Road death stats: 2007 was a good year

THERE were 29 fewer people killed on the roads in 2007 than in 2006, with road safety groups predicting a further reduction in fatalities this year.

Provisional garda figures released yesterday show 336 people died in road traffic collisions last year — an eight percent decrease compared to 365 in 2006.

Last year’s figure also represents a 15% decrease on figures for 2005 when 396 people lost their lives.

“This is the third safest year on Ireland’s roads in over 40 years,” said Road Safety Authority (RSA) spokesperson, Brian Farrell.

In 1961, when there was far less traffic, there were 365 road deaths and in 2003, when penalty points were introduced, there were 335.

A look back over the past seven years shows that 2001 was the worst year with 411 killed. Since then the figure has hovered between 335 in 2003 and 376 in 2002.

“The reason why there has been a decrease in road deaths is because people have changed their behaviour. It is as simple as that and it has resulted in lives saved and injuries prevented,” said Mr Farrell.

While the number of road deaths in 2007 is almost similar to those in 2003 when penalty points were introduced, the decrease has been sustained over a longer period, Mr Farrell pointed out.

After the low of 2003, the number of road deaths shot up again over the next two years with 374 in 2004 and 396 in 2005.

However Mr Farrell pointed out that the current decrease had been sustained over an 18 month period and that was a good sign.

Factors contributing to fewer deaths on the roads include the introduction of random breath-testing in July 2006 and new tougher penalties for drink driving offences in March 2007.

Another positive influence on driver behaviour is the expanded Garda Traffic Corps. It got 240 additional personnel last year, increasing its total strength to over 1,000 gardaí.

And the RSA, established just over a year ago, has played a leading role in changing driver behaviour for the better.

Last year, it delivered the updated Rules of the Road to every household in the country as well as launching a series of public awareness campaigns on road safety issues.

Mr Farrell said the Road Safety Strategy 2007 to 2012 developed by the RSA was targeted at reducing collisions, deaths and injuries on Irish roads by 30%.

It aims to bring Ireland in line with countries that are considered to have the safest roads in the world, countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Britain.

By 2012 the RSA hopes that there will be no more than 250 people dying on Irish roads every year.

“It may seem awful to describe 250 as an acceptable level of road deaths but that would put us on a par with the safest countries in the world,” said Mr Farrell.

AA spokesperson Conor Faughnan, said that while he was very conscious of the families left devastated by the 300-plus road deaths last year, it was now clear that progress was being made reducing road carnage.

And, he said, it was mainly due to the policies now being pursued by the Government-backed Road Safety Authority.

“It is refreshing to see policies that we have spent more than 10 years lobbying for being implemented and making a difference,” he said.

He had no doubt that random breath-testing, increased garda enforcement levels and driver training and testing reforms had all had a hugely positive influence on driver behaviour.

“I would be confident that we could continue this rate of improvement in 2008 and hopefully have road fatality figures of less than 300. We still have an enormous road safety problem but I think 2007 is a year when we went forward instead of backwards.”