Road deaths total 127 in first six months of the year, figures reveal

A TOTAL of 127 people were killed on the roads in the first six months of the year, down by 14 on the same period last year, figures released yesterday by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) reveal.

However, road deaths in March, April and May were up by more than a third compared with the same period in 2008, which, RSA chief executive Noel Brett said, was a “worrying trend”.

Men made up the vast majority (80 per cent) of those killed, while almost a third of all drivers killed were aged between 17 and 25. Men and young drivers remained a “particularly vulnerable” category, the RSA said.

More than half of all fatal crashes took place at the weekend, with late Saturday night into early Sunday being the worst time.

Drivers and passengers made up two-thirds of those killed in the first six months of 2009. Twenty pedestrians, 19 motorcyclists and four cyclists were also killed.

The RSA has also warned that July is the “most lethal” month of the year to use the roads. Between 1999 and 2008 a total of 376 people were killed on the roads in July.

Mr Brett said there was “room for improvement” and it was critical that every individual made a big effort to slow down.

“If we are to prevent another 127 funerals this year we have to take a good, hard look at our behaviour,” he said.

“We can start by slowing down because we simply drive too fast to cope with the unexpected in this country,” he said.

The RSA has had its advertising budget cut by more than 80 per cent from €5.4 million in 2008 to €1 million. However, it will carry out a television and radio anti-speeding advertising campaign, The Faster the Speed, the Bigger the Mess, over the next six months.

Last year saw the lowest number of deaths on Irish roads – 279 – in almost 50 years.