The National Safety Council will mount an advertising campaign from tomorrow aimed at reducing road fatalities over the bank holiday weekend and beyond.
The "Only the Good Die Young" campaign will focus on Ireland's high level of road accidents, with particular emphasis on the involvement of young male drivers.
Using television and radio advertising as well as posters and flyers, the NSC hopes to replicate the success of a similar initiative on the October holiday last year, when deaths and injuries were lower than normal.
A total of 415 people died on the roads during 2000, with another 12,340 injured. Of the fatalities, 154 were defined as young people and at least 74 were drivers, killed mainly in single-vehicle accidents where speed was the principal factor.
The NSC says research proves that "approximately 80 per cent of all road fatalities can be directly attributed to driver error, with the biggest contributory factors being speed, drink-driving and non-use of seat belts". The seat-belt wearing rate is a low 56.6 per cent of Irish drivers, according to studies, and much lower among men than women.
The NSC's chief executive, Mr Pat Costello, said the trauma caused to families was "totally unnecessary and avoidable". Announcing the campaign yesterday, he added: "With 415 killed and over 12,000 injured last year, it is time we all called stop to this carnage, and all road users took a personal responsibility for their actions on the roads."
The Minister of State for the Environment, Mr Bobby Molloy, said the campaign was a great opportunity for people to show support for road safety: "The results will speak for themselves."
