Almost half of those killed in vehicles on the Republic's roads last year were not wearing seat belts, according to provisional figures from the Road Safety Authority.
The figures show 196 people lost their lives on the roads in 2014 – an increase of six on the number of people killed in 2013. It was the second consecutive rise since 162 deaths, a record low, was recorded in 2012.
The first person to die in 2015 was in Co Donegal. A 33-year-old woman was killed after she was hit by a van in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
She was struck by a van on Main Street, in Ballyshannon, at about 1.50am. She was pronounced dead at the scene and her body was removed to Sheil Hospital in Ballyshannon.
The man driving the van, who is in his 50s, was uninjured in the incident.
The authority said where it was possible to determine, 42 per cent of those who lost their lives in vehicles over the course of 2014 were not wearing a safety belt in the moments before they died.
Children fatalities
A spokesman said the statistic appeared to reveal a core cohort of people who simply would not accept the road safety message.
There was a doubling in the number of fatalities among children, with 16 children aged up to 15 years losing their lives in 2014. Eight were pedestrians and eight were passengers.
Also represented strongly among those who died were “vulnerable road users” – cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians. Vulnerable road users accounted for 24 per cent of all road deaths last year, including 12 pedal cyclists, up from five in 2013.
The number of motorcyclists who were killed was 23, down from 27 in 2013. The authority said middle-aged men, most likely those who had never done motorbike driving testing, accounted for most of the deaths in this sector.
A total of 42 pedestrians were killed in 2014 – up from 31 the previous year. Those aged above 60 years accounted for 40 per cent of all pedestrian deaths. There were eight pedestrian deaths among those aged up to 15.
According to the figures the greatest change observed in 2014 was a 17 per cent reduction in driver fatalities, down from 95 to 79.
However, this decline was offset by a 22 per cent increase in passenger deaths, up from 32 to 39.
The provisional figures show that, where known, 16 per cent of drivers and 26 per cent of passengers were not wearing a seat belt when they died.
While the Garda southern region accounted for the largest proportion of road deaths, Dublin recorded the biggest increase in fatalities, at 47 per cent, in 2014.
Prevent collisions
Liz O’Donnell, chairwoman of the Road
Safety Authority
, said small changes to individual behaviour could make the difference between life and death.
“There are small changes we all can make, which are guaranteed to prevent collisions,” Ms O’Donnell said.
She appealed to all road users to change even one aspect of behaviour, “be it speeding, not using a mobile phone, always wearing a seat belt, or just being more careful and courteous to others. You can help make the roads safer for all of us”.
