This article is from page 16 of the 2014-01-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
A NUMBER of local drivers in Crusheen have stopped using a section of the M18 because of fears about that safety on part of the M18, north of Crusheen.
That is according to Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) who has written to the National Roads Authority (NRA) requesting that they conduct a safety audit of the road and reduce speed limits to 100 kph in the area.
This following a recent spate of accidents in a section of the M-18 north of Crusheen over the Christmas period. For the last three week the NRA has displayed a sign warning motorists top exercise “extreme caution” on this section of road.
“There is a genuine concern amongst local people regarding this stretch. Most local are now reducing their speed when they come to this section of the road and I know of some people who are avoiding the road altogether,” said Cllr Hayes.
“The difficulty then comes for people who are not used to driving on the road; they don’t know of the particular dangers that seem to exist there. I think the fact that the NRA have put up this sign on the road shows there there is some sort of issue here.”
A spokesperson from the NRA yesterday confirmed that the NRA place the a sign, with what he described as “strong language” on the M18. The signs was put in place follow a request from the Gardaí in the wake of a number of recent accidents.
At the time of going to press the NRA spokesperson could not confirm if the roads organisations plans to conduct safety audit on a stretch of the M18, north of Crusheen.
It was also confirmed that this section of the M18, which was closed on two separate occasion on the same day following a series of traffic accident over the Christmas period, was gritted on three separate occasion on the day of the spate of accidents.