NRA claims roads are three times safer than in 1970s
Irish roads are three times safer than they were in the 1970s, according to claims from the National Roads Authority.
Despite the high numbers of road deaths, the organisation said that more than 9,500 deaths and serious injuries have been prevented since 1990.
A total of 564 people died on the roads in 1980, when there were only around 900,000 cars in the country.
In 2005, there were 396 road deaths when the number of registered vehicles stood at 2.1 million.
So far this year 218 people have died, 13 of those since last weekend.
