[PR] RSA & USI Announce 5 Year Partnership & Launch UN World Road Safety Week

Victor

http://www.rsa.ie/NEWS/News/RSA_and_USI_Announce_5_Year_Partnership.html

RSA and USI Announce 5 Year Partnership & Launch UN World Road Safety Week In Ireland

Sunday 22nd April - Minister of Sate at the Department of Transport Mr. Pat the Cope Gallagher TD has officially launched a five year joint venture between the road Safety Authority (RSA) and Union of Students in Ireland (USI) to promote safer driving and better road safety awareness among college students throughout the country.

To mark this occasion and the start of the first UN Global Road Safety Week Monday 23rd to Sunday 29th April, both the RSA, USI and Rally Ireland have produced a road safety leaflet which targets issues such as drug-driving; seatbelt wearing; drink-driving; using mobile phones while driving; driver fatigue and speeding. 25,000 of these leaflets will be distributed to over 40 campuses around the country during UN Global Road Safety Week.

There are currently 200,000 students enrolled in 3rd level education , many of them between 17 and 24 years of age. Tragically twenty 17-24 year olds per 100,000 population are killed each year in Ireland in road traffic crashes . Young men are particularly at risk.

Mr. Noel Brett, Chief Executive, Road Safety Authority said, “What is happening on our roads is no accident. The root problem being: excessive and inappropriate speed, driving while intoxicated whether through drugs or alcohol, driver fatigue, failure to wear seatbelts and failure to recognise vulnerable road users. The aim of this partnership is to educate students in the rules of the road, to promote road safety and to gain a better insight into the actions of this high risk group”.

Mr. Colm Hamrogue, President, Union of Students in Ireland stated: “Today marks the beginning of what we hope will be a productive partnership between USI and the Road Safety Authority to drive down the number of young people killed or injured on our roads. As well as investigating the attitudes and behaviours of student road users, we will be campaigning for improved awareness of safe driving practices. Anyone who drives a car bears a huge responsibility to be safe and responsible every time they get behind a wheel. This is the message we need to get out to students, now.”

The world’s first UN Global Road Safety Week takes place from the 23rd to the 29th of April this year. Its theme will be “young road users”.

In addition to this activity, The Road Safety Authority and the Department of Health will jointly send two young people to represent Ireland at the World Youth Assembly for Road Safety on 23-24 April 2007 which is being held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

According to the UN road traffic collisions kill nearly 1.2 million people worldwide every year, and injure millions more. They are the second leading cause of death for people aged 5 to 25, with devastating impact on families and communities.

ENDS