Safer Roads for Dublin: Garda targets breaking of red lights

Gardaí in Dublin have urged all road users to help reduce the number and severity of road crashes after the number of fatalities in incidents in the capital this year reached 12.

The Safer Roads for Dublin campaign during October and November is supported by the Road Safety Authority, Dublin Bus, Luas, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the four local authorities.

It will focus in particular on red light-running.

Speaking at the launch of the campaign on Monday, Garda Chief Superintendent Aidan Reid, head of the Dublin Traffic Corps, said the campaign was aimed at all drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

He appealed to all road users to obey the rules of the road when traffic lights were red.

“It seems a simple ask, and maybe a lesser offence, but when you consider there are 1,620 sets of traffic lights in Dublin, even one breach each day [at each traffic lights] equals 1,620 potential collisions.”

‘Reducing risks’

Mr Reid said the campaign was “all about reducing risks”.

“Risks cause injury and fatalities on our roads. This year has seen 12 road deaths in Dublin - one more than in 2015 - so we must redouble our efforts to ensure this does not increase further.”

A 47-year-old Canadian man became the latest fatality on the roads when he was struck by a car on Shelbourne Road in the early hours of Sunday morning.

According to Garda figures, Wednesday is the worst day of the week for fatal and serious crashes, with Friday close behind it.

Friday afternoons between midday and 1pm is the single worst hour of the week for fatalities and serious injuries on the roads.

To date this year there have been 1,296 detections for motorists breaking a red light, and 154 detections involving cyclists committing such an offence.

Brendan O'Brien of Dublin City Council said the authority worked with gardaí following serious crashes to assess whether there were any engineering issues that needed to be addressed.

The council recently worked on road safety initiatives with pupils at St Columba’s Primary School on North Strand after the students began a postcard campaign to highlight motorists breaking a nearby pedestrian light.

Mr O’Brien said any fatality in the city was a “real tragedy”.

“It almost defies description for people to drive or cycle through traffic signals that are green for school children to cross,” he added.