For so long, we have been only too familiar with news reports of multiple deaths every week, people killed and seriously injured as a result of collisions on our roads, stories of grieving families, lives shattered and communities in disbelief.
by Gay Byrne, Chairman of the Road Safety Authority
The year just gone has been one of learning for every single one of us who uses the roads. Although last year showed a change in the numbers – and I stress ‘numbers’ – of lives lost on our roads, it did not change the simple facts of road deaths. The numbers may change, but the causes of road deaths stay the same.
Speed kills. Drink driving kills. Non-wearing of seatbelts dramatically reduces your chances in a collision. Driver fatigue can be as fatal as drink driving but still there are drivers who think that they can fight sleep at the wheel. We at the Road Safety Authority (RSA) might sound like we never change our tune but we do this with each and every person who uses the roads in the foremost of our minds.
The RSA works with many agencies to reduce deaths and injuries on our roads, and we all – An Garda Síochána, the Department of Transport, the National Roads Authority – have a role to play in making our roads safer for everyone. But the most important person that can help us to reduce deaths and injuries on our roads is you. Last year saw the lowest road deaths on record for the second consecutive year. The Road Safety Strategy 2007 to 2012 set a target to reduce road deaths to a monthly average of 21 per month by 2012. In 2009, the monthly average deaths on our roads were 19. For this, I thank you. Because of you, fewer families are grieving for a loved one who died needlessly on the roads. More people than ever are in support of a lower drink drive limit to protect every one of us who uses the roads. Seatbelt wearing rates have increased and awareness of other high-risk factors such as driver fatigue is growing steadily.
Ask Yourself
Behaviour is changing but one thing remains constant – road safety is personal. It’s personal to every one of us who gets behind the wheel of the car, or goes for a walk at night, or cycles to and from their homes. It’s personal because we all want to complete these journeys, no matter how short. It’s personal because we all have a responsibility when using the road to make sure that we get home safely. And it’s personal because no-one else can change our behaviour but us.
The next time you sit into your car, ask yourself this – am I doing everything within my power to ensure my safety and the safety of my passengers? Will that one drink I just had in the pub be the difference between getting home safely and spending my life in a wheelchair? In my rush to get home quickly or in my efforts to impress my friends, will I be able to deal with what’s around that corner if I’m driving too fast? And if I feel sleepy at the wheel of the car and ignore the signs, could I be the cause of my own or someone else’s death when my car veers out of control?
If you are ever in any doubt about your answer to any of these questions, I would ask you to visit the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire where the staff work with patients, both adults and children, for weeks, months and years to rebuild lives shattered by dangerous driving. Some will admit that they are victims of their own actions but others are there because one day, someone else made a bad decision when they got behind the wheel of the car. And so everything changes in a split second. Lives changed, dreams and hopes shattered by a bad decision.
If you could take just one thing from me now, it is this – don’t make a bad decision. Take responsibility for your actions when you are using the road. Yes, things have improved dramatically in the past decade and you have played a significant role in this. But people still die on our roads every week. And you are not invincible, you are not immune to the effects of alcohol on your senses, you are not ‘ok to drive for just another few miles’ when you feel tired at the wheel. You are a father, mother, son or daughter and your family does not want to get that phone call.
