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LAST UPDATE | 2 May 2024
THE ROAD SAFETY Authority has launched a “death notice” campaign ahead of the May Bank Holiday.
Gardaí and the Road Safety Authority are appealing today for drivers to be extra cautious over the Bank Holiday weekend amid the tragic rise in fatalities on the roads this year.
Over the last five years from 2019 to 2023, there were a total of seven fatal collisions and 80 serious injuries during the May Bank Holiday periods.
2022 saw the highest number of incidents, with four people killed and 32 people injured on the roads during that May Bank Holiday weekend.
RSA CEO Sam Waide told The Journal that the safety campaign launched today is about asking people to have conversations with their family and friends to encourage them to drive safely “before it’s too late”.
“Change your behavior, take care, look out for others, but ultimately slow down. Everyone needs to slow down and drive at an appropriate speed,” Waide said.
“The weather is going to be unsettled this week and the road conditions have a factor to play, so drive at appropriate speed,” he urged drivers.
“Most importantly, have that conversation with your mom, your dad, your friends, your peers, and change that behaviour so that you can continue to talk about road safety after the bank holiday, as opposed to a fatality and mourning the loss of your brother, sister, son, daughter, or your friends. We’re trying to raise that awareness and encourage people to have those conversations before it’s too late.”
Recommendations arising from a review of the Road Safety Authority are due to be presented in the coming weeks, the minister of state at the Department of Transport has said.
Minister Jack Chambers said the funding and structure of the agency have been considered as part of the review, which comes against the backdrop of increased scrutiny on road safety management.
Speaking to The Journal, Chambers said there are “excellent people working in the RSA” and added that conducting a review is in line with “best practice” for state bodies.
“It’s an organisation that has played a really important role in reducing road deaths for the last 20 years. We’re looking at areas like structure and funding and recommendations are due to be presented to me in the coming weeks,” Chambers said.
“The authority will have an important role for the future, but it’s about making sure that it’s best placed in terms of its structure and its financing for the future and that’s what we’re we’re doing as part of the wider review.”
As of 9am this morning, 69 people have died in collisions this year, compared to 53 people at the same time last year.
26 were drivers, 19 were passengers, 12 were pedestrians, nine were motorcyclists, and three were cyclists.
Cyclists in particular have expressed feeling very vulnerable on the roads due to dangerous driving or blockages in cycle lanes that force them out into heavy traffic.
“We want to work with the cycling community. As part of our wider investment in active travel, it’s about transforming the experience of cyclists and pedestrians so that they feel safe within our villages, towns and our cities,” Chambers said this morning.
“That’s around, first of all, investing in our infrastructure, but secondly, making sure we put in place the enforcement systems so that they’re better protected within our communities,” he said.
Gardaí announced yesterday the locations of nine speed safety cameras that are due to be “fully operational” by the end of the year.
The cameras are planned to be located on the N59 (Galway), N25 (Waterford), R772 (Wicklow), N14 (Donegal), N80 (Carlow), Dublin (Dolphin’s Barn), N17 (Mayo), N22 (Cork), and N69 (Limerick).
There are also average speed cameras planned for the N3 (Butler’s Bridge), N5 (Swinford), and N2 (Slane), and an increase in the number of GoSafe camera vans from 55 to 58.
“The plan is to have a much more extensive rollout of speed cameras in 2025. We’re modelling that on Scotland and trying to make sure Ireland comes closer to the European norm when it comes to speed cameras, but also wider camera based enforcement for people breaking red lights using both lanes,” Chambers said.
“We need to roll out speed cameras in a more extensive way and that’s the plan to put a strategy behind that and then to fund it and invest in it.”
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The issue is speed trap vans are put in places to make money, I travel to Emyvale regularly the van dose be always at the petrol station entering Monaghan town there no reason for this. entering Emyvale town again no reason for it. Yet the N2 from Ardee to Monaghan rarely has it not just for speed but way some position themselves on the road that leads to incidents.
