THE ROAD Safety Authority has urged motorists to reflect carefully on their behaviour on the roads, following the deaths of eight people in crashes over the weekend including Friday, writes Alison Healy.
The deaths included two young men in Dublin, three in Cork, a 34- year-old woman in Wexford and two children in Co Kildare.
Road Safety Authority chief executive Noel Brett said people must take responsibility for their behaviour on the roads and must ask themselves if their driving is putting themselves, their passengers or other road users at risk.
He pointed out that 13 people had been killed in road crashes since Thursday morning. "That's an appalling figure," he said.
"One death is one death too many but 13 deaths are appalling. Thirteen funerals are being organised today and they don't need to happen. Thirteen families and communities are torn apart because of these deaths."
While young men accounted for five of the eight deaths, Mr Brett said he wouldn't single out one particular group for attention, as everyone was at risk when using the roads.
He said excessive and inappropriate speed was still the single biggest factor contributing to road deaths. More than 40 per cent of deaths were caused by speeding.
"I would appeal to road users to slow down, drive at the right speed for the conditions, don't drive when impaired through drink, drugs or fatigue, always wear a seatbelt and ensure passengers are wearing theirs too, no matter how short the trip."
The weekend's deaths brings the total number killed on the roads since the beginning of the year to 63.
Mr Brett said that times like these only served to highlight the need to press ahead with measures such as the roll-out of a safety camera network, increased enforcement of drink-driving laws and the reform of the driver-licensing system.
Fianna Fáil deputy Charlie O'Connor, in whose constituency the Naas Road collision happened, said the crash scene was "absolutely horrendous". He expressed his sympathy to the injured garda and the families of the young men.
"We have to remain calm. Clearly we have had a very bad few days in relation to death on the roads and even if you don't know the people involved you are still affected," he said. "As a public representative you have to wonder what else we can do to stop this carnage."
The weekend road death toll included a young mother whose car left the road in Wexford on Friday night. Sarah Byrne (34), Ashwood, Mullinaour, Murrintown, was driving towards Murrintown when her car struck a tree.
She was attended at the scene by the emergency services before being removed to Wexford General Hospital, where she later died. She is survived by her husband John and two children, aged seven and nine.
Earlier on Friday, a seven-year-old boy and his eight-year-old sister were killed when the car in which they were travelling collided with a lorry in Walterstown, near Nurney, Co Kildare.