Yet another 'wrong way' motorway accident

mb1725 · 13-08-2014 10:38AM #1

Was in Cork yesterday and the M8 was closed due to an accident all afternoon. One man killed in what looks like another driving wrong way incident:
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/man-dies-in-crash-with-wrong-way-driver-on-motorway-279359.html

6034073

Kenny Logins · 13-08-2014 10:42AM

I assume this was the point of entry at junction 13?

https://www.google.ie/maps/@52.238743,-8.280025,3a,75y,303.64h,77.51t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sb1CK9paHlbAV7yfWBYL71g!2e0

Cuddlesworth · 13-08-2014 10:45AM

Kenny Logins wrote: »

I assume this was the point of entry at junction 13?

https://www.google.ie/maps/@52.238743,-8.280025,3a,75y,303.64h,77.51t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sb1CK9paHlbAV7yfWBYL71g!2e0

WTF is with that blue sign?

agent graves · 13-08-2014 10:49AM

that sign is a glitch.. if you look from a diff angle it is pointing in the right direction..

mb1725 · 13-08-2014 10:57AM

Kenny Logins wrote: »

I assume this was the point of entry at junction 13?

https://www.google.ie/maps/@52.238743,-8.280025,3a,75y,303.64h,77.51t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sb1CK9paHlbAV7yfWBYL71g!2e0

Happened further south, closer to Fermoy turn off. Driver had to pass these though.

Kenny Logins · 13-08-2014 11:02AM

mb1725 wrote: »

Happened further south, closer to Fermoy turn off. Driver had to pass these though.

Yes, I know...

13-08-2014 11:04AM

I was driving from Dublin to Limerick and taking the off ramp in Limerick when a car was coming towards me the wrong way. It wasn't travelling too fast, so I blocked the way and falshed headlights and blew horn. She - yes a female of about 70 - looked annoyed at me until she saw a huge truck behind me also blocking her way. She did a u turn and headed back the way she had come. There are traffic lights at the end of that slip road and they were green. However, the ones the other way were red, so she started to go, then stopped when she saw the red! I stayed behind her as she went out the Tipperary road. She pulled over after a mile or so and seemed confused. I decided not to confront her, but rang Gardai and gave her details. I've heard nothing since.

Zubeneschamali · 13-08-2014 11:08AM

Install alligator teeth after every Wrong Way - Turn Back.

Total 4 wheel tyre destruction beyond this sign.

cml387 · 13-08-2014 11:12AM

It's about time the RDS was properly enabled and a 24 hour traffic service was introduced.
It's an amazing fact that it is assumed that accidents or holdups only occur in Ireland between the hours of 7am and 9am and 5pm and 7pm.
A "ghost driver" alert could just maybe have saved that guys life yesterday.

Truckermal · 13-08-2014 11:13AM

Imagine only 2 penalty points for this offence but travelling at 140kph gets you 3..:rolleyes:

RIP to the young man.

13-08-2014 11:21AM

Woman in her 70s, 4 wheel drive, wrong way down a motorway :mad: .You can gather all you want from that, probably encouraged by her family to get a big SUV for her safety, ah sure mammys safe to drive, we got her the big yoke.

Meanwhile a young lad in his 20s loaded with insurance gets wiped out.

quadrifoglio verde · 13-08-2014 11:26AM

Truckermal wrote: »

Imagine only 2 penalty points for this offence but travelling at 140kph gets you 3..:rolleyes:

RIP to the young man.

Forget the penalty points it should be a lifetime ban for driving down the wrong way.
Rip to the person who died and I hope his family and friends can get through dealing with the sudden loss

Caddyvanman · 13-08-2014 11:26AM

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

Install alligator teeth after every Wrong Way - Turn Back.

Total 4 wheel tyre destruction beyond this sign.

+1

Also stops joyriders and robbery getaway drivers going the wrong way and putting other lives in danger!

Bigcheeze · 13-08-2014 11:27AM

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

Install alligator teeth after every Wrong Way - Turn Back.

Total 4 wheel tyre destruction beyond this sign.

