A new 'hard-hitting' safety campaign will resemble a blank death notice to remind people to be safe on the roads.
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) is appealing to road users to consider the devastating consequences of dangerous driving habits in its new campaign 'Time to Talk'.
The campaign will remind people that they or someone they care about could be killed.
Junior Minister for Road Safety Jack Chambers told Newstalk Breakfast the timing ahead of the May Bank Holiday weekend is important.
"We know bank holiday weekends present a very serious risk for road users," he said.
"As part of this new hard-hitting campaign with the Road Safety Authority we're trying to again outline to people the devastating and tragic consequences of road fatalities.
"[We're] asking people to talk and have that chat with their family and friends."
'High-risk behavior'
Minister Chambers said too many people are engaged in risky behaviour.
"It is about trying to remind people to slow down, to just be cognizant of that when they're getting into their car," he said.
"Too many people are engaged in high-risk behavior on the road: speeding, using their mobile phone, intoxicated while driving and also not wearing a seatbelt.
"Those killer behaviours are part of the persistent trend we've seen this year and indeed last year".
'Young people'
Minister Chambers said the campaign wants to target younger people in particular.
"We need a hard-hitting dimension to our road safety campaign because we're seeing the devastating consequence it's having right across the country," he said.
"The particular loss of young people we've seen in the last year - 40% under 30 are the numbers who've lost their lives on our roads".
There have been 69 people killed on Irish roads so far this year; 16 more than the same time last year.
An RSA survey from 2022 found almost one-in-four drivers check mobile phone notifications while driving.
Some 37% of motorists do not regularly practice safe mobile phone use behaviours.
International research suggests drivers are four-times more likely to be involved in a collision if they use their mobile phone while driving.
Over one-quarter of fatalities on Irish roads were aged 16 to 25 last year, compared with 16% in 2022.
