Mayo councillor calls for more speed vans to reduce road deaths

THE Chair of the Mayo Roads and Transportation SPC has called for more speed vans and deterrents to be located on Mayo's roads to help prevent further road deaths.

Nine road fatalities were recorded on the roads around Mayo in 2025, a reduction of 55 percent when compared to 2024 figures when a record 20 deaths were recorded. End of year figures released by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) show that there were 185 fatalities on public roads over the last 12 months; 14 more deaths compared to 2014.

While the number of deaths reduced in Mayo, the county recorded one of the highest number of fatalities with only Dublin (22), Cork (21), Galway (17) and Donegal, Limerick and Tipperary with ten deaths each recording more fatalities.

Ballina-based councillor and Chair of Mayo County Council's Roads and Transportation Strategic Policy Committee (SPC), Annie May Reape said that nine deaths were nine too many and called for greater action to reduce deaths on the county's roads.

Speed vans

Cllr Reape said she does not believe that the reduction of speed limits on local roads to 60km per hour has resulted in a change to driver behaviour and called for more speed vans and other measures to reduce speed.

“If you look at the statistics, it is all about driver behaviour and speeding is a huge problem. I keep asking for speed vans on these roads because they are a deterrent. If you get caught once you will watch your speed after that and be very careful. I would love to see more speed vans on the road because they are a deterrent and I would ask them to be on all different routes around Ballina. The speed limits are not being adhered to and that is a problem.

“Reducing the speed limits has not solved the problem and in my opinion it has created more accidents. I see it on the roads all the time on the back roads. People will not wait behind a slow moving vehicle and are overtaking in dangerous places. The 60km speed limit is not being adhered to,” she told The Mayo News.

READ: Large number of patients waiting on trolleys at MUH

The Fianna Fáil councillor also called for more speed bumps to be installed on roads through towns and villages as she feels it is the only way to slow down motorists.

Of the 185 fatalities in 2025, 41 percent were drivers, 22 percent were pedestrians, 16 percent were motorcyclists, 11 percent were passengers, 8 percent were pedal cyclists and 2 percent were e-scooter users.

Cllr Annie May Reape

The RSA figures also show that in 2025 14 cyclists were killed which is the highest number killed since 2017 when there were also 14 killed. It was also a dangerous year for motorcyclists with 30 fatalities recorded which was the highest number of motorcyclists killed since 2007 when there were 33 killed.

One in five deaths were among young people aged 16 to 25 and Cllr Reape believes that parents of novice drivers need to do more to ensure they are not driving unaccompanied.

Concerns raised

While Cllr Reape says she has raised her concerns regarding road safety at meetings of the Roads and Transportation SPC meetings, she feels that a wider discussion is needed to come up with solutions to reduce deaths in the county.

“I think in general the number of deaths around the country is shocking particularly when you consider the improvement to our roads. In Mayo I want to see deaths down to zero and while the number of deaths has reduced it is still nine too many.

“I would welcome it if all 30 councillors in Mayo could meet and have an open and full discussion on it with management and engineers along with the gardaí. We need to take the situation into our own hands to try to control the speeding which is causing mayhem on the roads. I would call for that.

“The gardaí cannot do any more than what they are doing and it is everyone's responsibility to help alleviate this problem. We don't want to start next year with the same number of deaths and attend funerals.

“We have to try to get a handle on it. We need to have a full discussion on it and even if it is to take half a day. Surely between everyone we can come up with something and let us show the way,” she said.