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The cross of the groves in Mitchelstown from the Glanworth road, where people often fail to yield to oncoming traffic, despite the three yield signs which can be clearly seen in the photograph. Photo: Sandra Quinn

People failing to stop at the roundabout and the resultant minor traffic accidents are an all too regular occurrence at the Cross of the Groves in Mitchelstown, as one resident has warned that it is only a matter of time before there is a serious incident there.

Martin Lane of Watersave, told The Avondhu, that last week there was 'yet another' accident at the roundabout and he warned that something needs to be done to get people to slow down.

He pointed out that historically, there would have been right of way from the Glanworth approach road, where many people fail to yield to oncoming traffic and drivers fail to obey the current yield signs there.

There have been a lot of minor accidents where people have failed to stop or have gone out too far on the roundabout, but Martin said that with the speeds people are doing, approaching the roundabout, it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured there.

"For every accident, there are about 50 near misses. Between myself and my wife, we would drive by there about 20 times a day and every couple of weeks there are more accidents and they are just the ones we hear about.

"Everyone in the area has witnessed someone doing 50 or 60km an hour - if you blink you'd miss them. There's very few people that go onto the roundabout that actually know who has right of way," Martin said.

With yield signs, drivers should prepare to stop and give way to oncoming traffic from their right or already on the roundabout.

He pointed out that the roundabout wouldn't be a particularly busy one, but this creates the situation where single cars drive quite quickly through it and with a high hedge from one of the approach roads, visibility is also quite poor.

"When people come up to the roundabout, they are making a split second decision about whether they will stop or not," Martin added.

Martin said that council should put in speed ramps so that people would be forced to slow down and stop.

However, area engineer Brendan O'Gorman told The Avondhu in response to this that they have no funding for traffic calming measures and as the roundabout is a yield junction, if people are going straight through it, they are breaking the law and it is a matter for the gardai.

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