New Road Safety Campaign Launches

A new road safety public information campaign highlighting the dangers and consequences of careless driving has been launched by Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon.

Minister Mallon said: "As Minister for Infrastructure part of my responsibility is promoting and improving road safety. This is a responsibility I take very seriously. Too many people sadly lose their lives or are seriously injured as a result of careless driving and that is a tragedy for their families and friends.

"We all know the dangers of drink/drug driving, excessive speed for the road or conditions and that wearing a seatbelt can save our life if involved in a collision. However, perhaps we are not aware of the potential serious consequences of careless or inattentive driving.

"The reality is, that careless driving is the main causation factor responsible for the majority of those people killed or seriously injured, accounting for 53% over the last 10 years. This campaign is an opportunity to raise awareness of the dangers of careless driving and help influence our behaviours as road users."

Carelessness is made up of a number of poor road user behaviours, including 'inattention or attention diverted' and 'driving too close'. Careless and Inattentive Driving is the number one reason for road traffic collisions in Northern Ireland.

A consultation on proposals for making careless driving a fixed penalty notice offence for minor offences has recently been carried out by the Department. The call for evidence also considered the potential for the introduction of Operation SNAP in Northern Ireland, where PSNI would accept dash cam footage showing irresponsible or inappropriate road use from road users. The consultation is now closed and Departmental officials are considering the responses and will be providing the Minister with proposals for her consideration.

Minister Mallon added: "I have made it clear that I take a zero tolerance approach to irresponsible behaviour on the roads. We have seen significant progress over the last number of years in reducing the number of people who have tragically lost their lives or suffered serious injuries as a consequence of road traffic collisions but we have still more to do. I will continue to work with partners to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries across our roads network."

The multimedia campaign is due to launch by the autumn on TV, radio, social media and bus rear advertising.