Ms Verona Murphy:

We do not have statistics. It is paramount and fundamentally important to road safety that a slower moving vehicle should not be permitted on the motorway. That is the case all over Europe. Michael Moroney referred to the UK. The UK does not allow tractors on its motorways in any instance. We are dictated to under regulation. We cannot legally overtake on a motorway except at the discretion of a garda. What is a HGV driver to do when driving at 80 km/h minimum or maximum speed if he arrives up behind a tractor that is supposed to be doing 50 km/h? Our experience is that this is the maximum speed for these tractors in many cases. There are exceptions, but they are not really agricultural vehicles. Many of the agricultural tractors have a maximum speed of 50 km/h but that is without towing a trailer. If the tractor is towing a trailer and comes to an incline, it cannot maintain that speed. It is a highly dangerous practice. Many incidents have been reported, some fatal and some near fatal. The practice should stop. I referred to arriving up behind one of them in fog or inclement weather conditions. They are all supposed to have flashing lights. What they are supposed to do and what the practice is are very different. It is a huge road safety risk and it should be stopped.