This past week has brought the most devastating news for two local families following the tragic deaths of two young men on our roads within a 24 hour period.
On Wednesday 21-year-old James Campbell was killed when his motorbike was in collision with a tractor near Gilford in Co Armagh.
That dreadful tragedy came just a day after 18-year-old Conall O'Hare died after his car crashed on the Ballydugan Road outside Downpatrick.
It is extremely distressing to think of such young lives cut short and of the profound grief and heartbreak that has been visited on their families.
The suffering of parents and family circle is incalculable and that sense of loss also extends to friends and neighbours in the wider community.
Conall O'Hare was an A-Level student at St Patrick's Grammar School in Downpatrick, which is still coming to terms with the death of a former pupil just three weeks ago.
Christopher Martin (18), who had studied A-Levels at St Patrick's, died after a one vehicle collision near Crossgar on April 2.
Sadly, we continue to lose far too many lives on our roads. So far this year 17 people have died, a terrible toll which has caused unimaginable pain to all their families.
Every road user should think about those lives lost each time they set out on a journey and make sure driving carefully and arriving safely is their absolute priority.
