Road deaths fall to a historic low for this year

THE NUMBER of people killed on the Republic's roads has dropped to an historic low, according to the latest figures from the Garda. The provisional figures for road deaths up to 9am yesterday was 252, which is 25 fewer than the total at the similar date in 2007, and on course to dip below 300 for the first time in more than 45 years.

However, predictions for record lows in the numbers of people killed come with a strong warning from the Road Safety Authority which said the numbers were also below 300 at this time last year, when they were followed by 39 deaths in December, one of the worst Decembers for at least eight years. The eventual outcome in 2007 was 338 people killed, with almost 9,000 people injured.

But this year's figures indicate that at 9am yesterday the total number of people killed was 86 fewer than the total outcome for 2007, and 48 below the significant milestone of 300 per year.

According to the Garda, the lowest number of deaths in recent years was in 2003 - following the introduction of penalty points in October 2002 - when 335 people lost their lives. In the 1990s the figures were generally in the 400s while in the 1980s they were generally in the 500s. In the 1970s road deaths topped 600, while the lowest number recorded in the current format compiled by the Garda was 332 in 1961.

Commenting on the figures Brian Farrell of the Road Safety Authority said the most important issue at present was the fight against "complacency".

"A lot can go wrong between now and the end of the year," he said. But he acknowledged that road deaths have been falling in a sustained manner over recent years, to an average monthly toll of about 24.

"I think we can say there is something happening in terms of people changing their behaviour and this appears to be sustained in a way that the brief six-month reduction after the introduction of penalty points, was not," he said.

Farrell said he did not believe it was drink driving laws or any single issue which was causing the downfall, but concentration of all measures including education and driver training, public awareness, enforcement and engineering for better roads.