A man who uses a wheelchair has appealed to drivers to be more careful on the roads or they might end up in one.
Galway man and comedian Stevo Timothy was riding his motorbike whilst drink driving in 2005 and was involved in an accident that claimed the life of his friend John, who was his pillion passenger.
He was speaking to 1,600 students as part of the AXA Road Safe Roadshow in County Mayo earlier.
Stevo told Josh Crosbie for The Hard Shoulder he wants to talk at these events.
"I use the wheelchair, I use two crutches; I can walk short distances but I tend to use the wheelchair a good bit," he said.
"I'd be only codding myself at the end of the day if I didn't talk about it and talk about my past.
"If it brings on hate and threats and stuff so be it.
"If you can change the actions of one person then you've won - my job is done".
Stevo Timothy after his accident. Image: Facebook/Sir Stevo TimothyStevo said he has forgiveness from the only people that matter.
"I do understand the anger and people say that they won't forgive me and stuff," he said.
"I find that really odd because the only person's forgiveness that I gave a damn about was the family of John and they have forgiven me."
Stevo said he wants to give one message to drivers.
"Be careful or you might end up in a wheelchair for life and you don't want that, trust me".
62 people have died on Irish roads so far this year.
More than 1,600 students attended the @AXA Road Safe Roadshow in @tf_castlebar today.
Hear personal experiences from @SirStevoTimothy and more on @TheHardShoulder. pic.twitter.com/u5prVCIrKq— Josh Crosbie (@JoshCrosbie3) April 11, 2024
Leo Lieghi lost his daughter Marsia 18 years ago in a hit and run in Clondalkin in Dublin.
She was just 16 when she was knocked down at a set of pedestrian lights.
Mr Lieghi told Josh people don't often hear the stories behind the statistics.
"People see the numbers and they hear the facts and the figures but they're not hearing the stories and the stories need to get out there," he said.
"First responders have their stories as well; they just don't come across a scene like that and go home and forget about it.
"It runs through their heads as much as can be as well."
'No proper deterrent'
Mr Lieghi said he wants politicians to make road safety easier.
"The solutions to me are easy but the politicians don't want to make it easy," he said.
"I want more enforcement, I want more yellow jackets on the streets, I want tougher penalties as a proper deterrent.
"There's no proper deterrent - people that have been banned from driving are still getting into their cars and driving.
"They're going into court and not even handing their licences back.
"The technology is out there as well, for God's sake".
Mr Lieghi said people breaking the law just don't care.
"They're just not listening, they just don't care, they think they're not going to get caught," he said
"If they do get caught they get a slap on the wrist".
Road Traffic Bill
It comes as the 2024 Road Traffic Bill has been passed by the Oireachtas and will go to President Higgins for signing.
Default speed limits are being lowered from 100km/h to 80km/h on national secondary roads, from 80km/h to 60 km/h on local roads and from 50km/h to 30km/h in built-up areas.
The bill also means people who commit multiple penalty points on the same occasion will receive multiple sets of points.
It will also introduce mandatory drug testing following serious collisions, which is already the case for alcohol.
