As the death toll on Irish roads continues to rise drivers and all road users are being asked to support European Day Without A Road Death, known as Project EDWARD writes Geraldine Herbert
The initiative has been organised by the Traffic Police network in Europe (TISPOL), and its aim is that no-one dies on the roads of Europe that day
To support Project EDWARD, road-users are being asked to make an online pledge to be a better, safer driver on www.tispol.org/edward.
To date, almost 100,000 pledges have been made by road-users throughout Europe.
TISPOL President Chief Superintendent Aidan Reid “For the first few years of this decade, countries across the EU have been highly successful in pursuing the 2020 50% reduction target. But the arrival of a second successive year of disappointing news shows that this downward trend has stagnated.
“We need to speed up our efforts, and one initiative we believe can make a big impact is our new European Day Without A Road Death – Project EDWARD for short. “EDWARD will encourage all road users to reflect on their behaviour and attitude. After all, driver behaviour remains the most important barrier to progress as we approach 2020 and its reduction targets.
“Drivers are unwittingly or sometimes knowingly putting other road users in so many ways, perhaps by speeding, drink-driving, not wearing a seat belt, using the phone while driving, using vehicles they have not kept roadworthy, parking their cars on bicycle lanes, blocking pedestrian crossings, not turning on their lights or engaging in risky manoeuvres.
“But it’s not just drivers who are at fault. Many cyclists and pedestrians increase their risk levels by choosing to ignore the rules or look for risky short cuts.
Traffic Fatalities up to 9am on the 19th September 2016
Pedestrians 20
Drivers 62
Passengers 27
Motorcyclists 14
Pedal Cyclists 9
Pillion Passengers /Other 1
Total Year To Date 133
- On average, 15 people are dying on the roads every month
- Non-wearing of seatbelts remains a concern for both drivers and passengers
- If this trend continues, 50 more people could lose their lives by the end of the year
To get more information and make your pledge to make the 21st September 2016 a European Day Without A Road Death please see the TISPOL website, www.tispol.org.
Please watch and share this video that explains what’s going on and how you can get involved:
https://www.tispol.org/content/2016/08/01/17/53/project-edward-promo-video
Geraldine Herbert
19th September, 2016
