Road deaths are the highest in Co Tipperary

Tipperary and Donegal had the greatest number of road fatalities in 2018, Garda figures show.

The six divisions in Dublin experienced a total of 16 deaths during the year, while the three divisions in Cork had a total of 14 road fatalities.

But the individual divisions with the highest number of road deaths were: Tipperary (11); Donegal (10); Limerick (9); Laois/Offaly (9) and Mayo (9).

Provisional road collision statistics show a total of 149 fatalities in 2018 — compared to 156 in 2017.

The 149 provisional total includes the two fatalities on Sunday and also takes into account that two previously included deaths were delisted after autopsies showed the deaths were due to other reasons, such as natural causes.

Road fatalities have fallen from 365 in 2006 to 162 in 2012, fluctuating since then, with a significant reduction since 2016 (186).

Within the Dublin region, there were five deaths in both the Dublin North division and Dublin West, with four fatalities in Dublin South Central. Dublin East was the only division in the country with no road deaths.

Within Cork, there were six fatalities in the Cork City division and four in both Cork North and Cork West.

Of the 149 deaths across the country, 88 were single vehicle and single death collisions and 46 were multiple vehicle single deaths.

A further nine were single vehicle multiple deaths and six were multiple vehicle collisions with multiple deaths.

An age breakdown of the 149 deaths show:

• 15 were aged 46-50 (nine drivers and three pedestrians);
• 14 were aged 61-65 (six drivers, four drivers and three pedestrians);
• 13 were aged over 81 (eight drivers and five pedestrians);
• 13 were aged 21-25 (five drivers, four passengers and four motorcyclists);
• 12 were aged 16-20 (one pedestrian, three drivers, five passengers and three cyclists);
• Three were aged 11-15 (two drivers and one pedestrian);
• Three were aged under five (two pedestrians and one passenger);
• The figures show a drop in all categories of road users, with the exception of pedestrians, with deaths up by a third, from 31 to 41.

Moyagh Murdock, CEO of the Road Safety Authority said the rise in pedestrians deaths was of “serious concern” — and added that 22 of the 41 deaths were among people aged 55 or older.

Assistant Commissioner Dave Sheehan of the Garda National Roads Policing Unit, said that more than 130,000 drivers were detected for speeding in 2018 and a further 30,000 drivers were caught using a mobile phone.

Separately, almost 9,000 drivers were detected for drink or drug driving and over 11,000 for not wearing a seatbelt.

He said that as garda numbers in road policing would increase in 2019 he could “guarantee people that they will see a greater garda presence on the roads”.

The Irish Examiner reported on Monday that the 150 additional members allocated to roads policing in 2018 translated into a net increase of around 80, due to competitions for promotions or national units were taken into account.