Launching a new road safety strategy in Derry this week, Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd said there was a need for “frank and honest conversations” about what we all can do as road users to ensure people get home safe.
He was speaking on the day that an 18-year-old man tragically became the 42nd person to lose their life on the north’s roads so far this year, following a crash not far away in Co Derry that morning.
Mr O’Dowd was himself unwilling to enter into conversation beyond the confines of the road safety document, refusing to answer questions about road improvements in Derry and elsewhere.
He pointed out that fire service personnel taking part in a road crash rescue demonstration had been dealing with a real collision just hours earlier, and reminded media organisations of their responsibility to spread the road safety message.
There has of course been concern expressed on these pages for some time that a downward trend in road fatalities has halted in recent years.
The 71 people who died on Northern Ireland’s roads last year represented the highest annual total since 2015.
In the Republic, 184 people lost their lives, also up markedly. The death toll has already reached 130 this year.
Rural roads remain by far the most likely scene of accidents, where speeds are higher and conditions more unpredictable. Only two deaths occurred on motorways or dual carriageways this year.
This emphasises, should there be any sliver of remaining doubt, the urgency of beginning work on upgrading the A5 route between Derry and the border at Monaghan. Dozens of people have lost their lives on this lethal road since the scheme was first announced in 2007.
However, while safer roads and vehicles are important, Mr O’Dowd is also right to stress that the large majority of deaths and serious injuries are due to human error, with careless driving, inappropriate speed and drink or drugs a cause of many fatalities.
In a week when the executive has been criticised for an absence of measurable targets, a detailed action plan includes a commitment to review laws on drink and drug driving and use of mobile phones.
There must also be a strong argument for reducing standard 60mph limits on many roads. It does not make sense that traffic calming measures in place in many urban settings are not replicated on the dangerous rural network.
Whether by regulation, education or enforcement, a change in behaviour and attitudes is ultimately key to reducing the number of families that experience the agony of learning that a loved one will not return home each year.
It is the responsibility of everyone to ensure the alarming trend of increased deaths is reversed.
