Road safety - Death toll is rising again

THE usual bank holiday warning about road safety was issued yesterday but it is almost inevitable that lives will be lost on our roads over the next few days.

The extremely positive trend of recent years, when road fatalities fell in response to garda activity and education campaigns, has been reversed.

Already this year 49 people have lost their lives on our roads. At this time last year 41 lives had been lost. The increase ends a five-year period when death tolls fell on a year-on-year basis.

Six motorcyclists have been killed and two thirds of all passengers killed were aged between 16 and 30.

Great progress had been made in this area and we should do all we can to stop the slide back to our old and lethal habits.