Four in 10 road deaths this year have been pedestrians

Nearly four in 10 people who have been killed on the roads so far this year have been pedestrians, the latest Garda figures reveal.

Thirteen pedestrians were among the 33 people who have died to date. The figure has been described as "phenomenal" by Minister for Transport Martin Cullen, while the Fine Gael chairman Tom Hayes has called for the Government to make visibility arm bands and belts freely available to pedestrians.

However, the actual number of pedestrians killed so far is down by one on the same period last year.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) said pedestrian deaths were now getting greater exposure because of a sharp decline in the number of motorists being killed following the introduction of random breath-testing.

RSA spokesman Brian Farrell said: "What we are seeing is the tide going out, exposing the rocks beneath. These levels of deaths have always been there, but because so many motorists were being killed, we didn't hear as much about them.

"The same thing happened when penalty points came in, and we had a similar fall off in motorists' deaths and that exposed the number of motorcyclists being killed."

Of the pedestrians who have died this year, five have been over the age of 70. A man in his 70s was killed when he was hit by a car while crossing the road in Trinity Street, Drogheda, yesterday morning.

On Monday evening at about 7.30pm, 80-year-old James Garvey was struck by a car while crossing the road on the N17 near Kilkelly in Co Mayo. Mr Garvey was a noted local historian and genealogist.

Mr Cullen said he wanted to see a detailed analysis of pedestrian deaths before deciding what action to take.

"I would be very interested to see who these people are and where these accidents occurred so we can get a better understanding of what is happening. When you have that hardcore information, then you can target campaigns to deal with it."

Mr Hayes said there was a greater danger to pedestrians because the crackdown on drink-driving meant more people were walking home late at night from the pub.

"Out in the countryside there are generally no footpaths and no places for a pedestrian to stand in. Add to this the deplorable state of the majority of our roads and it is clear that we have on our hands a dangerous situation for both pedestrians and drivers."

Gardaí have advised pedestrians to wear bright, reflective clothing, walk facing oncoming traffic and use footpaths, pedestrian and designated crossings where available.

They have also said even small increases in motorists' speed can have a deadly effect.

While a pedestrian being hit by a car travelling at 30km/h has a 90 per cent chance of survival, only half of all pedestrians will survive if hit at 50km/h, and 10 per cent at 60km/h.

Meanwhile, 367 motorists were caught drink driving last week, up from 311 the previous week.