Dublin tops EU capitals for drop in road deaths

ROAD deaths in Dublin have dropped by 70% over the past 10 years, but while the city is the safest for pedestrians, it is the most dangerous one in Europe for cyclists.

The drop in fatalities has been the most dramatic of all the 27 EU capitals, but the city still ranks seventh in terms of the percentage of deaths compared with its population. Overall, Berlin and Paris are the safest cities, while Ljubljana in Slovenia and Riga in Latvia are the most dangerous.

More than a third, 38%, of people killed on the streets of Dublin were cyclists, compared with an EU average of 5% over a three-year period from 2003 to 2006, according to the report issued by the European Transport Safety Council.

The number of pedestrians who died in Dublin during the same period was 23%, compared with an EU average of 43%. The number of motorbike riders and car occupants killed were closer to the average.

Dublin is significantly safer than the rest of the country, which has failed to keep up with improvements in the capital, where fatalities have dropped from 53 to 11 in the past 10 years.

The difference is the highest in Europe after Bulgaria, according to the study, which shows that the rate of reduction in Dublin is twice what it is in the rest of the country.

Generally in the EU, the risk of dying on the capital cities’ roads is half the risk of dying in a road collision in the rest of the country. Vulnerable road users are particularly exposed to danger while using the capital cities’ roads, the report said.

While there may be more road accidents they tend to be less traumatic as people are travelling at lower speeds.

Dublin has managed to reduce the number of traffic victims by an average of 12% and this has been put down to the city adopting a strategic programme to make the city safer.

Michael Byrne, road safety development officer with Dublin City Council, said it has appointed a cycling officer to help deal with the problems cyclists in particular have in the city.

A strategic network of cycle lanes has been created and the ban on heavy goods vehicles has improved safety for cyclists and pedestrians. The council has also provided extra pedestrian crossings, extra green time and countdown timers to improve pedestrian safety.

But some elderly pedestrians are still finding it difficult to cross some areas of the city.

Commenting on the city’s success so far, Mr Byrne said: “One of the most important measures has been fostering a greater team effort by all stakeholders involved, and have an overall road safety reduction strategy linked to key performance indicators.

“Another factor was that the city council ring-fenced funding to undertake engineering and education measures.”

About 40 million people, or 8% of the EU population, live in capital cities and at least 24,000 died in road accidents in the capitals over the past decade.

In 2001 the EU adopted a target of halving road deaths by 2101 and so far the pace of improvement in the cities has been greater than in rural areas. But the overall still lags behind the rate of improvement needed for the 27 countries to achieve the target.

* www.etsc.be