The shortest and darkest day of the year is nearly upon us and all road users are reminded to take care to be safe and be seen.
National High Viz Day will take place on Wednesday 21st December 2016, the shortest and darkest day of the year and the Donegal Road Safety Working Group with the assistance of the Donegal Youth Service will be distributing High Viz vests at various locations in Letterkenny on Wednesday.
With fewer hours of daylight during the winter months, the aim of ‘National High Viz Day’ is to remind all road-users how important it is to be seen by wearing high visibility material when out walking, cycling or motorcycling, or using dipped headlights when driving, in order to stay safe on the road.
Over the past number of years, there has been a significant increase in the number of people walking, cycling and motorcycling, and it is encouraging to see so many of these road-users wearing high visibility material when out on the roads but there are still a large number who do not.
To date this year (Tuesday 20th December), 182 people have died on Irish roads, 32 more than this time last year. Vulnerable road users, such as cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians, accounted for over a third of these deaths with 34 pedestrians, 10 cyclists and 20 motorcyclists having died on Irish roads so far, this year.
Brian O’Donnell, Road Safety Officer, said, “With fewer hours of daylight, it is extremely important for people to be visible when out on the roads. Wearing high visibility material such as a vest or jacket is the simplest way to make sure you can be seen by other road users when you are out walking, cycling or motorcycling. So we would encourage everyone to get their viz on to show their support for ‘National High Viz Day’. It could help to save a life.”
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