Road Safety Week Highlights Human Cost Of Road Accidents

The Department for Infrastructure (DfI), emergency services, and victim support groups have launched Road Safety Week 2024, highlighting the devastating impact of road traffic collisions.

On average, one person loses their life on Northern Ireland's roads every week, with 57 fatalities recorded so far this year. Between 2019 and 2023, over 4,000 people were killed or seriously injured in road accidents.

This year's Road Safety Week focuses on the human cost of these accidents, emphasising the suffering experienced by victims, their families, and the emergency services. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of safe driving practices and to encourage motorists to take responsibility for their actions on the roads.

DfI Minister John O'Dowd said: "Road safety is an issue for all of us as a society.

"Every single week, at least one person – a mum, a dad, a son, a daughter, a friend – is not coming home to their family and their loved ones.

"These are people, not just a statistic, and their lives are shattered and will never be the same again.

"Long after the headlines are forgotten, victims have to live with the loss, the memories and the thoughts of what could have been.

"We also depend on our emergency services to attend serious collisions to help prevent loss of life.  They are people doing a job, but we must remember the impact the scenes they attend must have on them personally.

"I have met many families who have had loved ones killed or seriously injured on our roads and I know that they really value the support they receive from the emergency services and the charitable organisations that provide them support.

"I wish to thank them for the very essential and often lifesaving role they play.

"I appeal to all road users to think about their behaviour. Be mindful of others and proceed with care at all times, to ensure everyone gets home safe.

"I would encourage you to share road safety messaging so it reaches as wide an audience as possible and to talk about it with your friends and family – by doing so, you could be helping to save a life.

"The harsh truth is that we all need to wise up when we are using our roads because if we don't, the number of deaths will continue to rise."

Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) Assistant Chief Fire & Rescue Officer Marcus Wright said: "Alongside our colleagues in other emergency services we witness first-hand the carnage on our roads and the lives destroyed as a consequence.

"In 2023, Firefighters attended 723 road traffic collisions and rescued 201 people trapped inside their vehicles. As road users we all have a role to play in making every journey safe to ease the pain, loss and suffering to individuals, families and communities.

"We are urging you to drive to the road conditions, don't speed, allow more time for your journey and don't get distracted when driving, especially during this time of year when we're faced with challenging weather, such as black ice and flooding."

Chief Superintendent Sam Donaldson from Operational Support Department said: "Already this year, 57 people have tragically lost their lives on our roads, there have also been numerous collisions resulting in serious injuries.

"This figure is much more than a statistic. Each individual death leaves behind families and friends who have been involved in traumatic, life-changing experiences. "We often fail to recognise the impact these incidents can have on first responders in blue light services who attend these scenes. They too are human beings who must deal with the most horrific of circumstances yet still find a way to do their job.

"Reducing deaths and serious injury on our roads is a policing priority and we all have our part to play in keeping our roads safe.

"Recognising the Fatal Five and the devastating consequences which they can have on those affected by roads deaths and injuries will hopefully enable us to reduce casualties in Northern Ireland.

"Don't drink or take drugs and drive; slow down; don't be careless; always wear your seat belt and never use your mobile phone whilst driving."

Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Chief Executive Michael Bloomfield, said: "Every day of every week, the men and women of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service attend Road Traffic Collisions. Some are minor incidents where injuries are less than serious. But others, due to the severity of the collision, result in serious injury or death.

"Our crews have witnessed harrowing scenes that would make most people recoil. But their professionalism and their innate desire to save people enables them to do what they need to do at the scene to give every patient the best possible chance of survival.

"Most upsetting for them is being witness to the loss of a young life for whom they could do nothing – young people who had their whole lives to live.

"In the aftermath of these incidents, when the seriously injured have been left to the care of the medics in the emergency department, or those who did not survive have been taken to a mortuary, our crews are left with the reality of what they have just witnessed.

"Understanding the terrible news that is about to be broken to some family, their thoughts often turn to their own sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers. They realise the fragility of life and how it can be taken in just a moment – a moment that is all too often avoidable, but which leaves a trail of devastation.

"We would ask you, particularly as we enter the Christmas period, to exercise caution on the roads and not to be responsible for any devastation on our roads."

Evidence shows that more than nine out of 10 crashes are caused by human error. The decisions we make when using the road. Therefore, the majority of road traffic collisions are avoidable and we can be the difference if we slow down, pay attention, and never, ever drink alcohol or take drugs and drive. This Road Safety Week, the Department encourages people to take the 'Road Safety Pledge' to be as safe as possible on the road. By signing up to the Share the Road to Zero pledge, you are committing to be the best road user than you can be – whether as a driver, passenger, pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist or horse rider, and adopt positive road user behaviours.

'Share the Road to Zero' is a road safety community engagement programme that encourages all road users to take personal responsibility for their own safety and by doing so also the safety of others on our roads. Pledging is quick, easy and free at www.sharetheroadtozero.com and you will join with the many others, both individuals and organisations, who receive regular advice on how to stay safe as you use the road.