A ROAD SAFETY campaign in Mayo to raise awareness around driver fatigue this bank holiday weekend aimed at using an image of the iconic Mrs Doyle character from Father Ted, cup of tea in hand, to warn drivers by the roadside.
However, two of the Mrs Doyle signs were stolen within hours of being erected on the roads.
Mayo road safety officer Noel Gibbons told TheJournal.ie that it’s a real shame that this has happened, and urged whoever stole the signs to return them.
“The ones stolen were on the N5 outside Castlebar and the N17 near Knock Airport,” he said.
It’s a real shame, because the campaign had received good support and aims to raise a lot of awareness.
The signs were stolen around four to five hours after being put up, but many more remain by the roadside in other areas of the county.
Gibbons said that the whole purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness around driver fatigue, and that the image of Mrs Doyle holding a cup of tea would be instantly recognisable to most drivers.
The campaign, called “Go on go on take a break”, aims to encourage drivers to freshen up by taking a break if they are tired and are about to drive.
“The August bank holiday is by far one of the busiest and unfortunately the deadliest weekends on the roads,” he said.
The council has aimed to get creative in previous road safety campaigns, and Gibbons added that these thefts would not put them off similar approaches in future.
He said: “It’s the first time we’ve ever experienced this but crime and vandalism are not new things. We’d just urge whoever has them to bring them back.”
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