Unless you have run flats :pac:

Good idea. Emergency vehicles would need to access the motorway the wrong way down a ramp in certain circumstances but they could probably come up with a way to disable them temporarily.

corktina · 13-08-2014 11:29AM

Shocking. More evidence that a proper system of state medicals is called for. I know of several people signed fit by their doctor who imo should not be driving.

jimgoose · 13-08-2014 11:35AM

A young man blown away. Christ, what a horrible stupid thing to happen. :eek:

Drummerboy08 · 13-08-2014 11:47AM

Anyone who is caught driving the wrong way down a motorway should be instantly banned for life.

Being old is simply not an excuse - if you are not fit to drive you shouldn't be driving. IMO the doctor that declares these people fit should also be held accountable.

Please for the love of god bring in mandatory retests every 20/30/40 years or whatever interval, and bring in a mandatory medical once you turn 65.

cerastes · 13-08-2014 12:19PM

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

Install alligator teeth after every Wrong Way - Turn Back.

Total 4 wheel tyre destruction beyond this sign.

Your then going to have the problem of removing the car and that would be a hazard, the immobilised vehicle and removing it. Would the teeth maybe be considered to create a hazard if they were being driven over at speed routinely? Arent these designed to prevent access where vehicles would usually be driving slowly? or is there a precedent of them being used elsewhere (abroad) where they are successful.

cml387 wrote: »

It's about time the RDS was properly enabled and a 24 hour traffic service was introduced.
It's an amazing fact that it is assumed that accidents or holdups only occur in Ireland between the hours of 7am and 9am and 5pm and 7pm.
A "ghost driver" alert could just maybe have saved that guys life yesterday.

Both over the radio and GPS, It would be good over the GPS if you could be offered alternative routes when it creates an alert or some kind of alert to warn of this kind of thing, but over the radio means it has to be set up and switched on, either or would be good I think.

seamus · 13-08-2014 01:11PM

I've never been able to understand the 2 penalty points thing for this. Someone had to actually look and that and sign off on it and thought it was a reasonable idea.

It's possibly one of the most dangerous things an individual can do on our roads. Gardai should have the power to instantly seize the vehicle and licence, and the driver doesn't get them back unless a court says they can.

Unfortunately it seems to be almost exclusively elderly drivers who do this by accident, there needs to be a greater effort made to assess the abilities of all drivers on the road more regularly.

heartofwhite · 13-08-2014 01:11PM

The victim used to work with me up until the start of the year. We found out this morning. A really really nice lad and such a waste of life.

Jesus. · 13-08-2014 01:17PM

Deleted User wrote: »

I decided not to confront her, but rang Gardai and gave her details..

Was that really necessary? Up until that point I thought you'd handled it perfectly.

Should have been case closed once you got her on her way.

Chimaera · 13-08-2014 01:22PM

Jesus. wrote: »

Was that really necessary? Up until that point I thought you'd handled it perfectly.

Should have been case closed once you got her on her way.

Why? She very nearly did something extremely dangerous, and as we've seen potentially lethal. Calling the Gardaí to advise them of the incident seems quite sensible to me.

Sheldons Brain · 13-08-2014 01:22PM

Jesus. wrote: »

Was that really necessary? Up until that point I thought you'd handled it perfectly.

Should have been case closed once you got her on her way.

Of course it was necessary! This is a thread about someone dying and still we get the old attitude that people should be allowed drive as they like.

robclay26 · 13-08-2014 01:27PM

I think that after x number of years after your driving test, a driver renewing his licence should do a skill test to check profeciency. And over 65's or 70's do it .every 5 years, over 8 0's every 2 years.
Pilots get checked every 6 months , and this is a simple solution to have drivers maintain standards.

Also, why is there not a minimum number of lessons on dual carriageways?? You can learn to drive, pass a test and never have any practical training on dual carriage ways and this is what can happen.
Gardai and RSA go safe vans are not worth a **** most of the time, the don't really catch hazardous driving out there like this example in Cork. They rather park a van on a dual carriageway of 60kmph and catch drivers doing 65 !

