Driver behaviour ‘gone to hell’ in Wexford town as motorists struggle to grasp rules of the road

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Driver behaviour in Wexford town has “gone to hell” over the last 12 months with many motorists seemingly incapable of adhering to the rules of the road. That’s according to independent councillor Leonard Kelly who has pleaded with Wexford County Council (WCC) to initiate an online campaign focusing on how to drive in urban centres.

Speaking at the monthly meeting of the Wexford Borough District, Cllr Kelly said he had seen first-hand how motorists were ignoring safety crossings and driving through junctions without slowing down.

“Driver behaviour has just gone to hell around the town, especially over the last year,” he said. “I don’t know what the cause of it is, but it seems like drivers either don’t care about safety or just don’t understand the rules of the road. Can we work with the road safety officer on a campaign around driver behaviour on social media?"

Although district engineer Lar Lett said he has been liaising with gardaí on this issue, Cllr Kelly insisted not enough was being done to protect the most vulnerable people using our roads.

“We see campaigns urging pedestrians to wear high-vis vests, but that’s putting the onus on the more vulnerable individuals around our roads; cars are the things that kill people. It’s not necessarily an issue of speed, it’s the aggressive behaviour of drivers approaching junctions, they don’t seem to understand you need to slow down or stop at these junctions.,

"They need to be reminded that we’ll all get there and to just relax a bit.”