Boy racers have effectively “closed off” sections of major road in the west to pull doughnuts and are putting lives at risk, a councillor has warned.
Communities on the N84 and particularly elderly people in the Headford area of Co Galway are frightened and anxious that reckless drivers “appear to be one step ahead of gardaí”.
Councillor Andrew Reddington said the boy racers have left older residents frightened by their behaviour between midnight and 2am and are frequently waking locals up.
The Fine Gael representative, who said he would like to see more Garda patrols in the area after dark, added: “There are people driving down from night shifts in Galway and they’re putting their lives at risk but they’re putting their own lives at risk as well.
“Where they are doing it a lot of the older people in the area late at night would ring me and I’ve been in touch with a lot of the residents.
“There would most definitely be a fear with the elderly because I suppose the noise of the manouevres outside their house would wake up a lot of the older people on that road.
“It’s County Galway roads really and they’re one step ahead of the gardai, in fairness.
“By the time the guards come they’re gone, I’d imagine it’s CB radios they’re using so they are able to communicate with each other when they see the gardai coming.”
Cllr Reddington, who said that boy racers in four and five cars frequently gather before the deadly manoeuvres on the road are carried out, added: “It is a busy road going from Galway City to Shrule.
“What they do is they block off the road and they do their doughnuts, usually late at night, between 12am and 2am and then they move on before the guards come.
“It was raised at a JPC meeting here this week and what the guards are saying is that they want people to report it at the time it’s happening.
“We’ve done that before, so I kind of question [that].
“But we have an issue in Headford where we’re half an hour away from Tuam, which is the main Garda station.
“I’ve had plenty of battles with the Garda Chief Superintendent [Tom Curley] there about more Garda resources, but at the end of the day these things aren’t happening at nine o’clock in the morning, they’re happening at 12pm at night, so we need to see more guards out at that time.
“We have a Garda station in Headford where two guards are working part-time but they wouldn’t be there the whole time.
“And by the time they come out from Tuam they’re gone. “
A Garda spokesman said: “Gardaí are seeking the public’s assistance in the reporting of serious breaches of the road traffic act. What we mean by this is that if they witness excessive speed, dangerous overtaking or other acts that they deem dangerous that they report the matter immediately to their local Garda station or on 999 should they see fit.”
The statement also asks the public to be especially vigilant when it comes to ‘boy racers’ diffing and engaging in dangerous stunts on public roads.
The statement continues: “In particular we are appealing in relation to so-called “boy racers” doing doughnuts and other dangerous manoeuvres. Immediate reporting is essential to allow Gardaí to act, detect and deter these actions.”
