Department launches forum to 'drive change' on country's road safety

Gardaí at the scene of a fatal road traffic incident in Ratoath, Co. Meath, where a woman in her 60s lost her life. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Road users and advocates for road safety have been urged to join a new forum aiming to “positively drive change” after a further three people died in less than 24 hours following separate accidents.

The Road User Safety Forum, established by the Department of Transport, will underpin the Government’s current 2030 road safety strategy, emphasising phase two of that plan which runs from 2025 until 2027.

The department said that the forum will serve to provide “insights and assistance” in terms of how that part of the plan is implemented, insights “which may assist with decision-making on prioritising road safety actions”.

News of the establishment of the forum comes as Ireland recorded two more deaths on the roads between Sunday and Monday morning — fatalities number 84 and 85 for the year to date, an increase of 10, or 13%, on the same period in 2023.

The first of those fatal collisions occurred at 1.30am on Sunday morning at Ballynally in Co Donegal when a car hit a pedestrian, a man in his 20s. The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver of the car was taken to hospital for assessment.

On Monday morning in Ratoath in Co Meath, close to the Dublin border, a single vehicle was involved in a crash just before 1am on Main Street in the town.

The driver, a woman in her 60s and the sole occupant of the car, was also pronounced dead at the scene. Her body was removed to Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan where a post mortem examination is due to take place.

Meanwhile, a pedestrian involved in a collision with a bike in Ranelagh in Dublin last Tuesday died in hospital on Sunday. 

Gardaí appealed for road users with potential footage of the circumstances involving the two collisions to contact them.

Sam Waide, the chief executive of the Road Safety Authority (RSA) which has come in for heavy criticism amid the spiralling numbers of fatalities, said that the new safety forum underlines the “shared commitment across Irish society to prioritising safety on our roads and protecting the well-being of all users”.

“By bringing together this forum, all road safety partners have a unique opportunity to listen to road users and to collaborate, innovate, and positively drive change,” Mr Waide said.

This will represent “a collective approach which will make our roads safer for everyone,” he said.

There are 10 vacancies on the new grouping, which is expected to hold three meetings within the last six months of 2024 and one further at the start of next year, each of which may run to three hours in length, the Department of Transport said.

The closing date for submissions is 5pm on Friday, June 14.