Govt must act to protect pedestrians, say Greens
The Government must rethink transport policy in a bid to protect pedestrians from the dangers on city streets, it was claimed today.
Following the deaths of 24 pedestrians in Dublin last year the Green Party called for ministers to introduce practical measures and end the poster campaigns.
Eamon Ryan, Green Party transport spokesman, said the Government was not doing enough to improve safety for people navigating gridlocked city streets.
“The fact that we have the third highest pedestrian death rate in the EU and the highest level of child pedestrian deaths is a national scandal,” he said.
“The doubling of pedestrian deaths in the capital last year shows how urgently we have to act.
“Rather than putting the onus on the pedestrian to act carefully and abide with a system that is utterly flawed we should address the real cause of the problem and change the system itself.”
An Garda Siochana are due to launch the Pedestrian Awareness Campaign tomorrow (Tuesday) with agencies such as Bus Eireann, Dublin Bus, the National Safety Council and Dublin City Council.
Fachtna Murphy, Deputy Commissioner, warned a high percentage of pedestrians were killed during the hours of darkness.
“This campaign is aimed at raising the awareness of pedestrians generally regarding road safety and in particular the blind spot that drivers of trucks and pedestrians must contend with,” the Deputy Commissioner said.
Figures from the gardaí revealed 24 pedestrians were killed on Dublin roads in 2004, compared to 11 in 2003. It also showed 67% of fatal accidents involved trucks or buses.
And as part of efforts to cut the number of pedestrians killed on the road wrist bands with the slogan ‘Watch out traffic about’ will be handed out and leaflets and posters will also be distributed.
The Green Party called for a series of additional measures to be put in place to cut the number of fatalities.
Mr Ryan TD said no truck should be allowed into the city centre area without the appropriate front and side blind-spot mirrors, longer crossing times for pedestrians were needed and the entire city centre area in Dublin should have 30kmph speed limit.
He also called for a programme to identify and address the worst safety blackspots in the country and more public transport and pedestrian friendly streets.
