An Garda Síochána has issued an appeal for road safety as children return to school.
This appeal is to raise awareness about the increase in traffic that has been on Irish roads this week as primary and secondary schools reopen after the summer holidays.
The Gardaí want to highlight the importance to road users that the increase in traffic is not just vehicles, but also children walking and cycling to school.
They have described 2023 as a ‘devastating year for road safety to date’ as there have been 127 Deaths on Irish roads so far.
This number is 24 more than the same period 2022, and 36 more than the same period 2019.
1 in 5 (27) of all deaths so far this year were younger people aged between 6 and 20.
Since school buses have returned to roads, An Garda Síochána is appealing to all drivers to be patient and be careful if overtaking a stopped school bus as there may likely be children trying to cross the road.
An Garda Síochána also appeals to all parents who are driving to drop and collect their children to school to park legally in the vicinity of schools.
Also, do not block pedestrian crossings, don’t park blocking the visibility along the road, and don’t drop children from a car while sitting queuing in traffic.
The World Health Organisation has estimated that a 5% reduction in average speed could result in a 30% reduction in fatal collisions, and therefore reducing every motorists’ speed is essential to improving safety of roads.
A pedestrian or cyclist involved in a Road Traffic Collision with a vehicle travelling at 50 km/h has a 50% chance of living - A pedestrian or cyclist involved in a Road Traffic Collision with a vehicle travelling at 60 km/h has only a 10% chance of living.
