Driving fast or frustratingly slow — both (along with sulkies) can be deadly on 'quieter' commute

WHO DOESN’T love the morning drive to work when the schools are off?! The roads are quieter, the traffic lighter, and, for many of us, the daily commute is much less stressful. But there’s a flip side - with the fewer cars comes a temptation for some drivers to treat the open road like a racetrack. 

On Monday of last week, at precisely 8.35am, this writer witnessed two motorists who clearly fancied themselves as Max Verstappen or Lando Norris. 

One was in what looked like a Toyota Corolla (though the speed made it hard to be sure), the other in a Volkswagen. None of the three drivers ahead of them travelling towards Limerick near the end of the straight stretch past Grange School could be described as “Sunday drivers”. The speed of these two motorists was crazy. 

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One driver decided overtaking three cars in the one go was a good idea only to meet an oncoming vehicle seconds later. They swerved back into their lane just in the nick of time. It was a near miss that could have been fatal. 

Later in the week, at the same time of the morning, this writer came upon a car lying on its side in a ditch, again in the area of Grange. We don’t know what caused it, so it would be wrong to assign blame, but it was another reminder of just how quickly something can go wrong.

But reckless speeders aren’t the only danger.

Drivers going far below the limit without a valid reason can pose just as much danger, forcing risky overtakes by those stuck behind them.

The same goes for tractors, sulkies and other slow-moving vehicles. Pulling in to let long lines of traffic pass is plain common sense and good safety at that peak time of the morning.

Yes, the drivers of those vehicles have destinations to get to too, but the bigger picture has to come into focus. 

We ’re all busy. Mornings are hectic. But in the earlier case, those two would-be racing drivers still ended up stuck behind a truck for the rest of the journey into the Kilmallock Road roundabout with no chance of overtaking thanks to the bends. All that risk for nothing. 

It’s one thing to endanger yourself. It’s another to put the lives of others in danger. The roads may feel emptier when the schools are off, but that’s no excuse to turn them into a personal Grand Prix track or indeed a funeral cortege. 

More on this next week!