MINISTER OF STATE Jack Chambers has said Ireland must “break” the “shocking” trend of rising road deaths as fatalities outpace previous years.

Garda figures show that the number of road deaths in 2022 – 155 – has already been matched with more than two months still left in this year.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) and gardaí have launched a call for road users to watch out for pedestrians over the Bank Holiday Weekend.

43 pedestrians were killed on the roads last year, with 38 killed so far this year. Analysis shows that pedestrians are particularly at risk in the winter months, according to the RSA.

Chambers, who is Minister of State in the Department of Transport, said road deaths this year are on track to be the highest in 15 years, which is of “significant concern”.

“The trend this year has been shocking,” the minister said.

Speaking to reporters this afternoon, he said that Ireland has seen a “reversal of the significant progress we’d made from a safety perspective”.

He said there are problems with “driver distraction”.

“We’re trying to strengthen all elements of our response, from coordinating a response around reform and legislation to working with An Garda Síochána on strengthening enforcement.”

Last year, nearly twice as many pedestrians were killed at night than during daylight hours, according to the RSA.

58% of pedestrian fatalities happened on roads in urban areas with speed limits of 60 km/h or lower.

There was also a dramatic increase last year in fatalities among older people compared with the previous three years, with people aged 66 years or over making up 51% of pedestrian fatalities. That has dropped so far this year to 32%.

Chief Executive of the RSA Sam Waide said in a statement: “This year and last year have seen high numbers of pedestrian fatalities. The winter months in 2022 were particularly bad when, between October and December, nearly half of all pedestrian fatalities occurred.”

“We are, therefore, asking all road users to take extreme care over the coming months, which are potentially a period of higher risk, and to share the roads safely with other road users, especially pedestrians.”