ROAD safety chiefs have expressed alarm at the high number of people killed on Irish roads over the Christmas period.
The chief executive of the Road Safety Authority, Moyagh Murdock, said that it had been “one of the worst” Christmas periods for fatalities since records began.
The latest victim was a motorist in his seventies who died on the Mulligar to Longford Rd at Ballinalack, Co Westmeath, on Monday in a two-car collision.
The victim was seriously injured in the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene, his body was removed to the mortuary at Mullingar Hospital.
A female passenger in the victim’s car and two people in the second car received minor injuries were taken to the hospital for treatment.
Those who have lost their lives so far in accidents on both sides of the border have included seven-year-old Jackson Turner from Co Antrim, Patrick Buckley, a father-of-six from Co Offaly, Judy Waters from Co Wexford, who was a mother of infant twins, and north Cork mother and daughter and daughter Geraldine and Louise Clancy.
Ms Murdock suggested the public was becoming complacent and were taking chances on the roads and she urged both motorists and pedestrians to take responsibility.
Meanwhile, gardaí have warned motorists to take extra care during the bad weather, particularly when travelling on flooded roads.
