Snow tourists' stranded vehicles in Tipperary prevented plough from clearing the roads

The stranded vehicles of snow tourists on the N76 Clonmel to Kilkenny Road during the recent snow and ice weather emergency contributed to a situation where a snow plough was prevented from clearing the road for hours.

Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District Engineer Denis Power said the driver of a snow plough and salter trying to clear the N76 of snow and grit it ended up getting stuck at Glenbower near Grangemockler for four hours because of stranded vehicles on Sunday, January 5. Some of these vehicles were driven by people who ventured out to view the snow covered landscape.

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“While he (the snow plough driver) was sitting there for four hours the roads were not being gritted. People need to realise when these events happen that they need to stay at home,” he warned.

Mr Power issued his comments at Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District’s January meeting after Carrick-on-Suir Cllr David Dunne raised what he described as the 'biblical scene’ that arose on the N76 at Glenbower where people where there was a tree down and people were stranded in cars.