RSA issues road safety appeal as children return to school

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) is appealing to parents, guardians and teachers to make road safety a top priority for the new school year.

The road safety message comes as the RSA publishes its Child Casualties Report 2019-2023, which reveals that there were 34 children aged 15 and younger killed on Irish roads and a further 592 seriously injured during the five-year period. This age group represented 4 percent of total fatalities, and 8 percent of total serious injuries between 2019 and 2023.

The report revealed that 12 children under 15 were killed or seriously injured on Mayo roads between 2019 and 2023.

It also highlighted that two thirds of the 626 child casualties (killed or seriously injured children) were either pedestrians (49 percent) or cyclists (19 percent).

The report also revealed that the highest numbers of killed or seriously injured children were injured in Dublin and Cork. Three in ten killed or seriously injured children were injured in Dublin and a further 9 percent injured in Cork.

Overall, a higher proportion of killed or seriously injured children were male (63 percent) while two in three of all children seriously injured were aged 10-15 years (66 percent), and a similar proportion of children killed (65 percent) were aged 10-15.

Children were most likely to be killed or seriously injured during the afternoon and evening. Seven in ten children were killed or seriously injured between 12pm-8pm. Friday was the day which saw the greatest proportion of children killed or seriously injured (17 percent).

Sam Waide, chief executive of the RSA said: “We are experiencing a significant increase in traffic as the country returns to school and work routines. I am reminding drivers to slow down and to be aware of children on their way to school, walking or cycling. It is imperative that parents speak to their children about road safety, whether they are travelling to school on foot, cycling or travelling by bus or car.

“It is also important to remind school principals and staff of the RSA’s Back to School guidelines for improving road safety around schools. The guidelines are available on RSA.ie,” the chief executive said.

Drivers are being asked to ensure they allow at least one metre overtaking distance when passing those who cycle in speed zones up to 50km/h and at least 1.5 metres when passing in speed zones over 50km/h.

Parents are also asked to ensure their child is restrained correctly in the back of the car and not to park their cars on footpaths while dropping or collecting their child to and from school, as this can obstruct pedestrians.

“If you drive your children to school, please park carefully to avoid forcing children onto the road. We don't want to put any child’s life in danger,” Mr Waide said.