Donegal Road Safety Group

Donegal Road Safety Working Group

RSA Leading Lights in Road Safety Award 2015

Pictured receiving the award for the Donegal Road Safe Show is James McKenna, Donegal Fire Service, Dr. Gerry Lane, A&E Consultant, Letterkenny University Hospital, Brian O'Donnell, Road Safety Officer, Liz O'Donnell, Chairperson RSA, Richard Alcorn, Sgt. Mark Traynor, Buncrana Garda Station, Paddy Doherty & Liam Duffy, HSE Ambulance Service.

History
The Donegal Road Safety Working Group was founded in 1997 and included members of Donegal County Council (including the Fire Service), An Garda Síochána, North West Health Board and the National Safety Council.

The original mission statement was;

           'To reduce the number and severity of road crashes in County Donegal.'

The main activities of the group between 1997 and 2014 included; 

• Collision Prevention Programme
  • Joint meetings between the Garda and Donegal County Council on an electoral area basis to address local road safety issues
• Setting up a Collision Database and Mapping
• Road Safety Enforcement 
• Identify areas for Safety Cameras  
• Road Safety Programmes in schools
  • Multi agency presentations in schools
  • Primary School Road Safety Art competition
  • Donegal Road Safe Show
  • Supply of educational materials 
• Road Safety Public Awareness campaigns
  • Radio and newspaper campaigns
  • Distribution of Leaflets
  • Benny the Bear safety mascot 

Current membership includes; 

• Donegal County Council including Fire Service
• Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII)
• An Garda Síochána
• Health Service Executive including Ambulance Service
• Road Safety Authority
• Donegal ETB
• Pro Social Drivers Programme (PSDP)
• North West Alcohol Forum Ltd 
• Donegal Youth Service

Objective

The clear objective of the Donegal Road Safety Plan 2010 - 2015 is:

'To reduce the number of road collision casualties in County Donegal in line with national and European casualty reduction targets'

This means that we are aiming to have no more than 9 deaths per year by the end of 2015 on the roads of County Donegal. 

The Road Safety Plan 2010-2015.

The Donegal Road Safety Plan 2010-2015 focuses on five core elements of Education, Engineering, Enforcement, Empowerment and Evaluation. Empowerment is vitally important as it underpins the cultural shift, which will be required to effectively achieve road safety within Donegal. Road Safety Plan 2010-2015

Cross Border Partnership

As we share a long border with Northern Ireland, it is essential that we forge links with road safety professionals in Northern Ireland. Therefore, we have engaged with the Northern Ireland Road Safety Council and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. During the year, education and enforcement initiatives are jointly undertaken to improve road safety in the northwest and ensure the border is not a barrier to catching and prosecuting errant drivers.

Contact Us  email comments or queries to Road Safety Officer