‘Potentially fatal’ M9 incident sparks warning from Kilkenny gardaí
Gardaí from Kilkenny and Thomastown were called at some point on Sunday evening
Gardaí from County Kilkenny were called to a potentially fatal road traffic incident on the M9 motorway south of Danesfort on Sunday evening.
An elderly driver was seen driving on the wrong side of the road, resulting in members of the Thomastown and Kilkenny Roads Policing Units being dispatched.
There was no collision and a garda source cited tiredness as the cause of the error and they were safely escorted off the carriageway.
“All is well that ends well, but another point possibly should be raised or at least a conversation started,” a Facebook post to the An Garda Síochana page read.
“Most incidents like the one above have no malicious intent but come to pass when either tourists (small percentage) or drivers less able for the challenges of Motorway driving use the network.
“For those of us, possibly in the Autumn of our driving career, are the particular challenges of a higher speed road, without usable hard shoulders always the best option? This is not ageist, indeed there are 90 year olds who have exceptional reflexes and driving ability but there are conversely those that may have lost some of their sparkle behind the wheel,” the post continued.
“Similarly, L drivers may not use Motorways and people who are tired expose themselves and other road users to even greater risks when they use these efficient but monotonous roads.
“Outside of the Motorway network, there still exists the Regional and National Primary routes which for some should be the option elected for.”