Local Lethal Roads Cost Lives - Families to Petition EU
Speaking in light of the upcoming Irish road safety petitions to the European Parliament Jim Higgins, Fine Gael MEP for Ireland North West, called on the Government to take responsibility for the conditions of our roads particularly at local level and to transpose the EU Directive on Road Infrastructure Safety Management ahead of its deadline.
"Urgent action is needed to prevent further needless loss of life. It's about time our government stopped dragging its heels and adopted a proactive approach to road safety."
"This directive needs to be implemented and the government needs to set technical standards for the inspection of all public roads and the amending of safety defects."
"Failing this, I have submitted an amendment to the Road Safety Authority (Amendment) Act 2009 which will ensure that the RSA can inspect road works carried out by local authorities, at present local roads do not undergo independent inspections - this amendment is badly needed and I will do everything in my power to push it through," Jim Higgins fervently added.
"I have worked closely with the Farren, Gallagher and Keane families - whose petitions are due to be heard in the Parliament next Wednesday the 4th of November '09. All three families tragically lost a daughter, primarily due to the failure of their local authorities to provide adequate warning signs for oncoming road hazards and speed restrictions as required by the National Roads Authority."
"These girls were young with their whole lives ahead of them - they were neither drunk, speeding nor had they taken any illegal substances. They were not given the opportunity to react to what lay ahead and were robbed of their futures.
Their deaths could have been avoided merely by their local authorities fulfilling their mandatory duty under NRA guidelines."
The Farren and Gallagher cases involved the failure of the Donegal and Mayo County Councils to place adequate signage on their public highways to warn of road works which lay ahead.
In the Gallagher case dense bitumen macadam (DBM) was in place without surface dressing. Without such surface dressing DBM becomes extremely slippery, the NRA guidelines clearly state that a DBM surface ought to be subject to a 50km/h speed limit. The road Aisling (22 years) was travelling on had a speed limit of 100km/h there were no warning signs in place. Sinead Farren McDaid (22 years) experienced a similar fate when she suddenly found herself travelling at an inappropriate speed on loose chippings. Both accidents were fatal.
The Keane case involved the failure of Kerry County Council to provide Stop/Yield signs at the Ballyduff crossroads. Eileen (18 years) and her boyfriend Trevor (23 years) were not forewarned of the dangerous junction that lay ahead. They followed the course of the road, unaware of the unmarked crossroads, which they drove through and where they were involved in their fatal collision. They died instantly.
"How many lives need to be lost before the government puts pressure on local authorities to meet their responsibilities and duties to the public? Road traffic accidents are a major public health problem. So far 2009 has seen 198 people killed on both national and local roads. In spite of this no action plan has been put in place to inspect all public roads for safety defects."
The Irish people deserve better, they deserve safe roads.
Contact: Aoife Kearney +32 228 37843
