Road safety report outlines worrying figures as fatal crashes rise
A new report has outlined the worrying increase that is continuing with fatal road traffic incidents.
Since the start of this year, 70 people have already lost their lives on Irish roads. These included 27 drivers, 12 pedestrians, 19 passengers, nine motorcyclists and three pedal cyclists. Almost 40 percent of fatalities were under the age of 35.
Concerningly, the figure for 2024 road deaths so far is already almost a third higher than 2023’s death toll for the same time period.
In the first four months of this year, Cork has recorded Ireland’s highest number of road deaths, with 10 lives lost.
Following Cork, County Mayo has had significant losses with eight fatalities, while Dublin has suffered seven fatalities, and Kildare has lost five people on its roads.
From January to April of this year, Kildare recorded more road fatalities than in the whole of 2023 or 2022 for the county.
As the figures continue to rise at an alarming rate, it has been confirmed that just four counties across Ireland – Longford, Leitrim, Laois and Monaghan – have avoided any road fatalities so far this year.
Speaking about the worrying records, the founder of the road safety group Parc, Susan Gray, has taken the opportunity to plead for significant changes to the Road Safety Authority’s (RSA) systems, including the driving test, driver education and road-safety regulations.
“What is worrying is that the [road fatality] numbers have been going in the wrong direction both in 2022 and in 2023,” she explained.
Meanwhile, RSA chairperson Liz O’Donnell warned that road users in Ireland are currently showing “high levels of non-compliance”, with aspects such as speeding, the use of mobile phones and driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
“We cannot continue with this level of carnage on the roads. We’re gone back now – it is the highest in 10 years and we were doing really well internationally. We were the leading lights in road safety,” she reflected.
