Ulster GAA Backs NI Road Safety Campaign

Ulster GAA has announced it support for the 'Share the Road to Zero' campaign, pledging its commitment to improving road safety.

The Northern Ireland Football League, PSNI, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and councils are among other organisations that have signed up to the campaign.

Seventy one people lost their lives on the north's roads in 2023, compared to 55 deaths in 2022 and 50 in 2021.

Department for Infrastructure Minister John O'Dowd said: "We are delighted Ulster GAA is taking the 'Share the Road to Zero' pledge. Their support will help us raise better awareness of what we can all do to change our behaviours on the road.

"Our rising road deaths are an area of deep concern and the GAA family is among those deeply affected by these losses.

"Families, friends and communities are left devastated as too many people, including many young lives, are lost on our roads.

"This campaign is about us all playing a part in reducing road deaths by taking personal responsibility to be the best road user we can be. "Sadly, evidence shows that more than 95% of road deaths are due to human error - careless or inattentive driving, inappropriate speed for the road or the conditions, and drink and drug driving account for the majority of deaths and serious injuries.

"The GAA's support today will help open more conversations about what we can all do, whether we are travelling on foot or on wheels, to help ensure everyone gets to their destination safely."

Ulster Provincial Secretary Brian McAvoy met Minister O'Dowd to take the Share the Road to Zero pledge.

"I am delighted to pledge my commitment to the aims of the Share the Road to Zero campaign," he said.

"The GAA family, along with society generally, knows the devastation of serious injuries and deaths on our roads.

"This campaign helps to focus all our minds on how our behaviour on the roads impacts many people around us.

"We all have a responsibility to improve our behaviour on the roads, and I would encourage all, including the GAA family to get behind this campaign and take the Share the Road to Zero pledge."

Pledging to 'Share the Road to Zero' is an online click of a button via www.sharetheroadtozero.com and can be done on an individual basis or as an organisation. Once you have signed up, you will receive regular and free road safety tips.