New road safety action plan aims to cut deaths in half by 2030 with projected €3.8billion investment during first phase
AN ambitious new safety plan aimed at slashing road deaths by 50 per cent by 2030 has been launched by the Government.
And the ten-year strategy could see the introduction of a system that would allow the public to upload videos of other motorists engaged in dangerous driving and risky behaviour.
The Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030 aims to reduce annual road death in Ireland from 144 to 72 or lower, alongside reducing serious injuries from 1,259 to 630 or lower by 2030.
The plan will be implemented in three stages, with a projected €3.8billion investment estimated during the first phase, which will run until 2024.
This phase includes some ambitious short-term goals, with a target set for a 15 per cent reduction in road deaths over the next three years.
The initial stage of the plan expects to see road deaths drop from 144 to 122 or lower by 2024, alongside a 10 per cent dip in serious injuries, from 1,259 to 1,133 or lower.
A raft of new measures will under consideration to achieve the targets will include expanding 30km/h limits in urban areas and increasing sanctions for drug and alcohol use while driving.
A working group will also review the penalties for serious road traffic offences, along with examining the expansion of speed management measures across the country’s road network, such as the use of periodic speed limits at schools, vehicle activated signs and average speed cameras at appropriate high-risk locations.
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They will also “explore the potential of an online portal for road users to upload footage of road traffic offences to assist prosecutions”, along with improving the effectiveness of the State’s mobile speed camera system.
The strategy also includes a target of reducing the number of learner car drivers who hold a third or subsequent learner permit from 24.6 per cent to under 10 per cent by 2024.
It is also planned that by 2025 some 1,000km of segregated walking and cycling facilities will be constructed or under construction across the road network, to provide safe cycling and walking arrangements for users of all ages.
The new strategy is seen as the first step in eliminating all road deaths and serious injuries on Irish roads by the year 2050.
VISION ZERO
Commenting on the strategy, Transport Minister, Eamon Ryan said: “This strategy will be the first stage on our journey to achieving Vision Zero, that is no road deaths or serious injuries by 2050. It is ambitious.
“That is why we have set a target of reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries by half by 2030. This strategy prioritises the safety of those who are most vulnerable, ensuring their right to travel the roads safely is protected.
“It also recognises that road safety policy does not exist in a vacuum; it must reflect wider societal change and social needs. Concerns about climate change and the need to change our behaviour are being reflected in increased growth in active travel across Ireland.
“We need to encourage more people to use sustainable forms of transport, e.g., cycling, walking and using public transport, and this must be supported in our strategic thinking around road safety.”
Last year, Ireland was among just six European countries to experience an increase in road deaths despite significantly reduced pandemic traffic volumes.
SAVING LIVES AND PREVENTING INJURIES
Junior Minister Hildegarde Naughton added: “At the heart of this Road Safety Strategy is change. How we use our roads is changing. So how we understand and think about road safety needs to change.
“We must adjust our attitudes and behaviours to take account of the fact that no one form of transport takes primacy over another. Each and every road user is entitled to use our roads and not have their safety or life put at risk due to others’ dangerous behaviour.
“This Road Safety Strategy sets out the steps we need to take to reduce deaths and serious injuries by half over the next decade and provides the metrics that will measure our progress.
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“However, the core of the strategy is not about words or numbers on a page, but about saving lives and preventing injuries. It is about people. This strategy is for all those who use our roads, and who have the right to do so safely.”
Since 1959, over 24,660 people have died on Irish roads, with more than 84,980 people seriously injured since 1977 - the equivalent of the population of Galway.
