Carnage on the county’s roads

TRAGEDY The scene of the fatal accident at Grallagh, near Ballyhaunis, where Joe Cleary lost his life on December 16, the thirteenth death on Mayo’s roads in 2015. Pic: Paul Mealey

Mayo reels from rising road fatalities

Ciara Galvin

THE NUMBER of road deaths in Mayo has more than doubled since 2013, and the county’s Road Safety Officer is appealing to people to ‘play their part’.
As the year draws to a close, the number of deaths on Mayo roads stands at 13, up from eleven last year and six in 2013.
Mayo Road Safety Officer Noel Gibbons has described the road fatality figures as ‘disappointing’ compared to the national figures, which have come down on last year. Those national figures may have declined, but they have nevertheless been described as ‘carnage’, with eight people losing their lives since December 21. The total figure for the year now stands at 162.
Speaking to The Mayo News yesterday (Monday), Mr Gibbons said all road deaths were tragic. He also described many fatalities of the this year as resulting from ‘unusual’ road accidents.
“All road deaths are tragic, but it’s hard to see what could have been done in some cases,” said Gibbons, adding that there is a need for a message to be passed on that the roads are for all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.
Gibbons said that while the weather has not helped recently, the main road safety messages concern mobile phones, speed and drinking.
He added that though he would welcome investment in Mayo roads, he said the conditions of roads are not a major contributing factor to road deaths.
“Research shows that conditions of roads account for 4.4 percent of road deaths, while human error accounts for 85 percent … human error is the contributing factor, so it’s not really roads that are causing the fatal accidents.
“We need to ask ourselves what we can do to improve the situation out there. Twenty percent of the people killed last year [nationally] didn’t have seat belts on. We need everyone to play their part and not just leave it down to the organisations like the Road Safety Authority and the gardaí to get the message out there.”
Though figures are up this year, Gibbons maintains that people’s attitudes are changing when it comes to road safety.

Road deaths
THE death of father of ten Joe Cleary in Ballyhaunis on December 16 brought the number of total road deaths for Mayo to 13. Mr Cleary died after he was hit by a car at Grallagh, Ballyhaunis. The accident occurred around 11.50pm along the N83 Tuam road, approximately four kilometres south of Ballyhaunis town. Mr Cleary was attempting to remove a dead horse from the road when tragedy struck.
Meanwhile, a collision across the Mayo border near Headford claimed the life of 20-year-old Luan McCaul of Killernan, Kilmaine and Ballyfruit, Headford
The collision occurred on December 21 on the R337 at Cordarragh, Headford, and involved three vehicles.
A local woman who was seriously injured in the crash is understood to be making a good recovery. She had been travelling with her baby. The infant was not seriously injured in the incident.
The four occupants of the third vehicle were also brought to hospital but did not suffer serious injuries.
Mass took place in St Patrick’s Church Kilmaine on December 23 and then proceeded to St John The Baptist Church, Crooke, Co Waterford, where funeral Mass took place on Christmas Eve.
Speaking in relation to the recent publication of the provisional end-of-year review of road fatalities by the RSA and An Garda SíochΡna, Moyagh Murdock, Chief Executive, Road Safety Authority said it was ‘encouraging that there were fewer people killed on the roads compared to last year’.
However, Ms Murdock added that this would be little comfort for the families left with an empty spot at the dinner table this Christmas, and she appealed to road users to take care.

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