Slane crash mum calls for immediate action from council

A young Slane mother caught up in the nine-vehicle pile-up in the village three weeks ago said this week that the urgency of the situation appears not to have caught up on the authorities and she has called on Meath County Council to bring in immediate temporary measures to eliminate local traffic dangers. Niamh O Broin had just dropped off her five-year-old daughter, Cliodhna, at the local school and was on her way back down the hill towards the village crossroads when her car was struck from behind, shunted down the street, and eventually ended up on its roof. The fact that the driver"s window was smashed enabled her to crawl out of the vehicle unhurt. There have been repeated calls over many years for the alleviation of traffic dangers in the vilage and local people say that the crash three weeks ago, involving two trucks and seven cars, was potentially 'a disaster'. Up to 22 people have died in road accidents on the approaches to, or on Slane Bridge, over the last 20 years. Niamh O Broin said that there had been numerous protests over traffic conditions in the village and she felt that the crash of three weeks ago was a catalyst for 'long overdue' improvements in the situation. She was one of a number of parents driving their children to school on the Monday morning of the pile-up. They considered it fortunate that their children had already been dropped off at the national school when the accident took place. 'Normally, I would have my three-year-old son, Killian, in the car with me when I"m leaving Cliodhna to school but, for some reason on that morning, I had dropped him off at my mum and dad"s house. 'I was coming back down the hill when I heard a very loud bang. A very large truck had driven into the back of a Galtee truck and I just thought it was a minor incident. I didn"t realise that someone"s brakes had failed. I got a massive bang from behind, followed by a series of bangs and I was just being shunted forward. The back of my car was up in the air and eventually it flipped forward and ended up on its roof. I was lucky in one sense because one of my windows was broken and I was able to crawl out of the car,' she recalled. She said there were pieces of cars and metal objects strewn everywhere. 'What struck me in the aftermath of the crash was the eerie silence. In one sense, it was fortunate that most people involved in the crash were coming away from the school. If the accident had happened earlier, there would have been two to three people, including children, in each car,' she added. 'It was miraculous that no-one was killed or seriously injured. One woman had to be cut out of her car and obviously that was very traumatic for her.' Ms O Broin said that she had decided to speak out in the aftermath of the accident because she felt that the reaction of the authorities was inadequate. As I speak, it is 21 days since the accident and nothing has been done. There are no extra warning signs for drivers, there are no emergency measures put in place. The potential for another accident is enormous yet absolutely nothing has been done. The urgency of the situation does not appear to have sunk in. In fact, it is the opposite - all we have heard so far is how something can"t be done, or how it will take a long time. The people of Slane find it incredible that nothing has been done despite all the accidents and the many fatalities we have had.' She said it was obvious that the planned bypass for the village had to be prioritised. 'There have been plenty of surveys but not a word about funding for a bypass or a start date for the work. People here know what happens in the aftermath of these accidents - there is a big fuss for a while and then those in authority feel it will all die down, and nothing will be done,' she added.