Lives under threat on Cork-Dublin road due to lack of rest stops – Buttimer
Final phase of motorway welcome but lives should not be put at risk
Fine Gael Cork South Central Senator Jerry Buttimer has today (Friday) welcomed the opening of the Cork to Culahill section, the final phase, of the Cork-Dublin motorway but said the failure to provide rest stops along the way could have dire implications for the safety of road users.
“This is not the first time the issue of rest stops has been flagged with the NRA and the Department of Transport and the situation as it now stands is that you can drive from Cork the Dublin without a single place to make a pit stop, get refreshments or take a few minutes to revive yourself.
“In welcoming the opening of this final section of the motorway, the fact that there is nowhere along the route to stop for fuel or food cannot be ignored. A vital part of the transport strategy is the provision of rest and refreshment facilities and adequate service areas are now essentially an afterthought.
“The dearth of facilities from Dublin to Cork will have serious implications for road safety and commuter comfort. It is farcical that such stops have not been incorporated in the design of the new motorway and build accordingly and make us the laughing stock, not only of Europe but of the world.
“Millions has been spent on the Cork to Dublin road but the NRA has sadly not joined all the dots. Internationally it is recognised that a significant issue of motorway safety is driver fatigue. By failing to provide adequately for road users the NRA and the Department of Transport are seriously undermining road safety. They need get their act together and ensure that rest stops are built, and if they are under construction that they are finished soon to facilitate road users. After all their lives depend on it.”