This report covers all road traffic collisions reported to the Garda Síochána, where details were recorded and forwarded to the National Roads Authority, involving fatalities, personal injury or material damage which occurred on public roads in Ireland (exclusive of Northern Ireland) in 2004. Collisions on private property, such as railway station approaches or private lanes, are excluded. A total of 374 persons were killed in 334 collisions on Irish roads in the year 2004. This represents an increase of 39 fatalities (or twelve per cent) from the year 2003 but a reduction of 2 fatalities over the 2002 figures. The reduction in fatalities noted for 2003 was influenced by the introduction of the penalty points system on 31st October, 2002. The fatality rate, the number of persons killed per million registered vehicles, increased by approximately 6 per cent in 2004 compared with 2003. Compared to 2003 there was a substantial increase in the number of car user fatalities (which rose from 172 to 208) and in pedestrian fatalities (which rose from 64 to 70). The number of pedal cyclist fatalities, at 11, remained unchanged, while the number of motorcyclist fatalities decreased by five to 50. The number of other road users killed increased by two to 35. Thirty-six per cent of all fatal collisions in 2004 were single vehicle only collisions. This represents an increase of three percentage points over the 2003 situation. This collision type, which involves no other road user, is strongly associated with two causal factors, namely excessive speed and / or alcohol consumption. Single vehicle only collisions accounted for just 20 per cent of injury collisions. Head-on collisions accounted for 22 per cent of fatal collisions and 20 per cent of injury collisions. Collisions involving pedestrians accounted for 20 per cent of all fatal collisions and 16 per cent of all injury collisions. Single vehicle, head-on and pedestrian collisions all accounted for a greater percentage of fatal than injury collisions, indicating that these collision types are, on average, more severe than angle, rear-end or ‘other’ road collision types, which together accounted for 45 per cent of injury collisions but only 22 per cent of fatal collisions. The worst month for fatalities in 2004 was July when 38 persons died in 32 collisions. October recorded the fewest collisions when 22 persons died in 20 collisions. The number of fatal collisions between the hours of 9.00 pm and 3.00 am, the hours most strongly associated with drinking and driving, was 83 in 2004, with 97 persons being killed in these collisions. This period accounted for 25 per cent of fatal collisions and 26 per cent of fatalities in 2004. The number of persons killed during the later hours of darkness (between 3.00 am and 6.00 am), i.e. 36, increased by two over the 2003 level. Fatalities that occurred during these hours accounted for approximately 10 per cent of all road collision fatalities in 2004. The worst days of the week for fatalities during 2004 were Saturdays and Sundays. These two days together accounted for 154 fatalities, or 41 per cent of total. The days of the week with fewest associated fatalities were Mondays and Tuesdays, on which days 70 persons, or 19 per cent of total, died. Thirty per cent of all fatal collisions in 2004 occurred on urban roads, an increase of two percentage points over the 2003 figure. The percentage of fatal collisions occurring on rural roads decreased by two percentage points to 70 per cent. Forty per cent of all fatal collisions occurred on national roads, a decrease of two percentage points on the 2003 figure. On a county-by-county basis, Cavan experienced the highest number of collisions per population (2.9 per 1,000 persons). Longford had the highest number of collisions per 1,000 registered vehicles (5.0). Louth experienced the highest number of collisions per 10 million vehicle kilometres of Travel (2.6). On the basis of road deaths per 100,000 population, Ireland’s rate at 8.4 in 2003, the latest year for which international comparative information is available, ranks seventh out of the EU-15 (excluding former accession countries). (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting