Meanwhile on the Roads...

mapping the data https://www.donegaldaily.com/lead-stories/new-maps-reveal-heavy-toll-of-road-deaths-in-donegal-635403

RTC injuries (non-serious, serious, fatal) in Donegal 2016-2024. Map: RSA/Garda Collision Data

Oh sure, walking rural roads now has been a death-wish for a long time. It's appalling. Rat-runners avoiding traffic elsewhere are the worst as they're in a fierce hurry, trying to make up time so they're properly rallying it. In towns around the country, you see people taking their walks now on ring roads and bypasses. A horrible walk by any measure with all the traffic noise and emissions, but at least you have a hard shoulder or perhaps even a footpath.

We go down to Clare a bit to the in-laws and the regular rural roads there can be, when you really think about it, terrifying. Bi-directional narrow roads with cars barrelling towards each other at 100kph+, left hand mirrors clipping the briars. I was coming back from Spanish Point a few weeks ago, driving towards Ennis, coming along a sort of long sweeping right hand bend over a brow of a hill. This wan, just a woman driving, came against me in some little Hyundai or something and elicited a "Jesus Christ" from me. She was like max velocity, old suspension fully compressed on the right hand side. Like a ballistic missile on the road. If she'd strayed a bit or had to tip the brakes at all, it's fcukin dental records would be required to identify any one of us.

On the rat runners, its ironic. They use the old rural roads to avoid the congested motorways that were built to remove traffic from the local/rural roads. The N11 around North Wicklow is a prime example.

It isn't just google maps. It's the levels of rudh hour traffic.

For example the N2, Kilmoon cross is so bad in the morning that nearly every second car is turned off at Rathfeidh Cross and using all the minor roads to get south to Dublin.

The m50 being at capacity means that people are creating their own orbital. So say drogheda around to kilcock or lucan etc.

Dublin centric working,high house prices. Car dependency and under investment in piblic transport has us messed up.

That's been the case for years and years. Rural back roads have always been a deathtrap.

They'll be fine sure if they throw on some hi-viz when leaving the house, according to this guy..

What the actual F. "On the charge of no insurance, Andrea Kenny was given a €250 fine with one month to pay, while for driving without a licence she was given €150, with two months to pay."

No license for 20 years and therefore no insurance but the fine is a pathetic €250. There's no one in the country that can get insurance for €250 so the conclusion is drive without insurance since you're unlikely to be caught and if you are there's positive repercussions. The fine should have been €500 base insurance x 20 years.