Mayo councillor urges people to ‘cop on’ on high-vis use

A Mayo councillor has issued a fresh appeal for those in the county to make a renewed effort to wear high-visibility clothing as the Winter evenings become darker.

The appeal, which was made by the chair of the Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District Councillor Michael Burke at the most recent District meeting, comes as darkness comes in earlier and road visibility becomes more challenging.

“It was so bad the other evening that an individual was walking out on a road.

“It was up on WhatsApp, and my own son almost hit that individual.

“The amount of people that's walking in dark places, in dark clothes, and you're up on top of them.

“When the car comes up against you, you just have no hope, and we're hearing about all the pedestrians that've been killed.”

Cllr Burke also stressed that high-visibility vests are available free of charge from Mayo County Council, and that most County Councillors would have them available in their offices.

“I hate to say it, but if people don't cop on and wear those vests, we are going to have way more accidents on the road,” said Cllr Burke.

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