Police urge drivers to slow down as number of road fatalities increases

Police have urged drivers to slow down, pay attention and stop taking risks as the amount of people who have died on the roads has increased.

Chief Inspector Graham Dodds, Head of Road Policing, said: “Tragically, 46 people have already lost their lives on our roads this year. That is 18 more compared to the same time period last year, which is quite shocking.

“Many more people have suffered serious and sometimes life-changing injuries. Every time you hear about a fatal or serious collision on the news, there is a family, a circle of friends, a community plunged into mourning.

“These figures show that we as a society we are still not taking road safety seriously enough. The responsibility for making our roads a safer place remains one that we all share.

“Inattention and speed, or more accurately, excessive speed for the conditions and drink or drug driving, are consistently the principal causes of the most serious road traffic collisions in which people are killed or seriously injured on roads in Northern Ireland.

“It is shocking that on just one day alone, Saturday 12th August, one driver was arrested after being stopped travelling at 104 mph - he was also found to be under the influence of alcohol. A restricted (R) driver was prosecuted for driving at 96mph when the maximum speed they should have been travelling at was 45mph.

“Speeding is not just a low-level crime, it’s dangerous. It is a serious threat to other road users. Speeding causes crashes. In a crash the most vulnerable thing on the road is you.

“Removing excess speed from the road safety equation should be the easiest thing that every road user can do.

“If we all stop speeding, more people live. If we all stop speeding, fewer people have to contend with life-changing injuries.

“Reducing deaths and serious injury on our roads is a policing priority and we will continue to target the small minority of people who continue to disregard the laws, whether speeding, driving without due care and attention, not wearing seatbelts, driving after taking drink or drugs, or driving while using a mobile telephone.

“We all share the responsibility to prevent deaths and serious injuries on our roads.”