Report Paul Murphy
Pupils at 18 schools in the Kells Municipal District were given the facts about the need for road safety in presentations delivered by Meath County Council’s Road Safety Officer Audrey Norris, a meeting of the Kells MD was told this week. Audrey Norris said the schools included Meath Hill NS, Gibbstown NS, Rathmore NS, St Brigid’s Cortown NS, Castletown NS, Oristown NS, O’Growney Athboy, Kilskyrne NS and Ballinacree Oldcastle and more schools are lined up for talks on safety on the county’s roads.
The pupils were also given the stark statistics about road deaths in the county – 14 in 2021, seven in 2022, seven in 2023, 10 in 2024, and one so far this year. Almost a quarter of car users killed in the last five years weren’t wearing seat belts and while only 4% of our population cycle, 37% of road traffic accidents involve cyclists.
The council also has a programme named “Just 1 Life”, with the objective of saving young people’s lives and aimed at demonstrating the common causes of fatalities and injuries on our roads to 15-17 year olds in a practical manner, the safety officer said. Thirteen hundred students will hear that message in 2025, Ms Norris said. The presentations are not sugar coated for the students – they are given the graphic details of what road incidents can do in terms of fatalities and injury.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Sarah Reilly said that since Ms Norris had taken up her position in succession to former road safety officer Michael Finnegan, she had “hit the ground running”. Cllr Eugene Cassidy said the work Ms Norris was doing was “fantastic”. He said he had been on to the council transportation department looking for extra signage and road markings around schools. They were needed to alert drivers to the extra hazards near schools.
Cllr Mike Bray said hat he chaired the council Transportation strategic policy committee and he and other members were the recipient of an excellent presentation by the road safety officer a number of weeks ago. He said that all councillors would agree that during last year’s local election campaign the biggest issue on the doorsteps wasn’t housing or immigration but road safety. “It’s a huge issue among local communities”.
Cllr Sean Drew said that the RSO was very approachable, an aspects that was very important for councillors. Constituents got on to them about various issues and they had to be seen to be taking action on matters raised. However, he said it was very frustrating for councillors who could not raise safety issues about national roads going through the county.
Cllr David Gilroy raised issues about the N51 and N52. He said that it seemed to him that certain measures could be introduced in Westmeath, instancing measures in Delvin, but these measures could not be implemented in Meath.
Cllr Michael Gallagher invited the road safety officer to visit Oldcastle so that she could meet the headmaster of the comprehensive school on issues of road safety there. The big problem was that there was no area where buses could pull in.
