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40 more people will die on Irish roads this year compared to 2023 if trend continues, Chambers says

Motorists are being asked to slow down and keep a safe distance from other road users this Easter Bank Holiday weekend.

FORTY MORE PEOPLE than last year will be killed by the end of this year if current trends persist, Minister of State at the Department of Transport Jack Chambers has said. 

Chambers, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and An Garda Síochána are today calling on motorists to slow down and keep a safe distance from other road users this Easter Bank Holiday weekend. 

Provisional analysis from the RSA shows that 54 lives have been lost on Irish roads to date this year, 12 more than on this date last year.

Speaking to reporters at a joint press conference with RSA and An Garda Síochána, Chambers said last year’s trend of road fatalities has persisted into this year. 

“At the moment, based on current trends, we’re heading for upwards of over 40 more people killed on our roads in 2024, which would be well over 200 people,” he said. 

“That’s of serious concern to me,” Chambers said. 

The Junior Minister said there is a “very worrying, increased trend of drug driving” being detected at checkpoints. 

He added: “What’s important is that we have more checkpoints, strengthened enforcement and serious consequences for those who ever get behind the wheel under the influence of a substance.” 

Cyclist safety

RSA research also shows that between 2018 and 2022, there were 1,327 cyclists seriously injured on Irish roads.

The RSA’s cyclist fatalities and serious injuries report shows that 82% of cyclists were seriously injured in multiple vehicle collisions, most commonly with a car or light goods vehicle.

Professional cyclist Imogen Cotter has experienced a serious collision while out on her bike. 

In January 2022, Cotter was out on a training ride when she was hit at 60km/h by a driver speeding on the wrong side of the road. She was travelling at 30km/h at the time and described the collision as “incredibly high impact”. 

She factured her femur, shattered her patella and broke the bones in her wrist, among other injuries. The incident resulted in two years of recovery with five surgeries and hundreds of hours of physiotherapy. 

imogen-cotter Imogen Cotter Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

“I was very lucky to survive,” Cotter told reporters this afternoon. 

“Eventually, I was able to get back on a bike, I signed another professional contract. My story is one of extreme luck in a very unlucky situation,” she said. 

Cotter said the driver of the car that struck her “never apologised, never reached out, never paid a fine, never got a point on his licence”. 

“He was driving the same car again a few weeks later, just repaired, and no consequences,” she said. 

Cotter said that while it might be easy to look and her and think she has made a great recovery, she has had “really difficult mental struggles coming back” from the experience. 

“I’ve suffered really badly with PTSD. I’m on a break from racing at the moment because it got really debilitating at the beginning of the year,” she said. 

“That’s the side of the impact of road traffic collisions that you don’t really hear that much.” 

‘Arrive alive’

Sam Waide, RSA chief executive also told the press conference today that everyone is being asked to “slow down over the bank holiday weekend”.

“Arrive alive, get home safely,” Waide said. 

“The weather is going to be poor, there’s going to be poor driving conditions, so that’s an even bigger ask for people to slow down and take more care.” 

Waide said there is a “seriously concerning” trend of road fatalities and serious injuries in Ireland this year. 

He said one of the reasons behind the trend is the “continued persistence of poor behaviour”. 

“There is a persistent use of alcohol and derugs while driving, there’s a persistent districted drive increase, so people need really need to sit up and take notice,” Waide said. 

“If your friend is getting into the car to drive you home and they’re under under the influence or they’re distracted, don’t get into the car because, really, they’re not your friend, they’re putting your life at risk,” he said. 

Waide said he would like to “encourage everyone to encourage each other for better behaviour because we need to turn the tide on poor behaviours, the killer behaviours”.

With reporting by Valerie Flynn

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    Mute Denis McClean
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    Mar 16th 2018, 1:10 PM

    Multiple carts before horses and fields with open gates come to mind.

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    Mute Paul O Faolain
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    Mar 16th 2018, 1:47 PM

    Was it pilot error or something else,does anyone know the answer

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    Mute Nauris Serna
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    Mar 16th 2018, 2:11 PM

    @Paul O Faolain: Ad with most accidents, it’s a sequence of events that led to it. Also, worth noting, that the purpose of the investigation is to prevent a repeat, rather than put a blame or liability on somebody.

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    Mute Crocodylus Pontifex
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    Mar 16th 2018, 2:53 PM

    @Paul O Faolain: The investigation is ongoing. There is a requirement to publish a report 1 year after the event if the case is still open which is what today’s update is about. A lot of things had to line up for this tragedy to happen so there will be no clear and simple answer.

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    Mute Hugh Legat
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    Mar 16th 2018, 3:39 PM

    Investigation ongoing. I would like to know is it correct the pilot repeatedly ignored radar alarms of an “imminent collision” take evasive action! It doesn’t matter it wasn’t on her chart.

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    Mute Ohhh_reeally
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    Mar 16th 2018, 4:01 PM

    @Hugh Legat: good man Hugh, “you’d like to know”. Do you mind me asking why you’d like to know? What use will the information be to you once you have it?

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    Mute pat winters
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    Mar 16th 2018, 5:10 PM

    @Hugh Legat: A lot of reading but avoiding the proverbial elephant (lighthouse) in the room. A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs, and safe entries to harbors; they also assist in aerial navigation.

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    Mute EUGENE 70 percent
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    Mar 16th 2018, 10:35 PM

    @Hugh Legat: is it the ground proximity warning system that gives the warning you refer to.

    Because an earlier finding was that Blackrock was not on whatever mapping the ground proximity warning uses.

    I see on RTE that the investigation is continuing and that warning systems are one of the things that will continue to be looked at.

    Best wait for the FINAL report before rushing to assume the pilot ignored warmings.

    Quite striking in my eyes to see a reccomendation for review of SYSTEMS and how the SAR operations operate “if it was as simple as a pilot ignoring a warning”.

    Can’t help but suspect that theres a POSSIBILITY that investigators see wider system flaws as at the very least a POTENTIAL contributory factor in the crash.

    They aren’t making recommendations for fun. They are likely making them because the investigation is uncovering things pointing them to a NEED for one.

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    Mute Quentin Moriarty
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    Mar 17th 2018, 9:09 AM

    @Ohhh_reeally: landing gear down 9 miles out
    Legat has a point

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    Mute Quentin Moriarty
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    Mar 16th 2018, 5:32 PM

    Altitude approach protocols a priority

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    Mute Martin Dale
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    Mar 16th 2018, 3:37 PM

    Proper order

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    Mute Neuville-Kepler62F
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    Mar 17th 2018, 6:24 PM

    “Professional” Pilot error is never a root cause of air accidents when viewed from an engineering perspective. It is a systems or process error. This is the second helicopter crash after Tramore. The root cause of both must be identified.

    Even at speed a good on board radar system will give ample advanced warning of impending collision and should intervene in aircraft flight to avoid it.

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