Back to school warning for professional drivers

Truck, van, bus and car drivers are being urged to continue to make road safety a top priority for the return of a new school year.

The road safety message comes as the Road Safety Authority (RSA) publishes its Child Casualties Report 2019-2023, which reveals that there were 34 children aged 15 and younger killed on Irish roads and a further 592 seriously injured during the five-year period.

This age group represented four per cent of total fatalities, and eight per cent of total serious injuries between 2019 and 2023.

The Report highlights that two thirds of the 626 child casualties (killed or seriously injured children) were either pedestrians (49%) or cyclists (19%).

The Report also revealed that:

• The highest numbers of killed or seriously injured children were injured in Dublin and Cork. Three in 10 killed or seriously injured children were injured in Dublin and a further nine per cent injured in Cork
• Overall, a higher proportion of killed or seriously injured children were male (63%)
• Two in three of all children seriously injured were aged 10-15 years (66%), and a similar proportion of children killed (65%) were aged 10-15
• Children were most likely to be killed or seriously injured during the afternoon and evening. Seven in ten children were killed or seriously injured between 12pm-8pm
• Friday was the day which saw the greatest proportion of children killed or seriously injured (17%).

Drivers are being asked to ensure they allow at least one metre overtaking distance when passing those who cycle in speed zones up to 50km/h and at least 1.5 metres when passing in speed zones over 50km/h.

Parents are also asked to ensure their child is restrained correctly in the back of the car and not to park their cars on footpaths while dropping or collecting their child to and from school, as this can obstruct pedestrians.