M50 incidents range from fires to wrong-way drivers and critters dead and alive
Just some of the 5,177 events on Ireland’s busiest road reported in 2023
BURNING vehicles, dead animals on the road and cars travelling in the wrong direction were among more than 5,100 accidents and incidents recorded on Ireland’s busiest road last year.
Newly released figures from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) detail a total of 5,177 reportable events on the M50 in 2023, almost half of which involved cars breaking down on the notoriously congested Dublin ring road.
Debris on the road (548 cases) that could have caused an accident or a
‘Motorists ran out of fuel on 41 occasions’
vehicle having to swerve suddenly was the most common incident reported.
The agency logged 325 incidents where there was either a pedestrian or a cyclist spotted on the busy motorway.
And it detailed a further 297 cases where a vehicle suffered a flat tyre or a blow-out.
There were just over 200 occasions where the queue for a slip road ran well back onto the M50 itself, with the risk of causing an accident. There were also 148 incidents in which a car was reported abandoned on a hard shoulder or on an off-ramp and later towed away.
And there were 55 reports of live animals which had wandered onto the busy motorway. Dead animals were found on the motorway on 21 occasions.
On 41 occasions, motorists ran out of fuel while travelling on the M50. And there were 28 occasions when a vehicle was on fire.
There were 27 health emergencies in which a driver or passenger suffered, for example a cardiac arrest, or a similar serious problem, and required immediate medical assistance.
The agency also logged 17 spillages, 13 cases of drivers travelling in the wrong direction, 11 ‘defects’ and 10 reports of flooding on the road surface.
There were also a small number of reports of over-height vehicles, surface water, anti-social behaviour, and potholes on the motorway.
Of the 5,177 total incidents logged, 10 were categorised as a ‘major incident’ and considered of the highest priority.
There were a further 1,193 high priority incidents, 1,036 moderate priority events, and 2,938 that were either low priority or uncategorised in the TII data.
The figures also showed October of last year was the most eventful on the M50, with 470 incidents or accidents during that month, followed by August with 464.
The months with the lowest number of reports logged were
February (354), at least in part due to its shorter length, and March (371).
The data also showed accidents and incidents were marginally more likely on the northbound route leading from south county Dublin towards Dublin Airport, with a split of around 51% to 49%.
A spokesperson for Transport Infrastructure Ireland said the M50 was a critical transportation corridor for the entire country with dedicated services in place on a 24/7 basis 365 days of the year.
The spokesperson added: ‘There are specific safety features covering the M50 corridor which include CCTV cameras and embedded loop detectors – which monitor traffic patterns, so if there is a change in traffic flow or stoppages, they can indicate accidents or breakdowns enabling a swift response from traffic incident response team.
‘Additionally, there are… overhead signs to display critical information like travel times, lane closures, accidents, and delays, allowing drivers to make realtime decisions to avoid congested areas.’
‘October was busiest with 470 incidents’