Ireland's road safety czars have rolled out the second phase of the 'Action Plan 2025-2027 for the Government's Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030.' This new phase will include more changes to speed limits and aims to cut the number of deaths on our roads by 50 per cent by the end of this decade.
What's included in this phase of the plan?
According to the document released by the Department of Transport today, the plan includes 12 primary actions and 77 supplementary actions. The primary actions include the likes of more investment in sustainable transport (in other words, moving more people onto public transport to reduce traffic volumes), 'safer default speed limits' which means more cuts to speed limits on minor roads, improved data-sharing between government agencies, more camera-based enforcement, and more road safety education, designed to work across a person's entire life.
Will all that work?
That remains to be seen, but there seems to be little in the way of truly practical effort, such as improvements to rural road surfaces and crash barriers, and the emphasis on 'camera-based enforcement' is a troubling one, as turning road safety over to the robots doesn't seem like a step in the right direction.
What's the Government saying?
Minister for Transport, Darragh O'Brien, said: “I am pleased to publish the Phase 2 Action Plan of the Road Safety Strategy, which delivers on the Government's continuing commitment to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on our roads. As we are all painfully aware, there has been an increase in road deaths since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, through the work of stakeholders from across the sector, the numbers have been slowly improving since 2023 and it is important that we sustain and accelerate this progress. This Plan sets out how we will achieve this and, at its centre, includes 12 actions that we believe can have a potentially transformative impact on road safety in this country in the coming years.”
Jim O'Callaghan, Minister for Justice, speaking on behalf of the Gardai, said: “Road safety is a shared responsibility and one which this Government takes very seriously. We must take the necessary actions that together can improve driver behaviour and ultimately save lives on our roads. “Ongoing enforcement of road safety laws by An Garda Síochána, the use of improved technology and the continued enhancement of the network of mobile, static and average speed cameras are important aspects of the Road Safety Strategy. They work together with other actions in this strategy to improve road design, driver behaviour and education, severity of penalties, and speed limits. I welcome the launch of this next phase of the Road Safety Strategy. While challenges remain, working collaboratively, we can sustain the progress recently evidenced and significantly reduce deaths and serious injuries on our roads. As always, I would urge everyone to slow down, pay attention and help us all travel safely.”