Write a comment
A road safety charity has added its backing to the Department for Infrastructure's Share the Road to Zero campaign, which aims to reduce road deaths by encouraging people to take more responsibility and care on the roads.
Road Safe NI has joined a growing list of organisations pledging to Share the Road to Zero and is encouraging others to do the same. Charity chairperson Davy Jackson has signed up to the campaign on the charity's behalf.
Recent signatories to Share the Road to Zero include Ulster GAA star Rory Grugan, Ulster Rugby trio Jacob Stockdale, Nick Timoney and Michael Lowry, Liverpool and Northern Ireland footballer Conor Bradley, senior women's footballer Emily Wilson, Olympian Ciara Mageean and Belfast Giants.
Welcoming the signing, DfI Minister Liz Kimmins said: "I am very grateful to Davy Jackson for signing up to this important community engagement initiative on behalf of Road Safe NI. Too many lives are being lost on our roads – too many families have had their world shattered by receiving the worst possible news."
Minister Kimmins added: "Nobody sets out on a journey expecting to be involved in a road traffic collision, let alone lose their own life or end someone else's life. Yet, on average, one person dies on our roads every single week. Last year, 69 people set off on what turned out to be their last journey."
The minister highlighted that despite statistics showing more than 95% of collisions are caused by human error, individuals rarely see themselves as part of the problem. "We tell ourselves that it's the other road users, but it is worth remembering that to everyone else, you are the 'someone else'. Davy is helping to remind us of our road safety messages today as he becomes the latest Share the Road to Zero signatory."
Davy Jackson said: "We are signing up to Share the Road to Zero as a reminder for us all that we must never lose sight of the importance of road safety and of being vigilant and careful as road users."
He added: "We recently hosted our eleventh annual Road Safe NI awards, which highlight the important work around road safety carried out by schools, emergency services, voluntary groups, and public and private sectors."
Jackson said everything that can be done to raise awareness about road safety must be welcomed as a way to encourage societal conversations about how to stay safe as road users.
