According to research by the Road Safety Authority speed is the biggest contributing factor to road deaths in the Republic of Ireland. Between 1997 and 2008 excessive speed contributed to 25% of our road deaths. To put it another way 1,134 lives were lost on Irish roads as a result of excessive or inappropriate speed for that 10 year period! There were also an additional 3,334 people who were seriously injured over the same period as a direct result of speeding.

17-24 year olds are a major risk group on Irish roads, being three times more likely to be killed in a collision than the rest of the population. This increases to five times more likely for 17 to 24 year old male drivers. Many die in single vehicle collisions where speeding was the principal factor. Bravado, peer pressure, inexperience, over estimation of their driving skills and a sense of invincibility often leads some young drivers, especially males to take risks while driving, without realising the dangers of these risks.

Speed has an exponentially detrimental effect on road safety. Thus as speed increases, so do the number and severity of collisions. Drivers sometimes trade off a portion of their safety for a time gain. Excessive speed reduces the driver’s ability to negotiate curves, manoeuvre around obstacles in roadway and increases the stopping distance.

To find out additional information on the dangers of speeding please visit the Road Safety Authority’s website on www.rsa.ie