‘It’s only a matter of time before someone is killed’ on roads near Castlepollard, claims resident
More needs to be done to tackle the problem of boy racers in the Castlepollard area, a concerned local has told the Westmeath Examiner.
James (who asked that we withhold his surname) says the road to Collinstown is popular with ‘boy racers’ who show no regard for the speed limit. “Once they get on the straight part of the road, they speed through the town. It’s 50kmh from there to Moran’s garage. I have seen the guards at St Peter’s a few times and they’ve pulled trucks and cars over, then at the night the boy racers are flying up and down the road. It’s only a matter to of time before someone is killed.”
James, who lives off the Collinstown road, said: “The guards chase them as well. They wouldn’t pull over for the guards straight away. They try to lose them.
“They meet in the town and then they race up as far as Collinstown and back down. I could be coming in late from work at 1am and I’ve often met them on the Mullingar road leading into Collinstown. Sometimes they have their lights off and put them back on when you get closer, just acting the clown really.”
James claims he was recently confronted by a motorist. “I came out of Moran’s last week after getting diesel and I was sticking to the limit. A car came right up behind me and was trying to get around me.
“I pulled in to my estate and he followed me in and said: ‘What the feck are you playing at going that slow?’.
“I said that I was sticking to the limit and he reared up on me because of it.”
James says he is going to start a petition to Westmeath County Council to have traffic calming measures on the Collinstown Road. “There are a lot of kids in the area now. If a ball goes out on the road, their first instinct is run after it.
“It’s getting frustrating and is one of the reasons that we are looking to sell our house.”
James has been in touch with Meath West Sinn Féin TD Johnny Guirke, who has contacted Westmeath County Council about the matter.
“I had asked for the implementation of safety measures and I received correspondence from Westmeath County Council that my request was now been dealt with by the district engineer and they will update me on this matter in due course,” Cllr Guirke said.
The Westmeath Examiner has contacted Westmeath County Council for a comment on the matter, but by the time of publication had not received a response.