MEMBERS OF the public who have done outstanding work to try to improve safety on Irish roads were honoured by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) at a ceremony in Dublin at the weekend.
Nine Leading Lights Road Safety Awards were presented at the ceremony, with two going to relatives of people who died in car crashes.
The top award went to Charlie Collins of Highland Radio, a supporter of safety improvement initiatives in Co Donegal, while a posthumous award went to Vivian Foley, an award-winning author who lectured at Cork Institute of Technology, for his work in promoting road safety up to his death in 2003.
The other recipients were: the Kildare Road Users' Association, a group of volunteers including driving instructors, bus drivers and school principals who devise and implement road safety initiatives; Micilín Feeney, who crashed after drink driving and whose story featured in an RSA Crashed Lives television campaign; Derrywash National School in Co Mayo for its rerecording of the safe cross code; Tommy Marron of Mid-West Radio for keeping road safety issues on the agenda on his midmorning talkshow; Ann Moran, whose daughter was killed in a traffic collision, for sharing her experience at local and national road safety events; Aileen Ferguson, secretary of Kells Road Races, Co Meath, for her work in primary and secondary schools; and Susan Gray, founder of Public Against Road Carnage, whose husband Stephen was killed in a crash four years ago and who has since dedicated herself to raising awareness of road safety.
Speaking at the ceremony, RSA chairman Gay Byrne said the recipients of the awards were ordinary people doing extraordinary work, quietly but tirelessly seeking to reduce deaths and injuries on the State's roads.