Fingal students take part in programme to encourage road safety

Over 1000 students participated in the latest edition of the AXA Roadsafe Roadshow which took place today in The Helix. The event was organised by the insurance company AXA in association with Fingal County Council, An Garda Síochána and local emergency services. Using a backdrop of contemporary music, video clips and television advertisements; the story was told by Garda Barry O’Neill, Paramedic Richard Daly, Fire Officer Trevor Hunt, and Connolly Hospital ED Consultant Siobhan Maguire. 

The show depicts what happens with driver inexperience and overconfidence, with the aim to educate and highlight the various safety skills these young students need before they or their friends start driving.

Larry Bergin, Road Safety Officer with Fingal County Council says ‘’In Fingal we would love to see all our young people walk and cycle and encourage them to continue to do so. This is better for them and the environment. That said we understand that many of our students may chose to take up driving in the coming years. Events like this give an opportunity to educate our young people about their responsibilities as a motorist for the safety of all road users, including other motorists and in particular pedestrians and cyclists who are the most vulnerable. Road safety is all about keeping each other safe. Also, I know it’s quite early but with the festive season approaching, roads will be getting busier. This combined with the shorter, darker evenings and worsening weather conditions means now more than ever we need to take care on our roads.''

Speaking ahead of the event, Marguerite Brosnan, CEO with AXA said that the country was currently losing the fight to improve road safety.  She said, “As one of the largest insurance groups in Europe we deal with numerous claims every week as a result of traffic collisions. The effects are well documented - too many people are being killed on our roads or are being injured for life. Many of these young students will begin driving in the next year or two so it’s vital that we educate them early to think twice about the seriousness of road safety when driving and realise the consequences of taking risks on the road. To date 148 people have lost their lives on our roads this year.  In the Fingal area of Dublin, 9 lives have been lost so far this year as against 4 lives lost in the whole of 2023.''

Stevo Timothy told the story of how he was involved in an accident that claimed the life of his pillion passenger on his motorbike whilst drink driving. The show concluded with a presentation by Leo Lieghio who lost his daughter Marsia, eighteen years ago in a hit and run in Dublin. Marsia was just sixteen years old at the time and was knocked down at a set of pedestrian lights. Leo told the students about the raw grief he and his family have had to suffer since that terrible day.