March to remember road crash victims

A FUNERAL-style silent march of nearly 300 convent schoolgirls all dressed in black will take place in west Cork next week.

The dramatic protest by 279 pupils of the Mercy Heights Convent Secondary School — each of whom will represent a person who died in a road traffic accident last year — is a bid to create better public awareness of the need for road safety.

“Each student will have a sign showing that they represent one of the people who died on Irish roads throughout 2008 — and that each one of those killed is somebody, a mother, a daughter, a brother, a baby sister,” said teacher Orla O’Sullivan.

The eye-catching demonstration is part of the school’s One Life One Chance project carried out under the Young Social Innovator’s Programme for transition year students.

“The idea is to highlight the carnage on the roads, and focus people’s attention on the need for road safety.

“Emergency services personnel witness the horror firsthand, but it is the relatives who are left to pick up the pieces, and who experience, first hand, the horror of losing a loved one,” explained Garda liaison officer Flor O’Driscoll.

“Behind every death there are 100 stories of suffering — each of the 279 people who died last year was somebody’s sibling, child, mother or father,” he said.

The students decided to focus on the topic of road safety because some of them had been directly affected by road accidents in recent years.

Transition year student Rebecca Ferguson, 17, explained: “Some members of our group know people who were involved in traffic accidents. We felt it was necessary to create a greater awareness of road safety, such as the importance of wearing safety belts and helmets when cycling.

“As part of the project we also raised money for the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dun Laoghaire.”

On Friday, February 6, next, the students will march from the town’s Mart Yard car park on Bridge Street at about 1.30pm, proceeding through Main Street and North Street, before finishing at the Skibbereen Sports Centre where a public meeting on road safety will take place.

The meeting will be attended and addressed by representatives from the Road Safety Authority and the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dun Laoghaire, along with members of the gardaí, local politicians, fire brigade and ambulance services.

At the meeting students will present a €2,500 cheque to the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dun Laoghaire — money collected during recent fundraising initiatives.