Calls for Road Safety Officer to be appointed in Clare
Clare councillors have called for the role to be filled in the county council, and for greater education on road safety
A number of Clare county councillors have called for greater road safety education and for the council to "re-establish a Road Safety Officer" for Clare.
The calls came at a meeting of Clare County Council (CCC) and at the meeting of the Joint Policing Committee, both of which took place last Monday, April 8.
Councillor Gabriel Keating called on the council to appoint a Roads Safety Officer for the county, saying there had previously been such a role in the council, and that for one particular year while there was a Road Safety Officer; "there were no road accidents".
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Cllr Keating made his comments while speaking in support of a motion brought by Cllr P.J Ryan asking that "this Council requests that Minister for Education, Norma Foley would include road safety on the curriculum at all levels of education in the county".
Cllr Ryan said that his motion, which had been deferred from the March council meeting, had "become more relevant in the last few weeks" due to the 63 deaths on Irish roads in 2024 already.
Only one road death has occurred in 2024 on Clare roads, however there have been a number of incidents that have resulted in serious injuries.
He called for greater road safety education in schools and compared loaning a "high powered family car" to a young, inexperienced driver to giving them "a loaded shotgun".
His colleagues Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy and Cllr Joe Garrihy supported his motion, but both highlighted that road safety education was something that all drivers would benefit from, with Cllr Colleran-Molloy stating that "we're all guilty of misjudgement", and Cllr Garrihy pointing out that "road safety learning is a lifelong journey".
The councillors were echoing sentiments expressed in the Joint Policing Committee meeting that same Monday morning, following a presentation by gardaí of their LifeSaver Project, a presentation put together by "gardaí on the frontline of roads policing" about the importance of road safety.
Many councillors who were present at the committee meeting were deeply affected by the "hard-hitting" presentation, and Cllr Rita McInerney called for a Road Safety Officer to be appointed in Clare.
Her call was greatly welcomed by the Chief Superintendent for the Clare/Tipperary District Aileen Magner, who said that "from a garda perspective", a Roads Policing Officer would serve as an excellent point of contact between the force and the council, particularly for community work.