THERE HAVE BEEN 13 collisions between motorists and trams so far this year, with Luas operators concerned that figures are on the rise.
Launching the ‘What’s the Harm’ campaign with a series of CCTV footage of some pretty harrowing close calls, they hope to hammer it home to drivers that they can’t break red lights.
In 2013, there were 38 collisions between motorists and trams, while in 2012 there were 24 collisions.
Accidents
From 2005 to date there have been 278 road vehicle / tram collisions.
Over 90 per cent of road vehicle / tram collisions happened on the Luas Red Line, while ten per cent happened on the Luas Green Line.
Over 60 per cent of road vehicle / tram collisions happened in the city centre section of the Luas Red Line between Heuston and Connolly stops.
The main junctions where road vehicle / tram collisions happened on the Luas Red Line are: Benburb St/Queen St; Benburb St/ Blackhall Place; Abbey St/Jervis St; and Bow St Crossing.
The main junctions where road vehicle / tram collisions happened on the Luas Green Line are: St. Stephens Green/Harcourt St/ Cuffe St and Dunville Avenue/Beechwood Rd
The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar said breaking a red light is “one of the most dangerous things any motorist can do, and driving through a red light at a Luas junction is both irresponsible and stupid”.
He said the awareness campaign aims to prevent any further incidents, saying that there has already been one loss of life.
CCTV footage
Under a new pilot scheme starting later this year, gardaí will be able to initiate prosecutions using CCTV footage of motorists who break red lights.
Brian Brennan Managing Director of Transdev said while the Luas is a very safe system to travel on, with over 30.4 million passenger journeys being taken last year, he said it is important to target “gambling motorists”.
We must reduce the number of emergency brakes the trams are forced to make because of reckless motorist behaviour, we must reverse this trend so that we do not face a summer of further pain and suffering.
Rory O’Connor, acting CEO of the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) welcomed this campaign saying there had been a significant increase in the number of road traffic collisions, with the main contributing factor being motorists breaking red lights.
“RPA regards safety as its highest priority, and this campaign is aimed at those road users who are recklessly putting their own lives in danger,” he said.
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