Pedestrian road deaths at highest level for 15 years

Road Safety Authority chief executive Sam Waide, minister of state Jack Chambers, and Assistant Garda Commissioner Paula Hilman launching the October bank holiday road safety appeal. Picture: Shane O'Neill/Coalesce.

Pedestrian road deaths are at the highest level for 15 years, new analysis has shown, as road users were urged to take care this bank holiday weekend.

“The trend this year has been shocking,” said minister of state at the Department of Transport, Jack Chambers. “We’ve seen a reversal of the significant progress we’ve made from a road safety perspective.

“We’re trying to strengthen all elements of our response, and focusing on the lifesaver offences: speed, not wearing a seatbelt, distracted driving, and intoxicated driving.

“It’s about trying to break that trend.”

Mr Chambers was speaking alongside Road Safety Authority (RSA) chief executive Sam Waide and Assistant Garda Commissioner Paula Hilman as they made an urgent appeal ahead of the bank holiday.

Garda statistics show that, as of 9am on Tuesday, 154 people had died on the roads this year, including 38 pedestrians.

A total of 155 people died on the roads in 2022 and that figure is likely to be exceeded this year.

Road deaths are up 31% so far this year.

“It’s tracking to be the worst year in 15 years for pedestrians being killed,” Mr Chambers later told the Oireachtas transport committee.

On the matter of enforcement, research by the RSA confirms that drivers rank more gardaí on the roads as the single most influential factor that would encourage them to stop speeding or using mobile phones.

“There has been a decrease in the number of offences detected in 2023, which is of concern to me and a matter I have had engagement on with both Minister McEntee and the Garda Commissioner.”

Mr Chambers is attempting to push through legislation aimed at reducing the “worrying trend on our roads”, and was requesting the committee to forego pre-legislative scrutiny to allow it to pass faster.

The measures include penalty point reform, mandatory drug testing, and the amendment of default speed limits on roads.

“Under this bill, the minister for transport will be empowered to set higher penalty points for periods when road safety risks are higher,” he said.

“For example, evidence-based figures suggest bank holiday weekends have a higher level of road deaths, serious injuries, and other driving offences.”

An Garda Síochána begins its nationwide initiative at 7am on Thursday, lasting until Wednesday morning, and Assistant Commissioner Hilman said the focus will be on drink and drug driving, speeding, use of mobile phones, and seatbelts.

“But our message this bank holiday weekend is very much to ask everyone to look out for one another,” she said.

“You know the days are getting shorter and it’s getting darker earlier, and we look at last year, half of the pedestrian fatalities, unfortunately, occurred in the last three months of the year.”

Mr Waide said that children are off school next week and should be able to enjoy walking and cycling safely in their area.

“I do not want any more empty seats at the table either this weekend or next weekend or the following months,” he said.