There have been more collisions on the M50 motorway in the first ten months of this year than in all of 2024, figures provided by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) show.
There were 676 collisions on the motorway last year compared to 682 from 1 January to 31 October 2025.
The time it takes for the M50 Incident Support Unit to respond to motorway incidents and the average length of an incident fell compared to 2024, to 13 minutes and 30 minutes respectively.
Several vehicles from the unit are parked strategically along motorway junctions to promptly respond to incidents, TII said.
Distraction while driving is the main reason for collisions on the M50, said unit supervisor Ryan Mulroy.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said: "People on their phones, eating their breakfast, not concentrating ... mobile phones would be a major thing with the collisions.
"Rear end collisions, simple collisions.
"People veering off into different lanes.
"That's the sort of thing we’re dealing with on a daily basis."
So-called 'rubbernecking' or being distracted by incidents on the opposite side of the motorway is also a cause of congestion and collisions in the M50, Mr Mulroy said.
He said: "We could be at an incident in lane three, waiting for gardaí to assist us and people would be coming up on the other side, slowing down, taking pictures.
"They’re causing themselves harm because they’re blocking up the whole road.
"On a daily basis, we probably see collisions happen on the opposite side of the motorway, due to rubbernecking because of the traffic we have on the other side.
Traffic volume above pre-pandemic levels
The average daily traffic on the busiest part of the motorway, between Junction 5 and Junction 6, is 2.2% higher than last year, according to the same figures.
Traffic volume is up 11% on the M50 compared to pre-pandemic levels that were recorded in 2019.
The M50 is the most heavily used road in the country with over 150,000 vehicles travelling along several sections of the road on an average day, TII said.
The higher volumes contribute to a greater chance of congestion and collisions, said TII Motorway Operations Manager Daniel Pentony.
Incident and traffic management is coordinated from TII's Motorway Operations Control Centre.
From that location, staff monitor traffic levels and can update roadside messaging or variable speed limits depending on the conditions and congestion.
Peak congestion is from 7am to 9am and from 3.30pm to 7pm, TII statistics show.
Variable speed limits are used when there is a lane blockage or congestion or can be implemented proactively, Mr Pentony said.
He said: "Shockwave behaviour refers to sudden stop-start movements, which is caused by abrupt braking, in response to standstill traffic.
"TII deploy variable speed limits to try smooth out traffic flow, which will reduce shockwave behaviour and improve safety and comfort for drivers."
The traffic management system provides alerts when specific sections of the road are approaching capacity, so that countermeasures can be taken.
"We’re very happy with our new system," Mr Pentony said, adding "we feel it is definitely making a difference".
The cost of congestion and delays on the motorway for hauliers could be as high as €100 per hour, the Irish Road Hauliers Association (IRHA) has estimated, when fuel, wages and lost productivity are considered.
"Our drivers have specific working hours," IRHA President Ger Hyland said.
"They can only work for so many hours a day," he said.
"Every half hour that comes off their workday is 30 minutes less that our truck has to earn a living that day," he added.
