Devastating death toll on local roads

Figures collated by Detail Data have laid bare the devastating impact of road collisions in Northern Ireland.

A joint project between investigative news website The Detail and the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA), Detail Data analysed police statistics relating to 1,321 collisions in 2013 and 2014 which led to the death or serious injury of drivers, passengers, cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians.

It showed that in those years there had been two fatal collisions in Ballymoney and six in Coleraine. In all there were two deaths in Ballymoney and seven in Coleraine.

The number of serious collisions in the area totalled 62, Coleraine (38) and Ballymoney (24) with 28 seriously injured in Ballymoney and 49 in Coleraine.

Twelve people were slightly injured in Ballymoney and a further 25 in Coleraine.

The report dfound that almost a quarter of the people killed on Northern Ireland’s roads in the last two years were young men aged between 17 and 24. Of all deaths, almost 80% were male.

The Lisburn area had the highest number of crashes in total – 100. The lowest number was in Cookstown in Co Tyrone – 20.

Despite the common perception that drivers are now well aware of the dangers of drink driving, it remains a serious issue. The top three principal causes of fatal collisions over the last five years in Northern Ireland were drink driving, followed by excessive speed and then inattention/attention diverted.

PSNI Inspector Rosemary Leech warned that “dangers lurk around every corner” on rural roads – including farm vehicles, walkers, slower moving vehicles and motorbikes.

And she described the 136 deaths on our roads in the last two years as “an appalling waste of life”.

To read Detail Data’s report in full, go to www.thedetail.tv/data