13 Jun 2019
Posted by AA Roadwatch 
Dublin’s M50 motorway accounted for 8% of collisions reported by AA Roadwatch in the month of May. An analysis carried out by the AA’s traffic & travel information service on traffic disruption showed, unsurprisingly, that the major motorway is the route most likely to be affected. 19 incidents were reported in the month.
“Even a small incident can cause a lot of trouble on a motorway.” Says Ruth Jephson, AA Roadwatch Editor. “On a rural road, for example, a minor crash may cause so little disruption to traffic that it may not warrant inclusion in our reports. However, a similar incident when it takes place on a motorway could potentially temporarily block a land. As a result, even thought the people involved in the crash could be perfectly fine, the knock-on impact on traffic could be much greater.”
“Even a small incident can cause a lot of trouble on a motorway.” Says Ruth Jephson, AA Roadwatch Editor. “On a quiet road, a minor crash may cause so little disruption to traffic that it may not warrant inclusion in our reports. However, with a similar incident on a motorway, the knock-on impact on traffic could be much greater – even though the people involved in the crash could be perfectly fine.”
“There have been 13 million trips on the M50 so far this year so it comes as no surprise that it will feature a lot in our reports.”
AA Roadwatch also noted a high number of incidents on the M7/N7, a route which includes ongoing roadworks and lane restrictions near Naas, with a total of 23 combined crashes.
Other high activity routes include the M1, where 7 crashes were recorded. The N4/M4 (between Sligo Town and Dublin) and N11/M11 (between Dublin and Wexford) both recorded 9 crashes each, with 6 collisions reported on the N40 in Cork.
Over the course of the month the most incidents were recorded on the national route network (N-Roads) with 31% of collisions. 25% of crashes reported were on Motorways, while 12.5% of collisions occurred on Regional routes.
Dublin had the most incidents in the month of May with 109 collisions reported by AA Roadwatch. Cork was second and Limerick third.
The Dublin Port Tunnel and the Limerick Tunnel were both closed three times each. The N84 in Mayo closed twice due to collisions and there were two separate closures on the Limerick stretch of the N21 over the course of the month as well.
AA Roadwatch has a fully staffed newsroom operating seven days a week providing checked and verified traffic and travel news. Information is from received from local authorities, An Garda Síochána, emergency services, other state authorities and members of the public. The service also has information from the AA’s nationwide fleet of roadside breakdown Patrols.
Note to Editors: AA Roadwatch is principally about getting live information to the traveller so this data is primarily about crashes which either impacted on traffic congestion or had the potential to do so. AA Roadwatch does not assess the safety of roads overall.
ENDS
