{"id":12769,"date":"2025-09-18T09:43:03","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T09:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/?p=12769"},"modified":"2025-09-23T08:11:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T08:11:49","slug":"protecting-our-youngest-road-users-in-ireland-to-prevent-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/childrens-health\/protecting-our-youngest-road-users-in-ireland-to-prevent-tragedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting our youngest road users in Ireland to prevent tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-profile-box round ab-has-avatar ab-font-size-14 ab-block-profile ab-profile-columns\"><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-avatar-wrap\"><div class=\"ab-profile-image-wrap\"><figure class=\"ab-profile-image-square\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" class=\"ab-profile-avatar wp-image-12770\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/18093638\/vicky-1758188196-Sam-Waide-2023.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/18093638\/vicky-1758188196-Sam-Waide-2023.jpg 400w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/18093638\/vicky-1758188196-Sam-Waide-2023-125x125.jpg 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-content-wrap\"><h2 class=\"ab-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Sam Waide<\/h2><p class=\"ab-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Chief Executive Officer, Road Safety Authority\u00a0<\/p><div class=\"ab-profile-text\"><\/div><ul class=\"ab-social-links\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Every parent, guardian and teacher shares the same instinct: to keep children safe. Yet, when it comes to our roads, Ireland\u2019s youngest citizens remain vulnerable.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Anew report from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) reveals stark figures highlighting how much more must be done to protect children on our streets.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-sobering-child-casualty-figures-nbsp\"><strong>Sobering child casualty figures&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Between 2020 and 2024, 39 children aged 0\u201315 years lost their lives on Irish roads, while a further 584 were seriously injured. Children made up 5% of total road fatalities and 8% of serious injuries during this period. Two out of every three children injured were either walking or cycling. Almost half of all child casualties were pedestrians, while nearly one in five were cyclists.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEvery child should feel safe when walking or cycling to school, when travelling as a passenger or when simply playing in their community,\u201d says RSA Chief Executive Sam Waide. \u201cThese figures remind us that road safety for children must be a shared priority \u2014 for parents, schools, policymakers and every road user in Ireland.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-when-and-where-road-risk-peaks\"><strong>When and where road risk peaks\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The report highlights important patterns to help us understand when and where children are most vulnerable.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Location: Seven in 10 child casualties were on urban roads, in and around our cities, towns and villages. However, the majority of children injured as passengers were injured on higher speed rural roads (80km\/h and above). Dublin and Cork saw the highest numbers of child casualties.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gender: Boys were more at risk than girls. Over the five-year period, 62% of child casualties were male, of which the majority were vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Age: Children aged 10\u201315 years accounted for two-thirds of all child casualties, suggesting that older children, though more independent,\u00a0&nbsp;remain vulnerable in complex traffic environments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Time: Danger peaks in the afternoons and evenings. Seven in 10 child casualties occurred between 12pm and 8pm. Fridays saw the highest proportion of injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Every child should feel safe when walking or<br>cycling to school, when travelling as a passenger<br>or when simply playing in their community.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-parents-and-guardians-as-safety-role-models\"><strong>Parents and guardians as safety role models\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Parents and guardians remain the most powerful role models. The habits children learn in the car, on the footpath or on the bike lane are often the ones they carry into adulthood. Something as simple as always wearing a seat belt, putting the phone away while driving or wearing a helmet on the bike can send a powerful message.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parents are encouraged to walk the local area with their child, discussing the risks they encounter \u2014 whether that\u2019s why they shouldn\u2019t cross between parked cars, the importance of holding hands or how to use pedestrian crossings safely.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-to-promote-safe-cycling\"><strong>How to promote safe cycling\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Cycling is a healthy, enjoyable activity for children, but it must be approached with safety first. Children should always wear a helmet and high-visibility clothing. Parents should ensure their bike is the right size and in good working order. Crucially, children under 12 should not cycle alone in traffic.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Government\u2019s Road Safety Strategy (2021\u20132030) is now in its second phase, with an action plan covering 2025\u20132027. Many of its measures directly benefit children, particularly those travelling to and from school.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-strengthening-road-safety-education\"><strong>Strengthening road safety education\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The RSA is leading on primary action nine, which focuses on strengthening road safety education. Building on successes like the Road Safety Matters course for Transition Year students, it is reviewing its education programmes to ensure they meet the needs of children and young people today.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEvery child lost or seriously injured on our roads represents a tragedy that ripples through families, schools and communities,\u201d says Waide. \u201cBy working together \u2014 slowing down, staying alert and prioritising safety \u2014 we can create an environment where children are free to travel, play and grow without fear.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ireland has set the goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030. Protecting children on the roads is not just part of that vision \u2014 it is at the heart of it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every parent, guardian and teacher shares the same instinct: to keep children safe. Yet, when it comes to our roads, Ireland\u2019s youngest citizens remain vulnerable.\u00a0 Anew report from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) reveals stark figures highlighting how much more must be done to protect children on our streets.\u00a0 Sobering child casualty figures&nbsp; Between 2020 &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/childrens-health\/protecting-our-youngest-road-users-in-ireland-to-prevent-tragedy\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":12771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3099],"tags":[5981],"class_list":["post-12769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-childrens-health","tag-childrens-health-wellbeing-2025"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/18094034\/vicky-1758188425-AdobeStock_1565031798-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/18094034\/vicky-1758188425-AdobeStock_1565031798-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"henryphillips","author_link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/author\/henryphillips\/"},"vicky_index_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12769"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12773,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12769\/revisions\/12773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}