merrion street

Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe is calling on road-users throughout the island of Ireland to join the international community to mark World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on Sunday 15^th November 2015. 

A total of 23,752 people have been killed on roads in the Republic of Ireland since records began in 1959. 14,767 people have been killed on roads in Northern Ireland since deaths were first recorded in 1931. 

Minister Donohoe, welcomed the fact that people both north and south were coming together to remember all the lives lost on the island’s roads.  

Many lives have been saved and injuries prevented as a result of the collaborative work by road safety agencies on both sides of the border in recent years so it is fitting that we should come together on World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims to remember those who have tragically died on the road and to also think of their families. I would like to acknowledge the great work done by those in the Emergency Services and medical professionals, on both sides of the border, who have to deal with the aftermath and consequences of collisions. We will be thinking of them too on Sunday and the life-saving work that they do. 

The Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, which was first held in 1993 in the United Kingdom and organised since then by non-governmental organizations in a number of countries, was created as a means to give recognition to victims of road traffic crashes and the plight of their loved ones who must cope with the emotional and practical consequences of these events. 

The RSA, along with members of An Garda Síochána, Road Safety Officers in Local Authorities, the Emergency Services and road safety support groups have organised masses, services and commemorative events around the country this Sunday to remember the lives that have been lost and changed forever on our roads. A full list of the events is available on www.rsa.ie  

The RSA is asking people to change their social media profile picture to add the ‘World Day of Remembrance’ candle. People are also being invited to write the name of a loved one on the RSA’s ‘Wall of Remembrance’ on its Facebook page www.facebook.com/RSAireland. The Wall of Remembrance is a place for people to come and share their memories, to light a candle and leave a memorial message for a loved one who has been killed or seriously injured on our roads.