@Be Lucky: Money fines are not a deterent anymore. If caught speeding off the road for six months directly. That would have an impact.
@Be Lucky: even though they put speed vans in locations where there is a lot of traffic, they actually run at a loss. They cost more to run than they make, which tell you that overall our compliance to the speed limits is probably pretty good. Sure we get the headlines on a National Slow down day, but they never tell you that they probably had 99.9% compliance on the day. On a lot of country roads they literally can’t park in a safe place to catch people. Reducing speed limits won’t make any impact on accidents as the ones causing accidents are already driving a elevated speed over and above what you’d call regular speeding i.e. 110 in 100 vs 140 in a 100
Better education, harder penalty points for existing speed limits and getting police off the motor ways and on the B roads where the accidents are happening would help.
Cutting hedgerows at T junctions and giving better line of sight, better road markings, the surface is also terrible on the secondary roads where these accidents are happening. It can’t be all stick and no carrot, the vast majority of people are compliant but that doesn’t fit the current narrative.
@Be Lucky: I would have thought the issue is people driving too fast?
@Be Lucky: 100% I drive that road often and I agree completely
There wasting there time it’s a everyday acurance on road they will just not listen.country roads are a death trap
@Glen Kelly:
Yes they’re wasting their time.
It’s an everyday occurrence on roads.
They will not listen.
Country roads are indeed death traps.
@Glen Kelly: Country (and any type of) roads are only a deathrap if you drive poorly on them – millions of kms are covered every year without incident on the same roads that some people die on – what is the difference? – Attitudes need to be changed to value roadcraft and good driving whilst making safe-but-good progress (not just ‘slowing down’). Sure, it would be good if our roads were better engineered, had fewer potholes, and better signage & markings, but we have to drive to the conditions that exist today (while pushing for better standards). Those who don’t are paying (or making others pay) the price.
Putting in more speed camaras and speed vans, more points and more money if caught, please tell me how will they prevent one or two or three or four young people from driving into a tree or wall at God knows what speed at 3 o’clock in the morning.
@conriel: It’s a deterrent and at least there is a sense that there are serious consequences for dangerous driving. We are now sending out a generation of drivers who have no sense of roads being policed or consequences for their driving. People think they can do as they please and that needs to stop.
@conriel: This is not most road deaths tho. If we are serious about doing anything we need to know the exact cause of all road accidents, atm it’s all media soundbytes. Maybe speed, maybe phones, lots of ‘maybe’ statistics.
The only thing that works is Gardai on the roads enforcing the laws, everything else is merely window dressing!
@Brian Hunt: what nonsense!
You can’t have a Garda on every corner 24/7
96% of drivers drive with care.
It’s a waste of time trying to catch the careless 4% who are likely to kill themselves and innocent people
Education and personal responsibility is the only answer
@Brian Hunt:
@John Cotter: Sorry John, I never realised that the Traffic Police one sees in every country in Europe are a total waste of time. I’ll try harder in future!
@Brian Hunt: Drones, maybe?
@Brian Hunt:
Brian I am well aware of the position in Europe as I have
been driving on average 12000 Kms per year between Spain and Portugal for the past 19 years.
There is not the same emphasis on Speed with few controls on motorways. There is more emphasis on bad driving habits like crossing a continuous white line.
Fine on the spot.
How often do you see drivers in Ireland overtaking on a continuous white line ?
Education is the only answer unfortunately the few will not listen
Emphasis again on speeding. No we will continue to see upwards road deaths on Irish roads with this monoculture thinking on speed. Could it be possible that we have outside the box thinking and suggest that speed isn’t as big an issue as claimed. Poor driving standards and road craft and distraction as well as DUi is to me the main issue particularly drug driving.
@Mic JHintl:
Well said…..
I wish more people would think like you.
