Even small changes can reduce road deaths

After almost a decade of steady decline, the number of deaths on Irish roads is increasing again, with nearly 60 so far this year, including considerable and tragic loss of life last week. While it is reassuring that road deaths in this country are at the lower end compared with most other European Union countries, it is crucial that complacency does not set in and that every effort is made to reverse the latest trend.

According to recent EU-wide analysis, car occupants in Ireland account for most road traffic deaths, at a higher percentage than the bloc. The distribution of road deaths across age groups in Ireland is also different from that of the EU, with those aged 18 to 24 over-represented here, a high proportion of whom are men.

Further, the majority of road deaths in Ireland happen on rural roads compared with the EU as a whole, with a higher proportion at night, during the weekend and on wet roads.

With this information and other available data, it is important that a targeted campaign be aimed at all road users, but particularly young men who drive in rural areas in poor weather at night and at the weekend, to reverse the current worrying trend.

Rural roads can be dangerous compared with others. They often lack central or side barriers, allow for greater speed and there are weight differentials between the vehicles that use them.

Single-vehicle crashes, where a fatigued driver misjudges a turn and runs off the road, are common. Head-on collisions frequently happen and are often deadly.

The self-reported seatbelt wearing rate by passengers in the back seats in Ireland is also lower than the European average.

Rural roads can and are being made safer with interventions that do not need to be costly. Road safety audits and analysis of high-risk locations, setting appropriate speed limits and enforcing them, creating separated paths for cyclists and walkers and removing obstacles at the roadside are among the measures that can and should be done.

While population density in Ireland is lower than the EU average and the population here is more significantly settled in rural areas, other countries have achieved significant improvements based on simple changes.

The maximum speed limit on Ireland’s rural roads, for example, is higher than in most other EU countries. France, Spain and the Belgian region of Flanders have reduced the speed limit across their entire rural road network. Sweden has invested heavily in central barriers and a safety-first design. In Scotland, experiments with special road markings for motorcyclists to guide them through sharp turns have achieved remarkable results. In regions in Poland, 800km of high-quality cycle routes have been built in five years.

The main cause of an accident is speed, followed by other issues such as driving while under the influence of drink or drugs, being distracted at the wheel by mobile devices, in-car radios or personal navigation devices.

With political leadership and the appropriate investment of time and resources, even small changes can make a big difference.