9 March 2005
ROADS SERVICE WELCOMES EURORAP REPORT
Safety standards on Northern Ireland's major road network are comparable with most other countries according to the findings of a European study published today (Wednesday 9 March).
The findings are published as part of the European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) which has compared the safety record of Ireland's roads with that of other European countries. No high risk sections have been identified with over 80% of the network having been classified as medium risk or below.
The Chief Executive of Roads Service, Dr Malcolm McKibbin, said, "The aim of EuroRAP is to help to reduce the numbers of people killed and seriously injured on Europe's roads by highlighting risk. This objective is entirely consistent with the aims and objectives of the NI Road Safety Strategy and as such we welcome the publication. The data behind the document will help to inform our analysis of road safety issues on the network."
He said, "The publication shows that our major roads perform similarly to those in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland with no high risk sections being evident in Northern Ireland. Whilst I am pleased with this performance, this does not and will not make us in any way complacent as we strive with our colleagues in DOE and PSNI to reduce the level of carnage on our roads. Road Safety is a key priority for Roads Service and we continue to invest heavily in our roads programme. Around £200m is earmarked to be spent on improving major routes over the next three years. This investment will have good road safety benefits."
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- EuroRAP is an international not for profit association involving more than 20 motoring organisations, road authorities and expert bodies throughout Europe working together to promote road safety.
- Roads Service has actively co-operated with the National Roads Authority (ROI) and the EuroRAP team since joining the project in early 2004.
- The EuroRAP publication covers the motorway and 'A' class roads in Northern Ireland.
Further information is available from www.eurorap.org.
For media enquiries contact Paddy Cullen, DRD Press Office on 9054 0817 or 07850 187134.
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