ROAD FATALITIES RISE AGAIN

While 2021 was the safest year on record, 2022 once more saw a disappointing rise in road deaths ere was success one year before when 2021 was seen as the safest year on record, but in total, 155 people lost their lives on Irish roads last year. ose 155 people lost their lives in a total of 149 road collisions, compared to 137 deaths in 124 fatal road collisions in 2021, representing a 13% increase in road fatalities.

The challenges faced by An Garda Síochána and the Road Safety Authority regarding careful and considerate driving have once more been brought to light by the dispiriting fact that 2022 once more saw a rise in road fatalities.

Worryingly, more than double the number of pedestrians lost their lives on Irish roads last year (41) when compared to 2021 (20).

A total of 23 motorcyclists also lost their lives, while seven cyclists were killed, and one driver of an e-scooter was also killed.

Despite a decrease in the number of drivers killed (down ten from 70 in 2021), drivers still accounted for the highest proportion of fatalities at 39%, while the number of passenger fatalities rose by four to 22, representing a 22% increase.

Dublin and Cork had the most fatalities with 13 each, while Carlow was the only county not to record a single road death.

Breakdown

Breaking down the gures, 27% of fatalities occurred on urban roads, while 73% occurred on rural roads, and a third of fatalities were aged 35 years or younger while 31% were aged more than 66 years. Of those killed, 78% were male and 22% female.

With 16 and 17 fatalities recorded, March and November had the highest number of fatalities respectively, while more than half (52%) occurred over weekends.

Where it was possible to establish the use of a seatbelt or not among drivers and passengers killed, a total of 19% were found not to have been wearing one. mobile phone while driving.

All of this is despite the new Road Safety Strategy introduced by Government just one year ago, which included 186 actions in its rst phase that have been implemented by An Garda Síochána, the RSA and the Minister for Transport. is Strategy aims to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on Irish roads by 50% by 2030.

Based on data that shows the highest risk time for fatal or serous road tra c collisions during the Christmas and New Year period being between noon and 9pm, and more speci cally between 3pm and 6pm, the campaign aimed to raise awareness of safe driving during these hours while also placing 1,380 checkpoints across the country, focusing on Divisions

Minister of State at the Department of Transport Jack Chambers said these actions will now be reviewed to discover what further steps can be taken to once more reduce these appalling gures, stating that speeding will be a clear focus and saying “we know excessive speed by drivers was linked to many of these deaths”.

“I am very concerned that so many lives have been lost on the roads in 2022,” Mr Chambers said. “ e high number of pedestrian deaths, who are the most vulnerable of road users, is also worrying. Working together, we can reverse this trend in 2023.”

Measures

Several signi cant measures were introduced in the last year as part of the Road Safety Strategy, including an increase in nes for 16 road tra c o ences ranging from speeding to not wearing a seatbelt to using a mobile phone while driving.

ere were also numerous campaigns aimed at road users encouraging them to drive safely over the course of the last year, including a Christmas and New Year Road Safety Appeal focused on the dangers of intoxicated driving, speeding, not wearing a seatbelt and using a where analysis has shown a higher risk of collisions.

As an indication of the challenge of getting this message across, during this particular seven-day campaign 173 people were arrested for driving under the in uence (24 suspected of drug driving), there were 29 seatbelt o ences, 82 mobile phone o ences, and 3,060 speeding o ences.

Over the course of December alone last year, there were 5,500 checkpoints conducted that saw 600 arrests for driving under the in uence, 186 seatbelt o ences, 11,647 speeding o ences and 724 people using a mobile phone while driving. Some 4,124 collisions were reported to An Garda Síochána in this time.

Speaking at the time these gures were released, Inspector Ross O’Doherty of the Garda National Roads Policing Bureau said: “It is stark to see these statistics, knowing the potential that each of these o ences had to cause accident or injury, but this is the reality of the behaviour of some drivers. We are not asking motorists, we are urging them to help us reduce the number of serious and fatal road tra c collisions by never taking a risk. It is never, ever worth it and hindsight o en comes too late.”

New Roads Bill

To build on the continuing campaigns highlighting the need for road safety, this year also sees the enactment of the Road Tra c and Roads Bill, which will allow for the direct linking of vehicle and driver records held on the National Vehicle and Driver File, and the regulation of e-scooters on public roads. It will also allow Transport Infrastructure Ireland to vary speed limits on sections of the M50.

Speaking about the horri c statistics for 2022 and the Road Safety Strategy that aims to combat such tragedies, RSA Chairperson Liz O’Donnell said: “ e end of year road fatality gures should serve as a reminder to us all of our shared responsibility to always be safety aware on our roads, and to pay special attention to motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians. We simply must get back on track and reverse the increase in deaths.

“It means that all of us must accept greater responsibility when using the road and become custodians and champions for safety on the road.”

Garda Assistant Commissioner Paula

Hilman echoed these words, saying: “Sadly, 2022 saw a rise in fatalities and serious injuries on our roads. We think of the families, friends and communities impacted by such devastating loss and injury. We are committed to reversing this trend and will continue to work with all agencies and ensure we play our part in delivering the Road Safety Strategy and measures needed to make our roads safer.”

Further Campaigns

While the Bank Holiday and festive periods see annual road safety campaigns, with the introduction of a new Bank Holiday in February, An Garda Síochána and the RSA took the opportunity to promote a further campaign this year.

e St Brigid’s Day Bank Holiday Road Safety Campaign saw a Garda operation put in place between Friday 3 February and Tuesday 7 February, focusing on urging drivers to slow down and always choose a speed appropriate to the driving conditions.

ere was a total of 1,248 checkpoints carried out, with 2,585 detections for speeding over this weekend, 196 arrests for drink and drug driving, 216 for mobile phone use, 69 seatbelt o ences, and 123 learner drivers found unaccompanied. Sadly, there was also one fatality and nine serious collisions that resulted in nine serious and lifethreatening injuries.

In addition, 460 vehicles were detained for o ences such as not having a driving licence, insurance or tax.

In response to these gures that show an ongoing determination by some road users to disregard road safety, An Garda Síochána and the RSA emphasised the message that for whatever reason people are using the roads, whatever mode of transport they use, to continue to ‘Stay Safe’.

Gardaí and the RSA can only repeat and emphasise this message that, when ignored, can lead to tragedy. It is up to all road users to listen and learn, and to help make our country’s roads safer so we can see a return to an ongoing decrease in fatal and lifethreatening collisions.

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