Deaths on roads down by 27 in 2006

TWENTY-SEVEN fewer people died on Ireland’s roads this year, but road safety groups have warned that more needs to be done to further reduce the number of fatalities.

Provisional garda figures show that 369 people died in road traffic collisions last year, compared with 396 in 2005. The latest fatality was an elderly man who died when his car crashed near Ballinderry in Moate, Co Westmeath yesterday morning.

It’s understood the man was a local 73-year-old farmer. His car was travelling along the road when it struck the wall of an old house at around 11.50am.