The Road Safety Authority (RSA) recently launched the “Who was Mary Ward? Vision Zero” Campaign which calls on the public to work together to help prevent further road deaths in Ireland. Vision Zero is a worldwide initiative and commitment that aims for no road deaths or serious injuries on Irish roads by 2050. This week the RSA has published preliminary data for the period from the 1^st January to 26^th July 2023 on road traffic fatalities in Ireland.

The preliminary analysis of road traffic fatalities in 2023 reveals some concerning trends. As of 26^th July 2023, there have been 91 fatal collisions on Irish roads, which have resulted in 95 fatalities, 9 more deaths (+10%) increase compared to the same period last year. Of the 95 fatalities this year, 39 of the fatalities were drivers, 18 were passengers, 22 were pedestrians, 13 were motorcyclists and 1 was an e-scooter. 649 serious injuries occurred on Irish roads in 2023, 163 less serious injuries compared to the same period last year.

Key Summary Findings

• 14 fatalities, on average, per month;
• fatalities are highest in the past six years:
• Fatalities are increasing among passengers, pedestrians and motorcyclists;
• 25% of fatalities are aged 16-25 years;
• Counties Galway, Mayo and Cork suffered highest fatalities;
• Almost 50% of road deaths occurred between 8pm and 8am and between Friday and Sunday; and
• 72% of fatalities occurred on Irish rural roads.

A link to the report of RSA published figures can be found here.

Ronan Hynes, Partner at MHP Sellors LLP commented on the recently published data that:

“An outlier in the preliminary figures is that 72% of fatalities occurred on rural roads in Ireland. Rural roads are designated to have a speed limit of 80 km/hour or greater. We will likely see a big overhaul of speed limits across the country, in particular, in rural areas together with the introduction of speed cameras and increased driver penalties. The reduction in speed limits will help reduce road traffic accidents, however, it is not a silver bullet and supplementary measures will be required such as enforcement and an effective communications campaign focusing on driver behaviors and the devastating human impact of road traffic accidents and fatalities.”

For more details on these findings or if you or a loved one have been impacted, please contact our team at [email protected] or 061 414 355.