With road safety very much in the news at present, there are lots of views being expressed about the most effective ways to make Irish roads safer. As of September 4th there had been 127 deaths on the road in the Republic this year, up by 23 on the same period for 2022. 

The main emphasis is on speed reduction and of course statistics back this up especially in built-up areas. However, many drivers are critical that government policy appears to be centred around speed limit reduction and the deployment of more speed vans, which are all too often located in locations where accidents are infrequent, such as motorways and dual carriage ways. 

Some interesting analysis of accidents has been produced by the Department for Transport in the UK. It has published data on causes of reported traffic collisions between 2012 and 2021 and found that the highest number, 186,009, was due to cars turning right, making it the most dangerous manoeuvre. Stopping or slowing down came in second and pulling away third. 

These statistics show that a reduction in speed limits and improved enforcement will only go some way to solving road safety problems. Local roads make up 85% of the national road network and account for 75% of fatalities in Ireland. Many of these country roads lack the required infrastructure in terms of road markings, lighting and safe junction design. 

So while speed reduction is part of the solution, it will not provide a quick fix and without the required infrastructure investment its effects will not be optimised.