Investment in better roads is a higher priority for people in rural Ireland than in urban areas, a new survey by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.
One third of people in Dublin (32 per cent) cited better roads as something which needed to be improved on, compared to almost half of those living outside Dublin (49 per cent).
The data is part of a series of publications presenting the results of the National Travel Survey (NTS) which was carried out in the final quarter of 2021. This is the third publication of four in the series, focusing on road safety and passenger mobility.
Better roads and a better road network were the most popular ways for improving road safety, cited by more than four-in-ten respondents (44 per cent), while nearly one-quarter (23 per cent) felt that there should be better signage on roads.
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The survey showed that more than one third of respondents (34 per cent) felt there was a need for more cycleways and pedestrian routes to reduce traffic and improve safety.
This was particularly voiced by those in densely populated urban areas (36 per cent) compared with 30 per cent for people living in rural areas.
More than a third (35 per cent) of respondents felt there was a need to reduce speed to improve road safety.
Women were more in favour than men of additional sanctions for speeding and other road traffic offences, at 32 per cent compared to 27 per cent.
This was despite more young men reporting a higher rate of road collisions than young women, with 5 per cent of young males aged 18 to 29 years involved in one road traffic collision in 2021.
Some 37 per cent of people felt that there should be better education in schools on road safety, including the use of refresher training and the extension of the novice driving period.
The survey also showed that 57 per cent of road traffic collisions were reported to An Garda Síochána or insurance companies in 2021.
