Over 100 people have died or been seriously injured on Irish motorways since 2005, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) said today.
Last year saw eight fatalities, including four pedestrians, on motorways. Three pedestrians and three car users have been killed on motorways so far this year.
In a bid to cut the number of deaths, the authority today launched a new awareness campaign to highlight safety and best practise on the roads.
Speaking at today’s launch, RSA chief executive Noel Brett said driving in the wrong direction on motorways is now "a daily occurrence”. On one stretch of new motorway in Co Limerick, up to 20 incidents per month are occurring of people driving in the wrong direction. The most dangerous drivers on the motorways, according to gardaí, are "middle-aged and older drivers".
The new campaign, run in conjunction with An Garda Síochána, the National Roads Authority and the Automobile Association, will see a 40 second TV advert to raise awareness of the rules of the road and safety issues on motorways.
It will focus on lane merging, lane discipline on three lane motorways, overtaking, breakdowns, and will remind the public never to walk on a motorway.
NRA senior project manager Harry Cullen said the motorway network had grown massively in the last five years, from 300km in 2006 to 1,187km now and many people simply did not know how to use motorways safely.
Mr Brett said there were two and a half million driving licence-holders and the vast majority had had no formal driving instruction, particularly older drivers, who he said may be used to driving in a way that was not suitable for motorways. "If someone misses their exit they may feel it's OK to do a U-turn, or try and reverse back. One simply cannot do that in the high-speed environment of a motorway."
The most common and dangerous practices on motorways were driving or reversing in the wrong direction, driving or parking on the hard shoulder for unnecessary reasons such as getting something from the boot or seeing to a child, and, walking on motorways, said Chief Supt Gabriel McIntyre of the Garda National Traffic Bureau.
"So far this year we have issued penalty points to 69 drivers for driving a vehicle against the flow of traffic on a motorway, and 697 notices for driving on the hard shoulder on a motorway. There have also incidentally been 129 notices issued for driving the wrong way around a roundabout.
"These are now happening on a daily basis. On one new stretch of motorway, the approach road to the toll plaza at the Limerick tunnel - which goes under the Shannon - there are 20 incidents a month of people driving against the flow of traffic. To do that they would have to ignore six warning signs. This is really alarming."
Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar added that it is a “major concern” that so many people are being killed in motorway crashes. “We’re asking everyone today to please use motorways safely and respect the motorway network…doing so could save your life and the lives of other road users,” he added.
AA Ireland’s Conor Faughnan said while Ireland’s motorway network is statistically “extremely safe”, this does not mean there is no danger. An increase in the number of motorway breakdowns means “ever greater exposure to danger for drivers and their passengers,” he added.