Dangerous driving habits being highlighted this weekend

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) is appealing to road users to consider the devastating consequences of dangerous driving habits in its new campaign ‘Time to Talk’.

The hard-hitting campaign calls on friends and family members to “Chat to your loved ones about their driving today. So you don’t lose them tomorrow.” It will be live on radio, social channels and out of home from Bank Holiday Monday.

The campaign features stark funereal imagery, including a hearse and funeral notice, and aims to make people imagine what it would be like to lose a loved one in a road crash.

The campaign was created following the allocation by the Government last month of a further €3 million of funding to tackle the increasing numbers of fatalities on Irish roads.

Provisional analysis from the RSA shows that 69 lives have been lost on Irish roads this year, 16 more than the equivalent period last year.

The new campaign coincides with a call from the RSA and An Garda Síochána for drivers to slow down this bank holiday weekend.

The call comes as a self-report survey commissioned by the RSA in 2023 found that one in four drivers think speeding more than 10km/h over the speed limit is acceptable.

The survey also found that 25 per cent of drivers regularly exceed 100km/h limits by more than 10km, and 31 per cent regularly exceed 50km/h limits by more than 10km.

A separate observational study last year found that 58 per cent of motorists were driving over the speed limit on 30km/h roads.

According to the findings of the 2023 self-report survey, the social acceptability of drink-driving has increased since 2019 with a quarter of motorists agreeing that “driving short distances after having a drink is acceptable” and acknowledging that “they may have been over the limit when driving the morning after night out”.

This May Bank Holiday Weekend, drivers are also being reminded by the RSA that participating Applegreen service stations are providing free cups of coffee to motorists to combat driver fatigue.

The offer is available from 2-8pm on Friday 3rd May and 2-8pm on Monday 6th May – just mention RSA at the Applegreen till when you’re getting your coffee.

International Speed Research
International research shows that the risk of a pedestrian fatality in a collision with a motor vehicle increases with speed. It is estimated that:

• five per cent of pedestrians will be killed at an impact speed of 30 km/h
• 50 per cent of pedestrians will be killed at an impact speed of 60 km/h
• 90 per cent of pedestrians will be killed at an impact speed of 80 km/h