Safety drive helps slash deaths

The number of deaths due to accidents on Meath's roads has been slashed by half in the space of a year - and Meath County Council is claiming that a major factor in the drop is its intensive drive to educate road-users in all categories of the community. Six people died on the county's roads during 2010, down from 12 in 2009. The council has welcomed the steady decline in road deaths and says its successive three-year road safety plans are showing real results. The county, in common with other areas in the country, returned high fatality figures five years ago. In 2005, a total of 30 people lost their lives on the roads of Meath. Meath County Manager Tom Dowling welcomed the big fall in road fatalities. He said he was pleased that the road safety message appeared to be getting through to people. However, he cautioned that “we should never become complacent; there is no acceptable level of death or injury except zero and, therefore, the council will continue with its commitment to make road safety a priority in County Meath.†The county safety plan, initiated by Meath County Council and implemented through its road safety officer Michael Finnegan, is based on three aspects of road safety - education, engineering and enforcement. This week, Mr Finnegan welcomed the fall in the number of people losing their lives in road accidents. “There are a number of aspects which would explain the fall in road deaths. One is the opening of the M3 motorway because motorways are considered a big contributor to safer driving, and another is education. Although all sections of the county plan are important, there is a huge emphasis on education. We have completed a major education programme in conjunction with the Health Promotion Section of the HSE, through Dr Nazih Eldin. We targeted schools, colleges, clubs, Foróige and the Traveller community,†he said. “Also, within the plan itself, we target three major engineering projects in areas of the county and, in fact, that number has been well exceeded since 2006â€, he said. However, Mr Finnegan, a former chief superintendent of the Louth-Meath Garda Division, said there were still some areas of concern about the driving habits of some road-users. “We are still seeing quite a bit of speeding and we are certain the new speed cameras will make an improvement in that area. Also, despite all the advice, large numbers of people are using or holding their mobile phones while driving. We all need to think about the consequences of this type of behaviour.†The county's safety officer said that the engineering programme to improve road safety was “a rolling oneâ€. During the past year, major projects to improve road safety have taken place at Staholmog, at Stokes Cross in Castletown; at Carnacop, Castletown; Carlanstown village (lighting, pedestrian crossing), the Slane Road out of Navan (pedestrian crossing), and Kentstown village (ramps, junction realignment). He praised his colleagues in Meath County Council for their “dedication and commitment†to improving road safety and he also thanked An Garda Siochána and the HSE for their co-operation and assistance in enforcement and education throughout 2010. The number of deaths on Meath roads in the three-year period 2007-2009 inclusive was 34, an average of 11.3 per year compared to 63 deaths in the three years 2004-2006 inclusive (an average of 21 per year). The reduction of 47 per cent far outstrips the target set by the county council in its Road Safety Plan 2007-2009. The targeted reduction over the three years had been set at 25 per cent.