Ambitious targets for road death reduction in the North
The North’s Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has released a draft road safety strategy, which aims to halve the number of deaths and injuries on roads by 2030.
The draft strategy, released in October 2022, prior to the collapse of the Northern Ireland Executive, outlines a target of 35 or less deaths by road accidents by 2030, with a target of 376 or less injuries on northern roads by 2030.
The strategy sets an ambition of a 60 per cent reduction in young people suffering road deaths or serious injury by 2030.
In the long term, the strategy outlines an ambition for zero road deaths or serious injuries in the North by 2050.
To achieve this, the draft document states that the Department for Infrastructure will expand the use of initiatives such as 20 miles per hour (mph) limits outside schools and the use of speed indicator devices.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) data continues to show that approximately 95 per cent of road casualties are due to a number of dangerous road user behaviours with the majority of collisions being caused by carelessness/inattention, driving at excessive speed, or through alcohol/drugs despite interventions to date. Additionally, uncertainties remain as to the lasting impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on travel choices and behaviours.
The Department for Infrastructure, in January 2023, released statistics which outline the scale of the challenge of halving the numbers of deaths and injuries on northern roads by 2030.
Over half (58 per cent) of road users who took part in the survey admitted to using their mobile phones whilst driving.
Despite this high level of mobile phone usage whilst driving, users are acutely aware of the risk associated with such actions. 94 per cent of road users stated that they believed that using a mobile phone whilst driving increased their likelihood of being involved in an accident.
The survey further states that 90 per cent of road users correctly assume that the presence of street lights translates into a 30mph limit, equivalent to 48 km/h. A point for concern is that a small number of respondents found it acceptable to drive at 70mph in an area with street lights, pointing to the potential danger posed by a minority of road users.
The Republic, the North, and the UK, have among the best relative records on road safety in the European continent, with all three states having a road death rate below 30 per one million. For context, France has a road death rate between 41 and 60 per one million, whilst France and the Netherlands both have death rates of between 31 and 40 per one million.
Whilst the strategy was released in draft formal prior to the collapse of the Northern Ireland Executive, implementation may not be possible unless parties in the North are able to form an Executive.
