New rules that would effectively ban private motorists from using lay-bys on motorways and high quality dual carriageways, other than in emergency situations, have been defended by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).
The authority on Monday said the “repurposing” of the lay-bys had been made possible because of the growth in motorway service area across the State’s roads network, which has fulfilled a EU requirement to have such facilities available roughly every 60km.
A public consultation process on the policy concluded at the end of August and it is anticipated that new service area policy will be concluded by the end of the year. News of the planned move provoked some surprise among motorists and members of the public.
Galway East TD Seán Canney TD, who first took issue with the plans, accused the State road builder of “flying in the face” of warnings about driver fatigue. He said motorists should have the choice to use lay-bys.
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“I don’t see any logic in putting in these lay-bys and then closing them, wasting tax payers money if they cannot use them,” he told Galway Bay FM.
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A number of letter writers to The Irish Times were also critical of the move. One writer asked “should the roads authority then take down the ‘tiredness kills’ signs”. Another said he would have “no hesitation” in stopping at a Garda lay-by or the new stops “if I feel it is dangerous to continue”.
TII said it was important to note that the number of lay-bys was being increased. While their use would be restricted, they would remain available “for use for professional drivers and the emergency services as well as the emergency use of all road users”.
The agency said it did not have a strict definition of what constitutes an emergency for a private motorist that would allow them to use a lay-by.
The authority said enforcement of the new restrictions would normally fall to An Garda Síochána. The Garda Press Office said it was not in a position to comment on the changes as they were only proposals at this stage.
There are currently 29 unserviced lay-bys available for use by the public and a further 20 Garda enforcement areas, which are gated and locked unless being used by members of the force.
TII is proposing to eliminate eight of the 49 lay-bys over time and designate the remaining 41 for use by professional drivers only.
