2025 WAS A devastating year on Irish roads. Garda figures show that there were 179 collisions resulting in 190 fatalities – 15 more than the number of deaths (175) in 2024.

The Road Safety Authority has expressed concern over the increase, particularly among vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists.

Last year, 45 pedestrians and 14 cyclists were killed on Irish roads. The figures show that 30 motor cyclists and 3 e-scooter drivers or passengers were killed. In other words, almost half (48%) of the people killed on Irish roads in 2025 were not protected by the chassis of a motorised vehicle.

These figures are telling us that safety of pedestrians and cyclists on Irish roads is going in exactly the wrong direction at a time when climate and health targets urge us to get out of cars and onto two feet, bicycles and public transport.

Car supremacy tells us that roads exist only for drivers; the harms of driving should be ignored; and that everyone else- pedestrians, children, cyclists, motor cyclists and e-scooter drivers should get out of the way.

Car spreading is resulting in new cars every year that further reduce the space for cyclists and pedestrians and make crashes all the more potentially lethal.

Our travel choices and our level of physical activity are often seen as personal choices. But they are largely shaped by the environment and infrastructure around us. The systemic and commercial ‘drivers’ behind these choices have often been ignored.

To make population-level improvements, we must shift from blaming the individual to shaping environments that support healthy living.

A system that supports active travel and quality public transport will support reduced traffic congestion and cost savings for the State.

Ireland has plenty of plans to promote sustainable mobility but to date, implementation has been slow and fragmented. The Climate and Health Alliance in its recent insightful report

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