Traffic apps sending motorists through 'dangerous' County Roscommon junction
‘Slow’ markings with rumble strips have been added to each local road on approach to the junction at 50m, 100m and 150m spacing.
Traffic apps could be leading to an increase in collisions on a County Roscommon road, the county council has suggested.
Roscommon County Council said that in recent months it had become aware of a number of accidents that had taken place at Ballinaboy Cross, located on the N63 Roscommon to Ballyleague route near Kilteevan.
“It seems many motorists are now following Google maps or similar apps when making their journeys and these apps appear to be diverting traffic on to the L1806 when travelling from Tulsk to Athlone,” it continued.
“This has resulted in a significant increase in traffic crossing this junction with many of these drivers being unfamiliar with the local road layout.
“This may be a contributory factor in this sudden increase in collisions.” The council has made a number of safety interventions at the junction. These include significantly increasing warning signage on both sides of the L1806 junction.
All verges in and around the junction have been trimmed to ensure that warning signage is visible and sightlines are maximised. ‘SLOW’ markings with rumble strips have been also added to each local road on approach to the junction at 50m, 100m and 150m spacing.
“These Roscommon County Council works will have an immediate effect on driver awareness of this major road junction,” the local authority said.
“We ask all road users to take care when driving on our road network and please pay attention to road signage and road markings that are in place to make our roads a safer place for all road users.”
A total of seven collisions have occurred at the junction over the last six months.
Recently Roscommon councillors demanded emergency safety measures to be put in place at the "dangerous" junction.
Cathaoirleach of Roscommon Municipal District Larry Brennan and Councillor Marty McDermott have called for a safety inspection to be carried out at Ballinaboy Cross.
They say that seven collisions have occurred at the junction over the last six months and they have been working with An Garda Síochána and the county council to implement improved measures.
