Forty nine people lost their lives on Irish roads in the first three months of 2013 compared to 33 over the same period last year, and as a result Jim Higgins MEP for Ireland North West has urged the Gardaí and the Minister for Transport to work with the RSA to increase the number of visible checks on the nation’s roads.
MEP Higgins made his comments in light of new figures which show that the number of people who lost their lives on the country’s roads has increased by 16 in the first three months of 2013 compared to the same period last year.
MEP Higgins said: “I am worried, very worried that with the lack of visible Garda policing, the result is that motorists are reverting to their old bad habits. We have made such progress in the past decade in terms of reducing the carnage on our roads, to the point where last year, we were one of the safest countries in the EU in which to drive, just behind the Netherlands and Sweden. You can have all the ads and campaigns you like, but if there is a lack of checkpoints on our roads, the result is an increase in fatalities. I have written to the RSA, the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for Transport highlighting my concerns.”
