HUNDREDS OF high-visibility vests are to be distributed to over 100 churches in Co Mayo as part of a new road safety campaign.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Tuam, Mayo County Council, gardaí and local undertakers have launched the initiative to ensure the safety of people at funerals over winter months.
The vests will be available from the churches to undertakers who will lend them to volunteers who marshal traffic at funerals on often dark country roads.
A spokesman for Tuam archdiocese, Fr Fintan Monaghan, said the church was “fully behind the campaign”. He said “so far in 2011, 130 people have lost their lives on the Republic’s roads”.
This was “heart-breaking for the loved ones of the deceased and a tragedy for society as a whole”.
Mayo County Council road safety officer Noel Gibbons said that with clocks going back an hour in a few weeks, “it is an opportune time to begin a road safety campaign”.
He added: “As evenings become darker, people should remember the importance of being clearly visible to drivers.”
Garda Insp Joe Doherty said that “more than two-thirds of fatal pedestrian collisions happen at night. Although you can hear a car coming and see its lights, the driver may not see you.”
He “strongly” advised people to wear the vests as, “simply put: hi-vis vests can save lives”.
Castlebar funeral undertaker Michael Kilcoyne commended Mayo Council Council on the idea, and said “maintaining visibility on the road is a constant concern for funeral removals in the countryside”.
“The key message is that road safety is paramount,” Mr Kilcoyne added.
