Drop in Road Deaths
| 
The Northern Ireland Environment Minister Edwin Poots has announced that road deaths in 2010 reduced to the lowest number since records began in 1931. 55 people were killed in 2010, a dramatic drop from 115 in 2009, and from 171 deaths in 2000.
Tony Parker, Chief Executive of the Road Victims Trust is reported to have attributed some of the reduction to people driving less, some to people driving more carefully in adverse weather conditions, and some to safety mechanisms in cars like anti-lock braking, air bags, better design of cars and increased wearing of seat belts. The safety mechanisms meaning that people are now surviving accidents at 60mph when previously they were dying.
Road deaths in the Irish Republic were also at the lowest level in 2010 since records began. 212 people were killed in Irish roads in compared to 238 in 2009, and down from 396 in 2005. Gardaí Assistant Commissioner for Traffic, John Twomey, is reported to have said that "The individual decisions of road users all over the country this year to change their behaviour have had a profound impact, resulting in reductions in death and serious injuries on our roads ... "motorists must exercise personal responsibility and drivers should slow down and remember that as a general rule a 1km/h decrease in average speed results in a 2 per cent reduction in minor injury collisions, a 3 per cent reduction in serious injury collisions and a 4 per cent reduction in fatal collisions.”
The focus on both sides of the border still needs to shift towards reducing the number of people seriously injured in collisions, this being the theme of the current Road Safety Authority 'Crashed Lives' awareness campaign. Between 22 November 2010 and 3 Janauary 2011, An Garda figures show: almost 1,500 suspected drink-drivers; more than 3,000 speeding drivers; and, 965 drivers using a mobile phone.
4 January 2011
| Next > |
|---|