JC01 · 13-08-2014 01:29PM

If this was the other way around, the 28yr old lad killed the 70yr old woman, you can bet hed be sent to prison for it, dangerous driving, vehicular manslaughter or whatever else they could charge him with. As it happened I won't be holding my breath to see her get more than a slap on the wrist. It might sound harsh but she should in a just world serve time for this. Her utter stupidity and incompetence has robbed a young man of the rest of his life.

It reminds me of watching a woman ~80 in her brand new micra get utterly lost in the car park in work the other day trying to leave. There's a big long driveway with two lanes that you enter and leave by. Properly marked and all. Yet she managed to do 4, yes 4!!, laps of the building before she pulled up quite annoyed and asked me for directions. At this point she was sitting at the top of the driveway a few foot away from 3ft tall letters spelling out EXIT and an arrow painted in the Tarmac with proper road marking paint. I pointed down the driveway and said "just follow the arrows that say EXIT" she gave me a dirty look and toddled off. It genuinely scared me that I havta share the road with people like this yet I'm the one crucified on insurance etc because I'm a "young man" in a "performance" car.

corkthai · 13-08-2014 01:31PM

Same thing happened bout 1 month ago at the exit for Curraheen off the Ballincolling road.
Old lady in a silver yaris driving down the off ramp. Blocked her- but she continued to get around me and keep driving - getting aggravated that people were in her way. Looked to only have one seat in the car and she was accompanied by about 5 dogs.
She avoided about 3 or 4 cars before realizing on the motorway that she was wrong...turned around and continued on her way as of nothing had happened.

13-08-2014 01:32PM

Jesus. wrote: »

Was that really necessary? Up until that point I thought you'd handled it perfectly.

Should have been case closed once you got her on her way.

Do you think that myself or the truck driver behind me should have just moved over and let her drive the wrong way up a busy Motorway! I could see when she stopped that she realised what she'd done. I thought it better to let the law deal with it. I hope that by our actions, that truck driver and myself saved a life, most likely the driver herself.

My thoughts and prayers are with the dead and injured.

Padraig Mor · 13-08-2014 02:07PM

seamus wrote: »

I've never been able to understand the 2 penalty points thing for this. Someone had to actually look and that and sign off on it and thought it was a reasonable idea.

It's possibly one of the most dangerous things an individual can do on our roads. Gardai should have the power to instantly seize the vehicle and licence, and the driver doesn't get them back unless a court says they can.

Unfortunately it seems to be almost exclusively elderly drivers who do this by accident, there needs to be a greater effort made to assess the abilities of all drivers on the road more regularly.

The points descriptions are written poorly. In practice, points for going the wrong way on a motorway are given to people who reverse on the hard shoulder having missed their exit. 'Full on' wrong way driving would be given a dangerous driving charge.

Zubeneschamali · 13-08-2014 02:19PM

Padraig Mor wrote: »

'Full on' wrong way driving would be given a dangerous driving charge.

Dangerous driving.

53.— (1) A person shall not drive a vehicle in a public place in a manner (including speed) which having regard to all the circumstances of the case (including the condition of the vehicle, the nature, condition and use of the place and the amount of traffic which then actually is or might reasonably be expected then to be in it) is or is likely to be dangerous to the public.

(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and—

(a) in case the contravention causes death or serious bodily harm to another person, he or she is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to a fine not exceeding €20,000 or to both, and

Jesus. · 13-08-2014 03:33PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Do you think that myself or the truck driver behind me should have just moved over and let her drive the wrong way up a busy Motorway! I could see when she stopped that she realised what she'd done. I thought it better to let the law deal with it.

Of course not, you didn't read what I said! I think you did everything perfectly and sorted the situation out yourself. I wouldn't have then rang the Cops after it was sorted though. I don't know where the mentality of ringing the authorities the whole time comes from. I've never rang them in my life and wouldn't do unless absolutely necessary.

Its just a difference of opinion though. Maybe what you did was perfectly correct

Mycroft H · 13-08-2014 03:38PM

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

Install alligator teeth after every Wrong Way - Turn Back.

Total 4 wheel tyre destruction beyond this sign.

And then stop Ambulances, AGS and the Fire Service from getting to the scene of an accident?

Yet another 'wrong way' motorway accident

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