Why Does Donegal Have So Many Fatal Road Accidents?

Just get everybody to live in one giant city in little boxes. That's how other countries handle their road deaths sure. Nobody lives anywhere other than cities and nobody uses cars to get around I hear. Only cyclists should be allowed to travel independently of public transport.

Ok, so i guess you are telling me that if we all lived in Dublin city or county Dublin, we'd be better off?

Yeah, cos there's hardly many cars on the roads in and around Dublin.

None of this is unique to Donegal.

Bad planning, ribbon development, car-centric planning is evident all over Ireland, from Dublin to Donegal and Malin to mizen.

How does this pertain to Donegal specifically? The thread claims there is some uniqueness to Donegal dangerous roads but stats show it is not the case and Donegal is infact midtable in terms of road fatalities per capita.

Do you want to start a discussion on the design, quality and quantity of roads in Dublin compared to Donegal.

Because if you do you might find yourself arguing against your own points.

In Dublin we have a lot more to contend with. it’s constant decision making, one way systems, trams, cyclists, pedestrians, crossings, junctions, lights, stop & yield signs, roundabouts and a dynamic changing city. The road quality isn’t great either, there are ramps, potholes, and a lot of traffic and distractions everywhere, so you’re always scanning, reacting, and keeping your focus tight.

In Donegal, it feels more open, but it brings its own challenges, the roads are clearer and there’s more space, some are twisty with blind bends and gradients that can limit visibility with the added risk of farm machinery etc… So I tend to drive to the conditions. I drive as if I'm going to meet a cyclist around each corner.

https://www.donegaldaily.com/2025/01/02/donegal-one-of-worst-counties-for-road-deaths-in-2024-rsa-1/

Who told you I said Donegal was the worst? Look at my list for 2023… Someone asked me to talk about Dublin v Donegal and the driving conditions and the obvious skill disparity so I did.

It's not unique to Donegal, no, but the county has been destroyed by one-off housing to a unique extent.

Maybe you just drive like a granny and it just seems from your perspective when everyone is overtaking you, that everyone else is a dangerous driver. Maybe you're the dangerous driver unable to drive at the appropriate speed forcing others to overtake in order to get by you?

Reading between the lines then, it seems I was right. Drivers like you cost the economy god knows how many millions a year in lost time in services and deliveries.

My time and the work I do is important, so if I need to overtake some dawdler , that's what I do.

Not only are the drivers in Donegal safe as your stats have shown, they are much more efficient and a good boost to the economy not seeing themselves stuck behind some nervous Norman on the road and willing to overtake when the need arises as evidenced by your anecdotes.

Donegal is pretty lawless. From the ejit pulling straight out in front of me at Clar, to the drunks hitting the roundabout at Drumlonagher, I have seen loads. Driving a motorcycle, two up, through the gap and a bloody sheep walks out in front of me. The lack of gardai and checkpoints is a serious issue and it does need to be tamed. Then there was the car full of women coming home from the Bosco after a night of bingo. A boy racer wiped them out overtaking, on the top of a hill, on a continuous white line. He was on company insurance for his dad's quarry. He had form for crashes.

Did you hear the one about the garda who was out, but his speedgun was dead. He sat in his car with it stuck out the window, while surfing facebook. Did I mention the loopers from the north who fly down the N15 as they know they are pretty much immune to the gardai? At rally time in Letterkenny, I remember the shenanighans that went on. Was a few years ago, but every post pubescent lad was a rally driver and drove like such.

In general, the gardai need to have a serious campaign of road enforcement. They need to go mad to calm it down. Many a moon ago, I used to work in a bar in Donegal Town. When the gardai raided it after hours, an offduty gardai used to hide in the ladies. Mad stuff. Sadly, like everywhere else, garda numbers and insufficient.

I'm a sales rep driving through Donegal and Derry for 6 years, as well as all of Connacht and the border counties.

1. In 6 years I have NEVER either seen a roads policing Garda car checking speeds, or stopping traffic. The only time I have ever been stopped in by the RSA, dipping for diesel.

2. Donegal has a massive "boy racer" modded-car culture, more so than any other county. Go to the McDonald's and Tesco carpark in Letterkenny at any weekend and you will see the worst and most dangerous driving from around 11pm to 2am or 3am. Many are NI reg cars, ripping up the area before they scoot across the border towards Derry down any one of dozens of little roads.

3. Dismal infrastructure. It's a nightmare to get from A to B. Roads are atrocious, barely a straight stretch anywhere. Any place you'd expect to see a squad sitting up to catch the speeders, are empty. Vast stretches of mountainous, boggy, forested areas, with no facilities, shops, petrol stations etc, so everyone drives fast to get to their destination. Try travelling from Moville to Killybegs, for example. It practically wears you out, and I drive for a living.

4. You are likely to meet a massive Artic Truck, Tractor, Combine Harvester, Silage cutter, Sheep, Bus or oil Truck at any corner up the smallest of roads. I blame the sat-navs. Taking inexperienced foregin Truck drivers up booreens up over the mountains where a truck has no business going because the have shortest distance set up, rather than fastest route. You wouldn't believe how many trucks I see stuck in ditches because the soft verges have collapsed. It's nuts.

5. They don't give a shite. It's weird county. Parts of it consider themselves to be more akin to the North than the South because they are so far removed from Dublin, from a Civics perspective. It literally is the Wild West! Many have a deep contempt for the government in Dublin and to be honest, judging by the way they're forgotten in many ways, I don't blame them.

Try travelling from Moville to Killybegs, for example. It practically wears you out, and I drive for a living

This is nonsense, the main roads in the county are of a decent standard.

If roads like this wears you out, you need to re-consider if driving is a good career for you.

I don't. Who told you I did?

I didn't. Clearly, you didn’t read the post properly. When I say dangerous overtaking, I’m referring to situations where I’m already safely driving at the speed limit, and the overtaker is either speeding or choosing an unsafe spot to pass. That's why it's called dangerous.

Once again, read the post properly. The stats I mentioned cover just one year, Donegal continues to hold records for road deaths.

Based on your poor attention to detail when reading posts, I’d say it likely mirrors your driving. You fit the stereotype of a typical Donegal driver; immature, careless, unobservant, unskilled, and inexperienced.

Read the post again, really carefully. That stat was for one year only. 2023.

Have a look at 2024, Donegal was one of the worst counties for road deaths!