Ireland’s leadership on road safety is “a model for the European Union”

19 June 2019

Story from the ETSC.

Ireland is the winner of this year’s European Transport Safety Council Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) award. The annual award is presented to a European country that has demonstrated continued progress on road safety combined with a strategic approach to tackling the problem across government.

The award will be presented to Shane Ross, the Irish Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport at an event in Brussels.

Ireland was the second safest European Union Member State in 2018, in terms of road mortality (road deaths per million inhabitants) and has moved up five places in the ranking of EU countries since 2010 when it held 7th place. In terms of numbers killed, Ireland has cut annual deaths by more than 30% since 2010. By comparison, deaths increased in other relatively safe countries over the same period including Sweden and the Netherlands.

According to ETSC, Ireland’s performance has been driven by the establishment of a specific government road safety agency (Road Safety Authority – RSA), a long-term strategic plan to cut road deaths with specific targets, regular evaluation and follow-up, and a multi-agency approach to delivery across government. In recent years considerable efforts have been put in place on tackling dangerous speeding, as well as drink-driving.

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