The Irish Times view on the tragedy in Clonmel: another four young lives lost on the roads

The terrible events in Clonmel late on Friday, where four young people died in a car crash, have shocked and saddened the country. That the tragedy happened on the day three of those who died received their Leaving Certificate results made it all the more poignant. Lives which should have been moving on to a new phase were cruelly ended.

Everyone’s thoughts and sympathies will be with the families and friends of those who died and the wider community in the difficult days ahead. As Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said, the nation mourns the loss of Nicole Murphy, Zoey Coffey, Grace McSweeney and her brother Luke, all from the Clonmel area.

The fatalities in Clonmel follow those of two young women, Kiea McCann and Dlava Mohamed, in another fatal crash in Monaghan at the end of July, on their way to a debs ball. It is important that the community and school supports put in place in Monaghan are again in evidence in Tipperary, but heartbreaking to see them again being needed.

The wider picture is of a deeply concerning increase in road fatalities, which are running at their highest level in six years. All fatal crashes have their own, particular causes – and we must await details of what happened in Clonmel – but the evidence now clearly shows that the numbers in Ireland are again moving in the wrong direction.

‘Yesterday we found out she received her CAO offer’ - crash victim Zoey Coffey remembered

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Clonmel crash funeral: ‘We were honoured to be parents of Luke and Grace’, mother tells mourners

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Clonmel crash funeral: Nikki Murphy was ‘beautiful inside and out’ with dream of becoming radiographer

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Clonmel crash: The four young people who lost their lives

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Official figures show that fatalities from road crashes are running at their highest level in six years, with roughly a quarter being among 16 to 25 year-olds. So far this year 118 people have died on the roads, compared to 98 in the same period last year and 85 in 2019. Numbers fell in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid lockdowns.

The concern now is that the underlying trend, which had been falling for many years is now on the rise again. Analysis by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) shows that rural areas have been worst hit. Also, the percentage of incidents happening between 8pm and 8am is rising.

Clearly, a policy response is needed. Part of this reflects the sad fact that, with road safety, the work of raising awareness and enforcement is never finished. While the messages to the public may be the same as they have been for many years – in relation to avoiding speeding, drink-driving and being distracted by phones – new ways need to be found to get them across, including to younger people. The RSA must be supported in doing this in the months ahead.

Road safety is not a policy area which gets regular attention. It is multi-faceted and difficult to measure success, beyond looking at longer-term trends. A renewal of the efforts in this area would be a fitting response to the two terrible recent tragedies in Monaghan in Tipperary and to the string of other fatal crashes in recent months.