Leitrim, Laois, Kildare, Monaghan and Clare showed the biggest reduction in road deaths in the five years that saw Ireland set new safety records.
Cavan was the only county to record an increase in the level of fatalities from 2007 to 2012, according to the Road Safety Authority (RSA). The success was down to everyone’s individual efforts, RSA chief executive Noel Brett said.
“The reduction in road deaths in nearly every county in Ireland shows just what can be achieved when communities come together and say, ‘enough is enough, we don’t want any more people dying on our roads’,” he said.
“All it takes to make a difference is for one person to say, ‘I’m going to change my behaviour on the roads so that I can keep myself and others safe when we’re out on the roads’.”
The top 10 best-performing counties were Laois and Leitrim with a 100 per cent improvement; Kildare at 95 per cent; Monaghan 83 per cent, Clare 79 per cent and Tipperary, Carlow, Wicklow, Dublin and Donegal, who all achieved reductions of more than 70 per cent.
The figures for fatalities in Offaly remained static during the five years and in Cavan road deaths increased by 20 per cent.
Mr Brett urged people to continue to push for better safety levels.
“If we all redouble our efforts in 2013, there is no reason why we can’t make Ireland’s roads the safest in the world,” he said.
The RSA report showed 162 people died on Irish roads in 2012, 24 fewer than the previous year when 186 people died, and 51 fewer than 2010 when 212 people were killed.
Between 2007 and 2012, the average reduction in road deaths was 57 per cent when
compared to the number of fatalities between 2004 and 2006, the RSA said.
The RSA said the total number of serious injuries sustained in crashes last year was not yet available but noted a 51 per cent reduction in these injuries up to the end of 2011.
PA