Safety device could prevent one in 14 car fatalities yearly

One in 14 car deaths in Europe every year could be prevented through the mandatory installation of a simple road safety device already fitted in many vehicles.

New research shows the total number of motorists and their passengers killed in car collisions in the EU in 2012 was 12,345, including 89 in Ireland. The figures exclude fatalities among other road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

It also reveals that Ireland has the highest level of fatalities among women drivers in the EU — accounting for almost a quarter of such deaths in Ireland between 2010 and 2012 — twice the EU average.