@Mic JHintl: Total sense until ‘drug driving’ being the main issue. It just isn’t.
More feckin points and fines no doubt. Useless shower they are.
@Sean Money: If only there was a way to avoid points and fines…
@honey badger: oh yes because they solve everything, 5km over the limit.
@Sean Money: its as easy go the right speed as over
@Dave Harris: the limits are too low and are a danger themselves, causing people to overtake.
@Sean Money: Too high in many cases. Many tiny bohereens barely wide enough to fit two cars have 80kph limit and plenty dangerously winding and poorly surfaced country roads with 100kph limits. I only ever recall stupidity rather than low speed limits causing people to overtake dangerously.
@Sean Money: You’re on every road traffic article advocating for higher speed limits. Nobody is done for going 5kmph over the limit.. but you openly admit to driving in excess of 20km over speed limits.. and bemoan the points system in place to deter you from doing so. It’s guys like you need to be off the road.. You seriously need to have a word with yourself..
@Brian: now that’s not so its not. On a motorway that’s clear a good speed is perfectly safe.
@Sean Money: perfectly safe to do what exactly? The speed you wanna do ? Define a ‘ good speed ‘ ?
@Brian: well now that depends on the circumstances and surroundings, but all clear on the road on an open straight 3 lanes then 160km is reasonable.
@Sean Money: See there in lies the problem.. you’re advocating on drivers to assess the ‘ circumstances ‘ and drive on at least 160 km ..? whats an open road? No traffic ? What about weather conditions? If you’re gonna make the new rules of the road be specific..Mad for speed you are.
@Sean Money: They vast, vast amount of journeys are not made on motorways. The autobahn model works as Germans have a sense of civic duty and responsibility. We don’t and go mad when there are no rules.
Very sad but its going to increase due to younger generation growing up with phone and addicted to social media. The phone needs to be responded to even at 120kph when changing lanes. The mirror or 360 observation doesn’t happen.
@Mr “JonnieBoy” Johnson: Many of them can only afford to live in their cars, and can’t afford to lose both, so I suspect it’s the usual middle aged speeders.
Boots on the ground is the only solution. Lack of Garda resources and no new recruits is a govt created issue and chickens coming home to roost. People know there is next to no policing and it’s like the wild west on the roads. On my short commute every day I see so much crazy behaviour. Narrowly escaped a head on collision with someone driving the wrong way up a one way street this morning. A pedestrian nearly hit by a motorist who broke a red light a minute earlier. Distracted drivers who have no fear of repercussions is a deadly mix.
Stake a few of our highly trained road engineers at known Black spots. That might do something! Then again all the evidence is that they never learn anything.
@Padraig O’Brien: Remember when their used to be black spot signs? Perhaps they spent all the money for those on ‘awareness campaigns’
Boots on the ground
Would making motorways free make a difference to road safety?…it might?
@Spartacus Ireland: That would be too much of a benefit to the Irish people. Think of the the French global organisation VINCI who operate our tolls!?!? How would they scratch their backs without the profits the Irish motorways provide for them!!
Road safety with a stick. The fines seem to run at the same level every year. You’d think the RSA, AGS, & Dept of Transport would learn and perhaps it’s time to offer incentives instead.
Since the arrival of the speed vans the levels of speeding in my town have improved no end. They appear here 3 to 4 times per week and I’m delighted that they do.
Powerful cars with L drivers how they get insurance is beyond me.
Smoking guns.
@Phillip Smyth: Are these the majority of road deaths?
Maybe its time to stop issuing 10yr licences? Issue them for 5 yrs and have a compulsory driver education module as a requirement for renewal.
Fixed cams well signposted work .
3 points each time
6 points and off the road for 3 months,
2nd offence , automatic court appearance,drivers license handed into the court there and then or a automatic 500 fine
“road safety campaign”… lol! Advertisers cleaning up with this negligence.
@Sean Money,you can’t teach Stup1D
have your say