Ireland’s road safety record the worst in EU

IRELAND has emerged with the worst road safety record in western Europe last year, raising serious questions over the effectiveness of the Government’s strategy to reduce deaths on Irish roads.

Official data on road fatalities in 2004 shows Ireland was the only member of the EU-15 member states to record a large increase in road deaths.

Despite a high-profile Government road safety campaign, Irish road fatalities increased by 13.1%.