Increase in Northern Ireland road deaths 'as fewer TV safety adverts'

The chairman of Road Safe NI has linked a reduction in TV advertising on road safety campaigns to an increase in the number of road deaths.

PSNI figures show a total of 46 deaths on Northern Ireland's road for the year so far, 18 more than the same timeframe last year.

"There can be many aspects to this here," Davy Jackson from the road safety charity told UTV.

"Certainly we've noticed a reduction in the amount of advertising on TV about road safety - it's no secret that the year we had the least road deaths on our roads was the year the department were spending most on TV advertising road safety.

"Unfortunately their budget has been cut and they're feeling as frustrated as we are.

"Police budgets are being cut and they're feeling as frustrated as we are too, they're trying their best with what they have but there can be many factors causing this.

"But it's not looking good this year, sitting at 46 as we sit today."

PSNI Chief Inspector Graham Dodds, Head of Road Policing, has described the latest figures for this year as "quite shocking".

Police are urging drivers to slow down, pay attention and stop taking risks.

"Every time you hear about a fatal or serious collision on the news, there is a family, a circle of friends, a community plunged into mourning," said Chief Inspector Dodds.

“These figures show that we as a society we are still not taking road safety seriously enough. The responsibility for making our roads a safer place remains one that we all share.

“Inattention and speed, or more accurately, excessive speed for the conditions and drink or drug driving, are consistently the principal causes of the most serious road traffic collisions in which people are killed or seriously injured on roads in Northern Ireland.

“It is shocking that on just one day alone, Saturday 12 August, one driver was arrested after being stopped travelling at 104 mph - he was also found to be under the influence of alcohol.

"A restricted (R) driver was prosecuted for driving at 96mph when the maximum speed they should have been travelling at was 45mph.

“Speeding is not just a low-level crime, it’s dangerous. It is a serious threat to other road users. Speeding causes crashes. In a crash the most vulnerable thing on the road is you.

“Removing excess speed from the road safety equation should be the easiest thing that every road user can do.

“If we all stop speeding, more people live. If we all stop speeding, fewer people have to contend with life-changing injuries.

“Reducing deaths and serious injury on our roads is a policing priority and we will continue to target the small minority of people who continue to disregard the laws, whether speeding, driving without due care and attention, not wearing seatbelts, driving after taking drink or drugs, or driving while using a mobile telephone.

“We all share the responsibility to prevent deaths and serious injuries on our roads."

A spokesperson from the Department for Infrastructure said: “As a result of budget constraints and with around 95% of the Department’s resource budget committed to deliver essential, front-line services; the vast majority of which are regulated, statutory, or contractually obliged, there has been no available budget for traditional road safety advertising campaigns.

"Nevertheless, the Department is continuing to share its road safety advertising campaigns across social media platforms.

Evidence shows that more than 95% of road deaths are due to human error so as a society, we need to have more conversations about what we can all do on a personal level to be the best road users that we can be, whether we are travelling on foot or on wheels.

"As part of the Road Safety Strategy, the Department invites people to do that by supporting ‘Share the Road to Zero’.

"Details of how to do that are here: www.sharetheroadtozero.com

"Each road death is a tragedy for the families and communities involved.

"By being more aware of our personal responsibilities and being respectful of other road users, we can all help to reduce road deaths and ensure everyone gets to their destination safely.”

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