Ten people have died on Irish roads in 2024 so far
‘Take every measure possible to get home safely’ AA urges public
TEN people have lost their lives on the nation’s roads in the first two weeks of 2024, meaning a more devastating start than last year.
Over the weekend, two people died in road crashes in Dublin and Kildare in the course of 24 hours.
In Dublin, gardaí and crash scene investigators remained for several hours yesterday at the scene of a crash involving a car and a pedestrian. The incident occurred at around 4am on the M1 northbound near Junction 5 in Lusk, north County Dublin.
The male pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene.
In Kildare, a man died in a single-vehicle road crash on Saturday evening. Gardaí and emergency services were called to the incident at Halverstown, Kilcullen, on the R448 at 6.15pm.
The driver, a man in his 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was taken to Naas General Hospital for a postmortem. The road was closed, with local diversions in place pending a technical examination.
Gardaí in Balbriggan and Naas are appealing for information about both crashes. Any road users in both areas who may have camera footage (including dash cam) are asked to make this available to investigators. Anyone with information is asked to contact gardaí at any station. Two pedestrians, six drivers, one passenger, and one motorcyclist have died this year already. This is two more deaths than in the same period last year. The latest deaths come as Garda figures show last year was a tragic time on the nation’s roads, with 184 people dying in crashes – an increase of almost 20% on the previous year. The fatality rate was the highest in almost a decade, with 1,250 suffering serious injuries by mid-December. Blake Boland of AA Ireland said 2023 was ‘a tragic year on Irish roads with 184 fatalities, a near-20% increase on the previous year. 2024 has started off at an even worse rate.
‘These accidents are taking lives, destroying families and leaving people with serious and sometimes life-long injuries. We are calling on people to take every measure possible to make sure you reach your destination safely. This means slowing down and obeying speed limits. Put away your phone and make sure there are no distractions while driving. Never drive while under the influence of alcohol or any other drug.
‘We need the relevant enforcement bodies to be given the resources they need, but we also need all road users to exercise personal responsibility to ensure everyone gets home safe,’ he said.
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said the Government needs to ‘strengthen enforcement’ on the roads, with more gardaí and new speed cameras.