Road death figures to rise if trend continues

Ireland is on track for its first rise in road fatalities in eight years if current trends continue, gardaí have warned.

Figures show 118 people have died on the roads up to Aug 12 this year, seven more than this time last year. Gardaí are particularly concerned at a massive jump in motorcyclists being killed — 17 so far — compared with 16 for the whole of 2012.

The problems of speeding, not wearing seat belts, and using mobile phones are continuing to cause road deaths, with figures revealing that: