Donegal has recorded its lowest number of deaths so far this year since road safety records began.
A total of five people have been killed on the county’s roads to date this year.
However, Donegal County Council’s Road Safety Officer Brian O’Donnell has urged caution as we enter the month of December.
Mr O’Donnell revealed that only two years in the past seven years have there been no fatalities on Donegal roads in the month of December.
The road safety expert said he is urging people to take extra caution in the run-up to Christmas.
“We are pleased that road deaths are down but five lives lost on our roads is still five too many.
“However, we all know what a busy and dangerous month December can be in the run-up to Christmas and the New Year.
“There are a lot of people about and the temptation is there to join someone for one drink and that may turn into two or three and you jump back into the car.
Donegal County Council Road Safety Offcier Brian O’Donnell. (North West Newspix)
“It is this small lapse of concentration which can change lives and not just the life of one person but entire families,” he said.
To lose at any time of year is tragic but Brian suggests it is almost more poignant in the run-up to such a special time of year for families.
“There’ll always be that empty chair at the table at Christmas which is heartbreaking.
“I have spoken to families and watched as parents’ lives are literally destroyed also when they cannot get over the death of a young person,” he adds.
However, he says that the public have responded in general to the awareness on our roads and observing driving laws.
This compliance has been matched by a general downward trend in deaths on our roads.
Brian points out that, for example, that a staggering 22 lives were lost on Donegal roads in 2008.
Nationally, we are now down by 18 deaths compared to this time last year when 138 people had lost their lives on Irish roads.
“We are going in the right direction are a lot of work is being put into reducing those numbers.
“But there is still a small cohort of people out there who show little regard for safety on our roads.
“Those are the people we need to get the message across to to ensure that the numbers of fatalities on our roads continue to go down each year,” he said.
