This Sunday, 21 November, will mark ‘World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims’ with commemorations to remember the victims of road traffic crashes and their families taking place around the country.
A renewed focus for World Day of Remembrance this year is on the victims of serious injuries and their families. 24,663 people have died on our roads since 1959. Since injury records began in 1977, nearly 85,000 people have been seriously injured.
Yesterday (Nov 16), the Road Safety Authority (RSA) held a special event for family members of those who were killed and those who have been seriously injured in road traffic collisions, at the Museum of Modern Literature in Dublin. The event will be available to view on the RSA Facebook page from 2pm on Sunday 21 November. A special remembrance mass will also be broadcast live on RTE 1 TV this Sunday at 11am. Events are taking place nationwide to mark the day (see Editor’s Notes).
Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton said: “World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is a time to remember those who have been killed or seriously injured on our roads. Equally, it is a time to honour the families and loved ones of the victims of road traffic crashes. It is also a time to thank our emergency services and healthcare workers who deal first-hand with the consequences of road traffic collisions. This coming Sunday I ask that we all take a moment to remember everyone affected by road trauma.”
In 2005, the United Nations adopted a resolution which calls for governments to mark the third Sunday in November each year as World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. This day provides an opportunity to draw the public’s attention to road traffic crashes, their consequences and costs, and the measures which can be taken to prevent them.
119 people have been killed on Irish roads to date in 2021 this is a decrease of 13 deaths compared to the same date last year.