Sir, - I have covered 25,000 miles this year touring mainland Europe (including Portugal and Estonia), followed by 4,000 miles round Ireland in the past five weeks and I can confirm that Ireland's roads are the worst by a long way. My main complaints are the surfaces which suffer from subsidence, potholes, frost-cracking and years of neglect and poor repairs.
The most welcome signs I have seen on Ireland's roads are those that read, "Loose Chippings, 20 m.p.h." This means the road ahead is likely to be flat, without potholes or ruts, and I can speed up to 20 m.p.h. I may be exaggerating a tad, but in a motor home one cannot do more than 40 m.p.h. on the majority of the N-roads without the interior fittings starting to fall off!
I have become airborne twice as a result of suddenly hitting subsidence and in a 31/2-tonne vehicle this is scary and very dangerous. The poor state of the roads is surely a major factor in the high number of fatal accidents in Ireland.
Look at the roads before you put all the blame on the motorist. I have found Irish motorists some of the most patient, considerate and good-humoured in Europe. - Yours, etc.,
Dave Amende, Penn, Wolverhampton, England.