Significant fall in road deaths this year

Road deaths for the early part of this year are significantly down on last year and Ireland is on target for road fatality levels which are among the lowest in Europe, it has emerged. Up to yesterday morning 50 people had been killed on the Republic's roads, 21 fewer than the first two months of 2006 - which was itself a near record, with the second lowest number of fatalities since 1965.

Road Safety Authority (RSA)chief executive Noel Brett welcomed the figures which he said were the continuation of a trend which started with the introduction of random breath testing in mid-2006.

There was a 28 per cent reduction in fatalities from July to December, following the introduction of random breath testing, and an overall reduction of 8 per cent in road fatalities for the whole year.

Mr Brett told The Irish Times: "The best practice was that five to six people per 100,000 of population die on the roads in Europe. In Ireland the figure has recently been as high as 11 people per 100,000 of population, and is currently at about 8.7."

However, with measures coming this year including the deployment of speed cameras; new regulation in the driver instructor industry; privatised driving tests and continuing random breath testing, the environment for offenders is going to be increasingly difficult.

In 2006, some 368 people were killed in road crashes. Going back to 1965, only 2003 had a lower figure, at 335. But should the trend continue, with about 10 fewer people a month being killed, the overall figure for 2007 could be as low as 248.

While Mr Brett warned of the dangers of complacency, he said there was a growing awareness of the dangers of speed and the presence of gardaí with increased powers on the roads.

"There are 20 more people alive this month and they will never know who they are, but many more lives would have been lost if random breath testing had not been brought in and awareness increased through education campaigns and the media," he said.

The news was welcomed by Fine Gael transport spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell who said: "The only pity was that Martin Cullen had to be dragged kicking and screaming to introduce random breath testing after we had been told for years that there was a legal impediment to it."

She said the figures proved what she had consistently maintained - "that enforcement was the key". She joined Mr Brett in warning against complacency and said reductions in deaths "will only be maintained in the long term by continued enforcement and the remaining elements of the strategy".