Road deaths at historic low but gardaí want more done

THE number of people killed on the nation’s roads fell to an historic low last year, but one of the country’s most senior traffic gardaí has said more work needs to be done to tackle speeding and drug-driving.

Gardaí confirmed that 240 people lost their lives on the nation’s roads last year – the lowest annual figure since records began in 1959 and a fall from 279 in 2008.

The Road Safety Authority welcomed the fall in the number of deaths, which is also almost 100 fewer than in 2007, but said it was vital the figure for this year be reduced further.