Weekend road death toll shatters hopes of decline

DESPITE a doubling in road deaths over the June bank holiday weekend as compared with last year, recent figures reveal the Road Safety Strategy’s target of no more than 20 deaths a month has been achieved every month since March.

A total of 19 people were killed every month in March, April and May this year.

The achievement, however, will be cold comfort to the relatives of the eight people killed on the roads over this bank holiday weekend. Four people lost their lives during the same weekend last year.

Road Safety Authority chairman Gay Byrne described the weekend death toll as appalling.

Ireland’s third Road Safety Strategy proposes to reduce the average monthly death toll — from its average of 28-30 deaths — to less than 20 by 2012 and figures show the target is being met.

In August 2006, when mandatory alcohol breath testing was introduced, the number of road fatalities fell to 17, the lowest figure recorded.

RSA spokesman Brian Farrell said the holiday weekend deaths should remind us we can never afford to be complacent about road safety.

“Unfortunately, we will always have weekends like that, but what is important is that, overall, our roads have become a safer place,” he said.

“Up until this weekend we thought we would be recording the lowest road death toll on record but, sadly, that did not happen.”

Two people were killed during the combined St Patrick’s Day and Easter bank holiday weekend period. The equivalent figure in 2007 was 11.

Mr Byrne said he was just beginning to believe that people were beginning to get the road safety message.

“Then along comes a weekend like this weekend and it is absolutely awful,” he said on RTÉ Radio.

He said he believed that people who refused to get the road safety message should be severely punished.

Mr Byrne is also angry the introduction of speed cameras, promised four years ago, had been delayed as a result of a dispute between the Department of Justice and the Department of Finance.

“It is an absolute outrage we have been delayed for so long on one of the main planks of our safety programme. I wish somebody would take charge of this and sort it out once and for all,” he said.