Road Safety Authority “no longer fit for purpose” says 27 groups focused on road safety Nearly 30 road safety, cycling and pedestrian campaign groups from across the country have said that they “have lost confidence” in the Road Safety Authority because of the sharp increase in road deaths and that they think it is “no longer fit for purpose”.
In a joint statement the groups said: “There are few communities in Ireland who have not experienced the devastation caused by road traffic collisions. 58 people have been killed on our roads so far this year, with many more having survived collisions only to be left with serious physical and mental injury.”
“We, the undersigned, campaign for improved road safety measures in our rural and urban communities, in our villages, towns and cities. We want safe roads and streets where everyone can walk, cycle and drive safely.The Road Safety Authority is the lead agency for road safety in Ireland and we have lost confidence in it. We believe it is no longer fit for purpose,” the groups said.
The statement was released as the Department of Transport is currently consulting on the future of the Road Safety Authority (RSA). The public consultation is due to end this Friday, April 5th.
The RSA, which was set up in 2006, is a State agency under the remit of, but independent of, the Department of Transport.
The groups said that the RSA is responsible for the implementation of the national Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030, which has the primary aim to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on Irish roads by 50% by 2030, but that it is failing in this task.
“The number of deaths on our roads is not reducing. It is worsening. 16 more people have been killed this year than during the same period last year. The RSA is failing in its core mission,” the joint statement said.
The groups said that the RSA’s core function is to promote, educate and increase awareness of road safety but it is focusing on people with “the least capacity to make any difference to road safety.”
“On Child Safety Day, the Road Safety Authority distributed over 40,000 high visibility vests to pre-schools in the country, focusing on the potential victims of road violence, those with the least responsibility and the least capacity to make any difference to road safety,” the groups said.
The groups said that redesigning roads to prioritise road safety for everyone with walking and cycling infrastructure and safer design is “met with significant local opposition – yet the Road Safety Authority has remained silent in these debates.”
“Lenient sentencing and unsound court arguments have undermined the deterrence of proper enforcement, yet the Road Safety Authority has remained silent on this too,” the groups said.
The statement was signed by A Playful City, Cork Cycling Campaign, Cork Commuter Coalition, Calm Crumlin Road, Bike Deansgrange, Wee Greenway Initiative Donegal, Drogheda Cycling Campaign, I BIKE Dublin, Dublin Commuter Coalition, Dublin Cycling Campaign, Dublin 12 Cycle Bus, The Bike Hub, Dun Laoghaire Living Streets, Better Ennis, Fingal Cycling Campaign, Galway Cycle Bus, Galway Cycling Campaign, Gorey Pedestrian and Cycling Association, Kerry Cycling Campaign, Limerick Cycle Bus, Limerick Cycling Campaign, Limerick Pedestrian Network, Navan Cycling Initiative, MÓRAction Oranmore, Skerries Cycling Initiative, 15 Minute Westport and the Waterford Bicycle Users Group.
The joint statement also highlighted the on-going issue of the RSA not releasing data to road safety researchers. They said: “Historic road collision data is not being made available to road safety auditors. Public reports are framed around the victim of road collisions and their mode of transport rather than the cause. The RSA is not providing up-to-date and comprehensive data which can be used to make our roads safer.”
The groups added: “At the time of writing, 58 people have been killed on our roads in 2024. By the time you have read this, that number will likely have increased. This number is not just a statistic. Every single person killed on our roads leaves behind family, friends and a community, whose lives are changed forever.”
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