New motorway stretch being used as ‘playground’ by boy racers

The new motorway between Tuam and Gort, which opened to traffic around six weeks ago, has already become a ‘playground’ for boy racers.

On sections of the motorway from Tuam towards Athenry there is already evidence of ‘doughnuts’ and some erratic driving due to the fact that it is not heavily trafficked at night.

And now the Gardaí have been urged to monitor the motorway in an effort to prevent it becoming a new haven for boy racers.

The 57-kilometre motorway opened at the end of September amid huge celebrations and claims of major potential for the West of Ireland in general.

The new road network is certain to benefit the likes of Knock and Shannon airports.

But what is now a source of concern for the Gardaí is the number of boy racers who are using the new motorway at night when there is relatively little traffic on the route between Tuam and Gort.

“It has just become a playground for boy racers,” a Garda spokesman told the Connacht Tribune this week. “The lack of traffic at night has resulted in them being given the opportunity of a lifetime.”

The stretch of motorway between Tuam and Gort cost €550 million to construct but the last thing the Department of Transport or Transport Infrastructure Ireland wanted was for it to become a venue for boy racers.

While it is only a few weeks open, it is still the least trafficked stretch of motorway in the country and that is why it has become a huge attraction for boy racers who take full advantage of this situation – and particularly in the dead of night.

Abbeyknockmoy’s Cllr Pete Roche said that the boy racers were so well organised that they could turn up anywhere and it was generally the case that they came with cars that had tyres that were not up to the legal standard.

He said that it was difficult for the Gardai, with their limited resources, to monitor the new motorway at all hours of the night but he urged that they try to nab the boy racers on their return from their activities.

“The last thing we want is for the new motorway to become a paradise for boy racers.

“Even the new roundabouts that have been built to facilitate the motorway have become a haven for them.

“They are so well organised, it is unbelievable. But it would be no harm if the Gardai tried to target the boy racers on the way home from their activities as I do believe that the tyres they use would not be legally acceptable.

“From my information, they use tyres that are close to bald for maximum effect on the roads when they engage in creating doughnuts or other manoeuvres on the motorway, so they can be easily detected for such offences,” according to Cllr Roche.

He said that the tyres being used on these vehicles would make them defective and very dangerous and he believed that if the Gardaí could detect the drivers on the way home, it would be a major deterrent.