Ireland has the highest level of child pedestrian deaths in the EU, gardaí said today.
Unveiling a new road safety campaign, Garda officers said Ireland had the third-highest pedestrian death rate in the EU.
Sergeant Jim McAllister, Dublin Traffic Division
The campaign is aimed at raising awareness of general road safety issues for pedestrians and in particular the large blind spot that bus and truck drivers have.
More than two-thirds of pedestrians killed on Dublin's roads last year were in incidents involving trucks or buses. The number of pedestrians killed in Dublin rose from 11 in 2003 to 24 in 2004.
Sergeant Jim McAllister of Dublin's Traffic Division said gardaí had analysed the high level of pedestrian deaths, which accounted for half of all road deaths in Dublin last year.
"It quickly became apparent that two-thirds involved a large vehicle," he said. "We had to do something to try and have an immediate reduction in these type of fatalities."
Sgt McAllister said that gardaí wanted the message to reach older people as well as the young, as 62 per cent of pedestrians killed were aged 50 or over.
The blind spot around the cab of a truck can extend three metres to the side and one metre in front of the vehicle, meaning that in some cases the driver can't even see the top of the pedestrian's head.
Gardaí are urging people not to cross roads near trucks or buses, and warning that "if you can't see the driver, the driver can't see you".
Deputy Commissioner Fachtna Murphy today said 300,000 leaflets and 3,000 posters were being distributed to raise public awareness of the dangers.
The Garda is being joined in the initiative by a number of partner organisations including Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus, Connex and Dublin City Council.