There have been 23 incidents between motorists and the Luas so far in 2013.

The majority of the accidents happened because a motorist broke a light, said Dervla Brophy at Transdev which operates the Dublin-based service.

Most of the incidents occurred on the Red Line, which travels through more of the city centre and has more signalled junctions than the Green Line.

Earlier today a section of the Red Line was suspended following a collision between a car and a Red Line Luas tram at the junction between Abbey Street and Capel Street.

Brophy said that motorists are not acting as cautious as they have in previous years, and asked drivers to be extra vigilant when driving near Luas trams.

“We would encourage motorists to obey the rules of the road, never take a gamble, not to break a red light, and realise that if they’re travelling near a Luas track, there is a potential to go through the lights. The tram won’t have the ability to stop on time.”

Transdev has attempted to prevent collisions by erecting extra warning signs in areas prone to accidents.

The Road Safety Authority includes an explanation of these signs in its Rules of the Road. 

Luas trams travelled more than two million kilometres since January this year.