Road safety - We must not become complacent

ON well over 300 days a year, no child is killed on the roads, but that is not considered news. When a child is killed, however, it is news, because it is a tragedy.

Such reporting leads to disillusionment among those charged with road safety. There are more cars than ever on our roads, and many rural roads are narrow and winding, with a growing number of potholes to distract drivers, so the hazards are worse than ever.

But the latest figures published by Road Safety Authority (RSA) indicate that child fatalities on our roads was down by a staggering 45.6% between 1997 and 2009. There was 36% decease in pedestrian fatalities, 60% decrease in cyclist fatalities, and 73% decrease in child fatalities among car passengers.