Drivers should slow down, especially on remote roads, according to a distraught mother whose 16-year-old son perished in an automobile accident, reports The Mirror.
A new ad campaign by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) emphasises the risks of speeding and complacency, particularly on roads that the motorist is familiar with. 73% of traffic fatalities between 2020 and 2024 happened on rural roads.
Adam Case, the son of Sharon Cleary, was a passenger in the backseat when the driver of the vehicle he was riding in lost control and collided with a tree on a small country road. In 2017, the horrifying event happened within three miles from his home in County Tipperary.
Speaking of her son’s death, Sharon said: “Adam was a kind, fun-loving teenager who had his whole life ahead of him. He had no chance of survival when the driver lost control of the car. No family should have to endure this heartbreak. This powerful campaign is so important—anything that helps prevent another tragedy like this is absolutely necessary,” reports The Mirror.
For the reckless driving that resulted in Adam’s death, Thomas Carroll of Ballingarry, Roscrea, was given a three-and-a-half-year jail sentence in 2019 with 18 months suspended. Additionally, he was barred from driving for seven years.
Carroll had no driver’s license, no insurance, and was speeding on the day of the collision, the court was informed. Drivers are also being urged to slow down by June McArdle, whose father, Christopher Fitzgerald, was murdered on a small local road in 2018.
A automobile that had strayed into the opposite side of the road struck the motorcycle head-on, unfortunately killing him. His devastated daughter uttered: “The tragic irony is that my dad was an incredibly careful and responsible driver—he always said his own driving wouldn’t kill him, but someone else’s could, reports The Mirror.
“He was hit head-on by a car that drifted into his path and, in an instant, he was gone. It was just 11 weeks before my wedding, and he had been on his way home after dropping off my wedding invitations. This campaign is so important because no family should have to endure this kind of heartbreak. We all have a responsibility to drive safely—not just for ourselves, but for everyone on the road,” reports The Mirror.
Supported by grieving families, the RSA campaign illustrates how even little speed increases—which are frequently missed by drivers who know a road well—can have disastrous results.
In a Groundhog Day-style commercial, a commuter’s everyday journey to work is followed, reports The Mirror.
More than half of drivers think it’s okay to go above an 80 km/h speed limit by up to 10 km/h, and over 30% think it’s okay to go over the limit by even more, according to research done by Ipsos B&A on behalf of the RSA.
Additionally, a lot of drivers think they are competent enough to drive faster, especially on roads they know well, reports The Mirror.
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