Road Safety Authority launches ‘gift a lift’ Christmas campaign

Sixteen families may face the “absolute misery of an unnecessary death” on the roads over the next month if the pattern of recent years is repeated, road safety campaigners have warned.

Figures issued by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) at the launch of its annual Christmas campaign show 292 people have been killed on the roads in the months of November and December since 2008. RSA statistician Velma Burns said this averaged 16 lives lost in each of these two months every year.

Alcohol was a factor in 38 per cent of road fatalities in the two-month run-up to Christmas since 2008

Minister for Transport Shane Ross appealed to people “who refuse to address their irresponsible behaviour” – including, he said, drunk pedestrians – to reconsider the possibility of being killed or causing some family to lose a loved one.

Ms Burns said alcohol was a factor in 38 per cent of road fatalities in the two-month run-up to Christmas since 2008, with counties Dublin, Cork and Galway accounting for 32 per cent of the deaths.

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Commenting on the figures, Mr Ross said there was no room for special pleading . He said his drink driving Bill currently before the Dáil would ensure all drivers over the legal alcohol limit would face some time disqualified from driving, as opposed to just a fine. “It staggers me that there is any opposition to it at all”, he said.

Assistant Garda commissioner Michael Finn said the drink-driving campaign would get under way this weekend and he warned drivers that the recent Garda overtime cuts would not affect checkpoints.

He said the force was determined to have night-time checks in all areas and would also be stopping drivers in the mornings to make sure they were fit to drive. Last year, he pointed out, 11 per cent of fatal crashes happened on the morning after a driver had been drinking.

Figures released by the Garda show 7,428 drivers were arrested for “driving under the influence” up to the end of October this year, compared with 6,637 over the same period last year. This represents a 12 per cent increase.

The RSA has also teamed up with the Vintners' Federation of Ireland to distribute 50,000 high-visibility jackets to almost 4,000 publicans

Moyagh Murdock, chief executive of the RSA, asked people to “gift a lift” this Christmas by paying for a taxi or collecting someone who has been out at a get-together.

High-visibility jackets

The RSA has also teamed up with the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland to distribute 50,000 high-visibility jackets to almost 4,000 publicans to give out free of charge to customers to help them get home safely over the Christmas and New Year period. She said the initiative was sponsored by Coca Cola which will again offer free soft drinks, water or juice to designated drivers.

Mr Ross said the State’s road builder, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), should spend more of its budget on maintenance work. The RSA has said issues with the driver’s environment, such as the condition of the road, are becoming an increasing issue in collisions.

TII has said on a number of occasions it has not been given enough funding from the Government to provide adequate maintenance of roads

Asked at the campaign launch if the State would have a legal or moral responsibility to road-tax paying motorists in the event of a crash, Mr Ross said “No.”

“We have encouraged them [TII] to spend more money on road safety. On every possible occasion I say in the Dáil, whenever a safety issues comes up, that TII should be spending more money.”

He said a VAT rebate due to be paid to TII as a result of a European court judgment on VAT on toll charges would be spent on road safety. The amount involved is understood to be in the region of €100 million.

TII has said on a number of occasions it has not been given enough funding from the Government to provide adequate maintenance of roads.