RSA launches road safety campaign ahead of May Bank Holiday weekend

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) appeals to road users to consider the devastating consequences of dangerous driving habits in its new campaign “Time to Talk”.

The hard-hitting campaign calls on friends and family members to “Chat to your loved ones about their driving today. So you don’t lose them tomorrow.” It will be live on radio, social channels, and out-of-home from Bank Holiday Monday.

The campaign features stark funeral imagery, including a hearse and funeral notice, and aims to make people imagine what it would be like to lose a loved one in a road crash.

The campaign was created following the Government's allocation of a further €3 million of funding last month to tackle the increasing number of fatalities on Irish roads.

Provisional analysis from the RSA shows that 69 lives have been lost on Irish roads this year, 16 more than the equivalent period last year.

The new campaign coincides with a call from the RSA and An Garda Síochána for drivers to slow down this bank holiday weekend.

The call comes as a self-report survey commissioned by the RSA in 2023 found that one in four drivers think speeding more than 10km/h over the speed limit is acceptable. The survey also found that 25% of drivers regularly exceed 100km/h limits by more than 10km, and 31% regularly exceed 50km/h limits by more than 10km.

A separate observational study last year found that 58% of motorists were driving over the speed limit on 30km/h roads.

According to the findings of the 2023 self-report survey, the social acceptability of drink-driving has increased since 2019, with a quarter of motorists agreeing that “driving short distances after having a drink is acceptable” and acknowledging that “they may have been over the limit when driving the morning after night out”.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport and at the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, Jack Chambers, said: “Four of the main causes of road fatalities are speeding, intoxicated driving, distracted driving and non-wearing of seat belts. The Road Traffic Act, recently signed into law, targets these killer behaviours and is a strong legislative response to the really worrying trends we have seen in recent times.”

“We are using the May Bank Holiday appeal to launch this new hard-hitting and incredibly stark campaign which forces road users to consider the real-world consequences and impacts of dangerous driving,” he added.

Two people every hour were stopped by An Garda Siochana for either drink or drug driving over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend last month.

Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman, Roads Policing and Community Engagement, An Garda Síochána said: “Gardaí across the country will be monitoring our roads this May Bank Holiday Weekend to implement a comprehensive Roads Policing operation. 

“We work all year round to enforce the road traffic laws and detect traffic offences which we know increase the risk of death or serious injury on our roads. This risk is unfortunately elevated during bank holiday weekends when more people will be out and about,” he said.