DLR Urges Road Safety Awareness After AXA Roadshow

This week, the AXA Road Safety Roadshow was held in the O’Reilly Hall at UCD with over 600 Transition Year students attending from seven schools across Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Organised by AXA Insurance in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, the event aimed to educate young road users about the importance of road safety. 

Representatives from An Gardaí Síochána, Dublin Fire Bridge and the Health Service Executive delivered a hard-hitting road safety message to the students showing the impact of a single vehicle crash involving an inexperienced over confident 17-driver old driver who had just passed his test. The young driver was travelling at speed and in the crash his girlfriend died. A presentation was also given by Leo Lieghio who lost his 16-year daughter Marsia in a hit and run crash at pedestrian lights in Clondalkin. Leo told the students about the grief he and his family have had to suffer since that terrible day. Provisional collision data from the Road Safety Authority for 2024 shows that young drivers are overrepresented in collisions, with the highest risk age group being those aged 16-25 years. The AXA Roadsafe Roadshow aims to encourage young road users to consider the consequences of their actions while driving. 

An Cathaoirleach, Cllr Jim O’Leary, stated

“Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is pleased to be associated with AXA Insurance, in delivering the roadshow to Transition Year (TY) students attending schools/colleges located within Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown county. This roadshow is an important means of focusing the minds of these young adults to 'think' about how they use the roads as drivers, car passengers, pedestrians or cyclists. We very much welcome today's attendance by TY students so as they can see for themselves, at first hand, the tragic consequences of dangerous road behaviour.”

The AXA Roadsafe Roadshow aims to encourage the next generation of young road users to actively consider the importance of road safety and the impact that dangerous driving, speeding, substance use, and distracted driving can have on themselves and others. Find out more about Road Safety here.