Minister of State with special responsibility for Road Safety, James Lawless has welcomed the formation of the Road User Safety Forum.
The Forum has ten members comprising a mix of road users representing different interest and advocacy groups, as well as general road users representing a range of backgrounds and perspectives. FTA transport Ireland is one of the 10 members.
Members were selected from a Department of Transport call for expressions of interest in May 2024. The Forum will play a key consultative role in the development of the Action Plan to underpin Phase 2 of the Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030.
At its first meeting, the Forum discussed Irish road safety research and recent trends, and the priorities of Forum members in terms of the Phase 2 Action Plan.
Key issues raised by the Forum included the importance of enforcement of road traffic legislation, the need for data-led education and awareness campaigns, and the opportunities that modal shift provides to improve road safety outcomes. These themes will be further explored and developed at future meetings of the Forum.
It is expected that the Forum will meet on three more occasions across the remainder of 2024 and early 2025, culminating in the adoption of the Phase 2 Action Plan. Phase 2 will encompass the middle period of the current Strategy, from 2025 to 2027.
