It is the worst possible nightmare. Responding to a knock on the door to find a garda outside. A sense of dread. A feeling of disbelief. No greater pain.
This year 119 people have been killed on our roads already. One hundred and forty-eight lives were lost on our roads as a result of traffic accidents last year. They are our kin. They are friends, work colleagues, classmates, associates, and their families have been changed forever. And those who have survived will also continue to suffer.
Previous studies have confirmed that road traffic crash victims often suffer a combination of physical, psychological, financial, social, and legal adverse impacts. While broken bones can be healed, it has been found that psychological and social complications arising from road traffic crashes often persist for longer. The costs are not just shouldered by families, but by the whole society.
This Sunday is World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims - the third Sunday in November designated by the United Nations in recognition of road traffic victims and their families’ loss and suffering. In Ireland we will commemorate the 24,663 people who have died since records began in 1959. Some 85,000 people have been seriously injured since 1977 - the equivalent of our population here in Galway.
Galway's Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton, says the day is a time to remember those who have been killed or seriously injured on our roads, and a time to honour the families and loved ones of the victims of road traffic crashes. It is also a time, she says, to thank our emergency services and healthcare workers who deal first-hand with the consequences of road traffic collisions.
"This coming Sunday I ask that we all take a moment to remember everyone affected by road trauma."
Statistics show some 1.3 million people die each year from road traffic crashes - the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged five to 29 years. And it has been predicted by the World Health Organisation that road traffic accidents will become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030 unless countries take more progressive actions to address the problem.
Sunday is a day to remember the victims, but it is also time to look ahead - to promote actions which can help prevent further road traffic deaths and injuries. We all must take personal responsibility because few among us would not have been guilty of taking an element of risk, whether speeding or texting when driving.
As Sam Waide, CEO of the Road Safety Authority says, whether we walk, cycle, drive or travel as a passenger, World Day of Remembrance is a time for us all to reflect on our own road user behaviour.
