21 June 2011
EU Report Confirms Ireland 6th Safest Country in Europe
Road Deaths Halved in Last Decade
A new report published by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) in Brussels today Tuesday 21st June 2011 shows that Ireland has made remarkable road safety progress over the last decade and is now the sixth safest country out of 27 EU Member states.
The report (5th Road Safety PIN Report) shows that since 2001, Ireland has seen a rapid improvement in road safety. A total of 411 people were killed on Irish roads in 2001 compared to 212 in 2010 which represents a 48% cut in road deaths. Only ten other countries, out of 27 EU member states, managed to achieve or improve on this level of reduction in road deaths.
The ETSC report also shows that road deaths in Ireland dropped by 11% between 2009 and 2010 and as a result, Ireland has moved up one place in the road safety rankings in the EU. Ireland is now the sixth safest country out of 27 EU Member states, with 47 deaths per million population. The five countries with better track records than Ireland remain Sweden (28 deaths per million), the UK, Malta, The Netherlands and Germany. Ireland’s roads are now safer than roads in Australia (61) and the USA (107).
Mr. Noel Brett, Chief Executive, Road Safety Authority commented on the ETSC report by praising the Irish public for their achievements: “Yet again road users in Ireland have shown that by taking road safety into the heart of their communities, many lives can be saved and injuries prevented. Your achievement is remarkable and you have become an example to the rest of Europe and indeed the world by your responsible actions on the roads. But these achievements can be easily taken away from us if we allow ourselves to become complacent. There is still a big gap between Ireland and the safest counties in Europe.
“So I would ask you all to keep up the great work and to renew your efforts to stay safe on the roads. Already this year, your efforts are showing results with 16 fewer deaths on our roads to date compared with the same period last year. If I could pick three areas for improvement it would be to slow down, don’t use a mobile phone while driving and wear a high visibility jacket when out cycling, biking or walking.”
Great progress has been made towards improving road safety across the EU. Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Spain, Luxembourg, Sweden, France and Slovenia all reached the EU Commission target of achieving a 50% reduction in road deaths throughout the EU by 2010. Ireland very nearly made it with a reduction of 48%, but was above the EU average of 43% in the EU27.
At EU level, the overall reduction in deaths has been remarkable, amounting to over 100,000 deaths since 2001. Furthermore, the benefits to society are estimated at 176 billion euro. “These figures show the immense value to society of working to make using the roads safer. The potential for saving is far from being exhausted, particularly as important safety measures remain to be fully implemented, or are still being developed. If we are able to reach the new EU 2020 target of a further 50% reduction in road deaths, the benefit to society could be an additional 182 billion euro,” said Richard Allsop, ETSC, PIN Programme Chairman.
Mr. Brett concluded, “The ETSC report highlights Ireland’s efforts to improve safety on rural roads, the safety of vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, and reduce serious injuries. The overall reductions in road deaths in Ireland were better than EU average reductions which is a significant achievement.”
In particular there has been a:
55% drop in pedestrian deaths since 2001
43% drop in motorcyclist deaths since 2001 and
At 40%, Ireland has the highest bicycle helmet wearing rate in the EU (among the 10 EU countries where data is available)
In June of last year, Ireland and Estonia were recognised with the “2010 Road Safety PIN Award” by the ETSC for their sustained efforts in reducing road deaths. This year the title was passed onto Sweden and Lithuania by Ireland in Brussels.
A copy of the ETSC 5th PIN Report (2011), 2010 Road Safety Target Outcome: 100 000 fewer deaths since 2001 can be downloaded from the following link http://www.etsc.eu/PIN-publications.php
Countries Awarded the ETSC PIN Award
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For more information please contact:
The Communications Office;
Road Safety Authority: 09625132;
Or Mircea Steriu, ETSC Communications Officer, mircea.steriu@etsc.eu, Tel: +32 (0)2 230.41.06.
(1) The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) is a Brussels-based independent non-profit making organisation dedicated to the reduction of the number and severity of transport crashes in Europe. The ETSC seeks to identify and promote research-based measures with a high safety potential. It brings together 41 national and international organisations concerned with transport safety from across Europe. www.etsc.eu
(2) The Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) was launched in June 2006 to compare country road safety performances. It currently includes the 27 countries of the EU, as well as Israel, Norway and Switzerland. The Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) receives financial support from the Swedish Transport Administration, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Toyota Motor Europe. www.etsc.eu/PIN