No February NI Road Deaths

Police have cautiously welcomed a fatality free month on Northern Ireland's roads.

February was the first month on record no-one was killed on our highways and byways.

Electronic police records were first produced in 1986.

Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland said the figures were preliminary, and insisted his officers were determined to drive down road deaths.

He stressed that already this year five lives have been lost on the province's roads.

"In addition, many more have been seriously injured. While some will go on to make a full recovery from their injuries, for others, their injuries may mean their lives, and the lives of their families and friends will never be the same again," said ACC McCausland.

He stressed the reality is that the vast majority of road traffic collisions are avoidable.

"Excessive speed for the conditions is still the most common single cause of fatal and serious injuries on roads in Northern Ireland, followed by the consumption of alcohol or drugs by drivers or riders and inattention or diverted attention," said the senior PSNI commander.

Police said they will continue to enforce the law, and remain determined to make Northern Ireland’s roads safer by working in partnership with our DOE, DRD, NIAS, NIFRS and Health Service colleagues to deliver new road safety initiatives.

"The bottom line is that every single road user must accept their responsibility for their actions and take the simplest steps, which will dramatically reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads," said ACC McCausland.

He reminded every driver to slow down, pay greater attention and concentrate while driving, always wear a seatbelt and never, ever drive after taking drink or drugs.

Sadly, a road death was recorded overnight in the Irish Republic when a driver lost control of his vehicle before crashing.

See: Driver Killed In Roscommon Crash

(PR/GK)