Ireland takes 'disturbing turn for the worse' in terms of road safety
President Michael D Higgins in Áras an Uachtaráin for World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, with Lucia O’Farrell and her family. Lucia lost her 23-year-old son Shane in a hit-and-run collision when he was riding his bike. Pictures: Maxwells
Ireland has taken a “disturbing turn for the worse” in terms of road safety this year, but it can be reversed if “the collective will is there" for change, President Michael D Higgins has said.
“We must not lose hope,” he said on Friday.
“There is much we can do to work together so that no family has to mourn the loss of a loved one from a road traffic collision.”
He added the statistics showing the number of deaths on Irish roads this year are “sobering” and are being driven by a number of factors.
President Higgins made the comments as he hosted a special reception at Áras an Uachtaráin to mark World Day of Remembrance for road traffic victims.
The event comes as road fatalities are at their highest level in six years, with the number of passengers, pedestrians, and motorcyclists killed on the roads all increasing.
Over a quarter of those killed have been aged 16 to 25.
Speaking at the event, Road Safety Authority (RSA) chair Liz O’Donnell described this as a “wake-up call” and said her organisation is working with Minister for Education Norma Foley to develop educational programmes in schools.
As of 9am on Friday, 168 people had died on Irish roads this year, a 26% increase on the same time last year.
Among those in attendance were some 100 family members of those who had lost their lives on the roads, as well as some who had sustained serious injuries.
It was also attended by CBS High School Clonmel chaplain Fr Michael Toomey, who presided at the funerals of the young people killed in a tragic incident on Leaving Certificate results night in August.
Representatives of the RSA, the Irish Road Victims’ Association, An Garda Síochána, paramedics, and the Dublin Fire Service also went to the Áras for the event.
In a speech to attendees, President Higgins singled out a number of factors as contributing to road deaths including the quality of the roads and roadsides around the country.
“The reality is that many housing developments across the country have been built without adequate basic infrastructure of safety, such as footpaths and cycle lanes,” he said.
“It’s a pity as there are very few safe places for people to walk or cycle in rural areas — even to walk to the local shop or walk their dog.”
He said that the number of pedestrians being killed is at its highest in 15 years and that the winter months in particular are dangerous for people out walking.
“The simple fact of taking a stroll on an evening has now become unfortunately dangerous in some circumstances, at a time when we hope that people will choose to leave their cars at home both for environmental and personal wellbeing reasons.
“The simple truth is that for many, including children, it can be dangerous in some circumstances and conditions to use the roads as either a pedestrian or a cyclist. This all must change.”
Ms O’Donnell, meanwhile, said she was “very worried that the trend is going up and that by Christmas, we’ll have even more” deaths on the roads as she urged all road users to take care of one another heading into the darker, winter nights.
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