Minister shocked by weekend's road carnage

Environment Minister Edwin Poots this morning expressed his shock and concern at the toll of road casualties over the weekend.

Three people died and a number of others were seriously injured in a series of crashes across Northern Ireland between Saturday and Monday morning.

Mr Poots said: “Our deepest sympathy goes out to the families and friends of those who have so tragically lost their lives on our roads over the past three days, and our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been injured.”

In one crash a 23 month old girl died after she was struck by a vehicle near the village of Clough on Saturday.

Mr Poots said “This is all the more tragic because it is the first child fatality on Northern Ireland's roads in 2010. Any death on our roads is distressing, but the death of a child, especially one so young, is even more difficult to comprehend.”

A second crash on Saturday resulted in the death of a man in Gilford while a third man was killed this morning in Derrylin, Co. Fermanagh.

Three men were also seriously injured this morning when a vehicle they were travelling in crashed near Dundrod. All three were thrown from the car on impact and are now in a critical condition in hospital.

Mr Poots continued: “As we begin the summer holiday period, I urge all road users to take greater care. As schools close for the summer, be extra vigilant for more children on the roads and people out walking taking advantage of the current good weather and brighter evenings.

“Likewise, I appeal to motorcyclists to take extra care at this time and I also call on all drivers to look out for the increased number of motorcyclists who will be enjoying the biking season.

The Minister said that the deaths and injuries were a reminder to everyone about the vital importance of getting the road safety message across to every road user. He said: “If you look back over the past number of years, and the past few months in particular, you can see that road deaths have been coming down. However, the events of the weekend show how quickly disaster can strike, and how important it is that our efforts to end the carnage should continue.

So far this year 25 people have died on Northern Ireland's roads compared with 59 for the same period last year.

Mr Poots concluded: “I would urge everyone to slow down and pay careful attention to what is happening on the road ahead and around you.”

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