ANALYSIS carried out by AA Roadwatch has found the M50 is the route most likely to be affected by disruptions caused by crashes.
The motorway accounted for eight percent of all collisions reported by AA Roadwatch in the month of May.
An analysis carried out by the AA’s traffic and travel information service on traffic disruption showed, unsurprisingly, that the M50 is the route most likely to be affected, with 19 incidents reported in the month on May.
“Even a small incident can cause a lot of trouble on a motorway,” says Ruth Jephson, AA Roadwatch Editor.
“On a rural road, for example, a minor crash may cause so little disruption to traffic that it may not warrant inclusion in our reports.
However, a similar incident when it takes place on a motorway could potentially temporarily block a lane. As a result, even though the people involved in the crash could be perfectly fine, the knock-on impact on traffic could be much greater.
“There have been 13 million trips on the M50 so far this year so it comes as no surprise that it will feature a lot in our reports.”
AA Roadwatch also noted a high number of incidents on the M7/N7, a route which includes ongoing roadworks and lane restrictions near Naas, with a total of 23 combined crashes.
Other high activity routes include the M1, where seven crashes were recorded. The N4/M4 (between Sligo Town and Dublin) and N11/M11 (between Dublin and Wexford) both recorded nine crashes each, with six collisions reported on the N40 in Cork.
Over the course of the month the most incidents were recorded on the national route network (N-Roads) with 31 percent of collisions. A quarter (25 percent) of crashes reported were on motorways, while 12.5 percent of collisions occurred on regional routes.
Dublin had the most incidents in the month of May with 109 collisions reported by AA Roadwatch. Cork was second and Limerick third.
The Dublin Port Tunnel and the Limerick Tunnel were both closed three times each.
The N84 in Mayo closed twice due to collisions and there were two separate closures on the Limerick stretch of the N21 over the course of the month as well.