Sir, - On Tuesday, March 16th, we had yet another incident at Merrion Gates DART level-crossing when a truck wrecked the barriers. Road and rail traffic was disrupted, with many journeys taking three or four times as long as usual. It took nearly 50 hours' continuous work to restore normality.
I am curious about what happens to the offending parties in such cases. I cannot recall any reports of court actions against the drivers who have cost this city and its citizens dearly.
Who pays for the damage to the level-crossing equipment and the man-hours to restore it to safe operation? Are drivers prosecuted for breaking the warning lights before making bits of the gates themselves? Who compensates Joe Public for the hours spent stuck on a DART or in traffic while order is restored?
Commercial vehicles are by far the biggest offender at this location. Very often the culprit is part of a large fleet operation. Has anyone heard of such companies before the courts to answer for the mayhem they've caused?
Recently the authorities have got tough on disruption caused by selfish parking and quite rightly so. But it seems that the jamming up of large sections of the capital by bad drivers allowing themselves to be "ambushed" by level crossings goes unpunished. - Yours, etc.,
David Reddy,
Durham Road,
Sandymount,
Dublin 4.