Lend your support to Project Edward this Thursday, 21st
HERE’S a frightening statistic – on average, 70 people die and a further 370 are seriously injured every day on Europe’s roads.
Here in Ireland, 111 people have died on our roads this year to date, an 18% decrease on the same period last year but still far too many. If this trend continues, 44 more people will lose their lives here by the end of the year.
To help raise awareness of the issues, Irish road users are being urged to make Thursday 21st September European Day Without A Road Death. Also known as Project EDWARD, this is the second year of the initiative organised by TISPOL, the traffic police network in Europe, with the aim that noone dies on European roads this Thursday.
The first Project EDWARD day was on Wednesday 21st September 2016.
According to TISPOL’s statistics, there were 43 road deaths across 31 countries on that day, compared with 70 fatalities on the same day in 2015. 19 countries recorded zero fatalities, though sadly Ireland was not one of them.
To support this year’s Project EDWARD, road users are again being asked to make an online pledge to be a better, safer driver. The pledge covers many different aspects of road safety, including correct use of lights, avoiding tailgating, vehicle maintenance, drugs and alcohol and more.
You can add your name to the pledge at www.tispol.org/ edward.
Supporting the project, AA Director of Consumer Affairs Conor Faughnan said: “Road deaths still shatter Irish families and Irish communities far too often. We have made a lot of progress compared to earlier years but we cannot be satisfied because every road death is avoidable.
“Initiatives like Project EDWARD point the way to the future.
“It’s a particularly timely reminder to motorists of the importance of driving safely as, unfortunately, we’re moving into the time of year when accidents are more likely because of reduced daylight and changeable driving conditions.
“We want to live in a country where no-one dies on our roads. Every driver and every road user knows what we have to do to bring that about.
“It starts with us, and that is why I am supporting Project EDWARD and making the promise to do my part.”