2011 News

A resource for journalists providing up-to-date press releases, images and contact details for our press room

01 January 2011

Road Deaths Fall for 5th Consecutive Year

2010 safest year since road deaths first recorded in 1959.

Provisional road casualty figures for 2010 published today, Saturday 1st January 2010, reveal that road deaths have fallen for their fifth consecutive year and for the third year in a row road deaths have dropped to their lowest levels since road deaths were first recorded in 1959.

A total of 212 people tragically lost their lives on Irish roads in 2010. This is 26 fewer fatalities compared to 238 deaths last year.

Commenting on the release of the provisional figures Mr. Gay Byrne, Chairman, Road Safety Authority said,

“Despite all the doom and gloom that’s around at the moment - the banking saga, the jobs crisis and thousands of people now in negative equity - there is at least one success story that’s come out of the last decade. One thing each one of us can be proud of. Something for which we can all say, ‘I was a part of that’. What is it? Lives saved on our roads. It is a remarkable achievement. Your achievement. Well done and thank you. Much has been achieved over the past few years, but there is still work to be done and this work cannot be done without your help.”

Mr. Byrne added, “Today we look to the next 12 months with the hope that we will save more lives and prevent further grief and suffering for families and communities across the country. But none of this is possible without the commitment and efforts of all of us who use the roads.”

“I am asking every road-user to set their own personal target to keep up this life-saving behaviour and prevent needless deaths on our roads. It’s not impossible - if we continue the behaviour we have seen over the past number of months and years, we could save many more lives in 2011. And this time, it could be the life of someone close to you.” Concluded Mr. Byrne.

Road deaths dropped by 11% in 2010 compared to 2009. A provisional breakdown of the casualty figures shows;

Table 1 Road Deaths by Road User Category 2010

Road User	No. Fatalities 2010	%
Pedestrian	44	21
Driver	91	43
Passenger	55	26
Motorcyclist	17	8
Cyclist	5	2
Total	212	100

Some of the key provisional statistics for 2010 include;

38% of road deaths were under 25 years of age.
57% of road deaths occurred at the weekend.
Sunday was the most dangerous day of the week with 54 road deaths
The hours between 6pm and 8pm were the most dangerous, with 27 deaths (13%)
The average monthly fatality rate in 2009 was 18 compared to 20 in 2009 and 23 in 2008.
The safest month of the year was December when 10 deaths occurred. This is also the safety month on record.
The worst month was October in which 36 people lost their lives
167 (79%) or those killed on the roads were male.

Ends
For further information, please contact:
The Communications Office, Road Safety Authority – 096 25008

Table 2. Road Deaths in Ireland 1959 to 2009

Year	No.Road Deaths
1959	306
1960	302
1961	332
1962	339
1963	335
1964	341
1965	356
1966	382
1967	416
1968	447
1969	462
1970	540
1971	576
1972	640
1973	592
1974	594
1975	586
1976	525
1977	583
1978	628
1979	614
1980	564
1981	572
1982	533
1983	535
1984	465
1985	410
1986	387
1987	462
1988	463
1989	460
1990	478
1991	445
1992	415
1993	431
1994	404
1995	437
1996	453
1997	472
1998	458
1999	413
2000	415