killer this Bank Holiday weekend – fatigue.  Alarmingly an AA poll conducted earlier in the year found that a huge cohort of motorists in Ireland will ignore the warning signs of driver fatigue.

AA advice on preventing driver fatigue:

• Ensure you get adequate sleep before driving.  This is something that shift workers should be particularly mindful of.
• Ask your GP how any prescribed medication you are taking can affect your driving.  It’s also vital to remember that daytime drowsiness can be a side effect of non prescription medications such as hay fever and cold and flu medicines which may contain antihistamines.
• Avoid heavy meals and alcohol before driving.
• Always plan journeys properly, deciding in advance where you’re going to stop for rest stops.  This is all the more important, given the current lack of service areas on significant stretches of our motorway network.
• Break any journey of over 3 hours with a 20 minute break and on longer journeys, take a break every two hours or so. Frequent short stops (of at least 20 minutes) are better than one long stop.
• Take the opportunity to stretch your legs when you stop for a break from driving.
• Follow this up with two cups of caffeinated coffee or a stimulation drink containing caffeine.  Caffeine takes about 20 minutes to take effect so be mindful that you won’t feel the benefits straight away.
• Use the 20 minute window it takes the caffeine to take effect to take a nap lasting no longer than 15-20 minutes.  Much more than this and you might wake up feeling groggy.
• Remember to lock the doors of your vehicle when taking a nap and never ever do so on the hard shoulder.  It is illegal to pull into the hard shoulder unless in the event of an emergency.

Further information on the signs and symptoms of driver fatigue are available at www.theaa.ie/blog

Notes to the editor;

*Estimate based on an average of the last five August bank holidays, 2006 to 2010 inclusive.