Dublin road safety campaign ‘wages war’ on pedestrians

A road safety campaign that warns pedestrians about the dangers of city centre traffic has been criticised by the Green Party for "waging war" on pedestrians.

Former Green TD Ciarán Cuffe has accused Dublin City Council of using "heavy-handed scare tactics", including the use of electronic messaging boards around the city centre, to deter people from walking in the city.

The boards carry the message: “Pedestrians are the single biggest group to die on Dublin’s roads. Think twice before you cross the road.”

Almost two in every five people killed on the roads in Dublin are pedestrians, according to the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

Mr Cuffe, who is running for a seat on the city council, said safety initiatives should focus on increasing pedestrian numbers and improving driver behaviour.

“This type of advertisement sends out all the wrong messages to people who walk on Dublin city streets,” he said. “What we should have are signs stating, Drivers: Pedestrians are the single biggest group to die on Dublin’s roads. Slow down, obey the speed limits.”

He said the council should produce a “walking policy” that promotes rather than deters pedestrians.

A spokesman for the council said the message boards were part of a road safety casualty reduction campaign running this month and next in conjunction with the Garda and other transport stakeholders, such the RSA.

The campaign is specifically targeting pedestrians with a view to increasing their road safety awareness, to reduce the number and severity of injuries to pedestrians involved in road traffic collisions.