Road safety chiefs aim to cut number of pedestrian deaths by up to 45%

MOTORING safety chiefs intend tackling planning issues, the design of cars and the education of kids in a bid to curb the high number of pedestrian deaths on Irish roads.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) yesterday launched a pedestrian safety action plan which it is hoped will reduce pedestrian deaths by as much as 45% over the next three years.

As many as one in four deaths on Irish roads are pedestrian according to the latest figures. Between the years 2004 to 2006, there was an average 72 pedestrians killed each year. In 2008, the number fell to 47.