The President of the Irish Road Haulage Association has said the nation’s roads are now a “nightmare out there every day for our drivers”. 

So far this year, 124 people have died on Irish roads - notably more than the 104 who were killed during the same period in 2025. 

The figures include the five teenagers who died in Sunday’s head-on collision on the M9 in County Kildare. 

On Lunchtime Live, Ger Hyland said that “especially country roads” are problematic for Road Haulage Association members. 

“Our own members have seen cars pass them at ridiculous speeds just to get by them, coming up to the roundabout, pulling in front of them and just jamming up,” he said. 

“We've met cars on the wrong side of the motorway, we've met cars passing each other on country roads, one beside the other, coming around corners. 

“It absolutely is a nightmare out there every day for our drivers.”

Mr Hyland continued that he is in no doubt that road safety is “getting worse”. 

“You go back a number of years ago, the cars were nowhere near as fast as they are today,” he added. 

“There's people out there doing speeds today that cars a number of years ago wouldn't have been capable of doing, or you wouldn't be capable of handling them on the road surface. 

“But there's also an awful lot of distracted driving; the amount of mobile phone usage. 

“You go on that M50 any morning, you have people watching videos in their cars, on laptops, on their phones, you have people with the phone to the ear, you have people texting.”

Main image: A haulier. Picture by: Alamy.com.