‘Accident’ highlights road safety concerns

A DRAMATIC simulated road traffic accident was staged in UCD last week to demonstrate what the emergency services deal with on a daily basis.

The live demonstration that attracted a large number of students and members of the public also highlighted the fact that the numbers of those killed and injured on Ireland’s roads is rising once again.

Emergency services including gardaí, Dublin Fire Brigade and HSE national ambulance service paramedics attended the

‘collision’.

Civil Defence volunteers played the parts of the two drivers, one of whom was

‘seriously injured’ while the other was

‘arrested’ in the head-on two car collision.

The driver of the first car – a woman in her early twenties – was not wearing a seatbelt and suffered multiple injuries including a very serious head injury. She required spinal immobilisation at the scene.

The driver of the second vehicle – a man in his late teens – also required medical attention at the scene but did not require transfer to hospital.

He was later breathalysed and arrested by gardaí.

The safety message for young drivers was arranged by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council as part of the Winter Road Casualty Reduction Programme.

Seamus Storan, Road Safety Engineer with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, said the simulation was an innovative way of bringing home the real impact of car accidents that the emergency services attend on a daily basis.

“While there can be many causes, the one thing that all serious car collisions have in common is that they destroy lives forever and place an immense burden on families and communities,

? he said.

“This initiative is targeting the 18 – 24 age groups where accident statistics show the highest fatality rates.

“We want to bring home this message practically through this demonstration,

? he added.

“It also served as valuable training for the emergency services who already work frequently together.

“This event highlights the consequences of a collision, the need to drive safely, to slow down and to observe speed limits. Never use your phone while driving, always wear seatbelts and never ever drink and drive.

?

Mr Storan said that sadly, young drivers comprise 30 per cent of recent road deaths.

“So that is why we visited UCD, to promote these specific road safety messages as part of the wider casualty reduction programme.

?

The number of Irish road deaths fell to their lowest levels on record last year to 162 – down 24 from 2011.

The toll included 29 pedestrians, eight cyclists, 95 car occupants, and 19 bikers while there were 11 other road fatalities involving vehicles.

However, road accident deaths in Ireland reached 143 last week – 16 more than the same time last year. Fifteen of the 143 deaths were in Dublin.

Meanwhile, gardaí, supported by children from St Brigid’s National Primary School in Cabinteely, brought home the road safety message to parents and motorists during a safety exercise last week.

Under the watchful eye of the Garda Traffic Corps, motorists received some unexpected

‘Homework for Drivers’ from the children in the form of a quiz asking where it was safe to park near the school.

And in a further bid to cut down on the number of road deaths, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, AXA and the emergency services will be bringing a road safety roadshow to Dún Laoghaire next week.

Over 2,300 students have been invited from local second level schools to attend the event on October 14 and 15 that is aimed at those who will shortly be able to start driving.

Other initiatives throughout Dún Laoghaire Rathdown include a Rock Road and N11 road safety campaign for vulnerable road users consisting of high-viz vest and other safety equipment giveaways.