Over 3,500 people suffered serious injuries on Irish roads between 2014 and 2017.
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) said vulnerable road users made up more than half of those who suffered serious injuries.
Some 36% were aged between 18 and 34-years-old while four-in-ten were aged between 35 and 64-years-old.
Nearly 65% were men.
Road Safety Appeal
The figures were released by the RSA and An Garda Síochána ahead of this year’s holiday road safety appeal.
RSA chair Liz O’Donnell said deaths are not the only tragedies that occur on Irish roads.
“Survivors of a serious collision may be viewed as the ‘lucky ones’ but in reality, they are often dealing with life-changing injuries and personal trauma requiring many months and years of medical attention, rehabilitation and support,” she said.
“Not only are they learning to cope with their injuries – but their families, friends and loved ones are also coming to terms with these life changing injuries and how to support them every day.”
She said all road users must work together to make sure as few families as possible are impacted by road crashes.
“Our message this Christmas season is stay safe on the roads and make sure you get home safely,” she said.
Serious injuries
The new figures show that the highest amount of serious injuries among drivers and passengers happen on rural roads.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of injuries suffered by pedestrians and cyclists happen on urban roads.
Nearly a third of serious injuries were sustained in Dublin, with 11% occurring in Cork, 5% in Galway and 4% in Limerick.
An Garda Síochána and the RSA, launch a Xmas & New Year Road Safety Appeal in National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH), Nov 28. The focus of this Christmas & New Year Road Safety Appeal is to highlight the serious injuries resulting from road traffic collisions pic.twitter.com/uUDZo7EdYK
— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) November 28, 2019
The Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said the road safety campaign will run for six weeks from this weekend.
“We would like to thank the majority of the public who have heeded the road safety messages throughout the year and have helped to improve safety on Irish roads,” he said.
“Unfortunately there are still some people who are prepared to put their own and other people’s lives at risk.”
He said there will be an increased focus on roadside testing to “deter people from driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or a combination of both.”
