Flashing Lights – the importance of being seen in Galway City 

As part of the Galway Healthy Cities Project, the HSE West Health Promotion Services and Galway City Council are working with the Community Gardaí to distribute over 2,000 mini clip-on lights to people who are out walking, running and cycling throughout Galway City.

According to the Road Safety Authority (RSA) Road Collision Facts publication (June 2007), the highest number of pedestrian injuries occur when the clocks change in late October.

Commenting on the campaign, Mr. Noel Brett Chief Executive of the Road Safety Authority said, “This is an innovative and proactive way to promote safety within Galway City, as vulnerable road users pedestrians and cyclists need to take extra care and precautions when using the roads. The most important thing a pedestrian or cyclist can do is to be seen. This means wearing bright clothes and reflective material, such as a high-vis jacket, armband or carrying a torch. This will make you stand out in traffic. Motorists can help too by using dipped headlights which make it easier to identify oncoming vehicles in the distance and is especially effective in preventing daytime head-on and front-corner collisions.”

Inspector Ernie White, Mill Street Garda Station Galway, stressed the importance of both cyclists and pedestrians being seen and commented, “The community Gardaí will be proactively distributing the lights in key areas throughout the city including the Quincentennial Bridge and Lough Atalia. It is great to have key agencies working together with the ultimate aim of reducing the number of accidents in Galway City this winter”. 




Galway City Focus on Daytime Running Lights

As part of the Galway Healthy Cities project, Galway University Hospitals, in conjunction with Health Promotion Services, HSE West launched an initiative in December 2007 to create awareness of the importance of using dipped headlights at all times during the day. Daytime running lights work on the basis of making vehicles more noticeable to other road users, which in turn will prevent more daytime collisions. This enables drivers to detect vehicles quicker from far away and increase judgment perception when overtaking.

Commenting on the importance of daytime lights Laura McHugh, Health Promotion Officer for GUH said, "Road collisions present one of the biggest health and safety risks for many HSE West staff, as a significant number of us drive as part of our job. 'I'm Daylighted' is about creating awareness and getting a message out that will hopefully spread to all staff and other road users, and that motorists will automatically switch on their dipped headlights before setting off on a journey."



According to the Office of the Director of Traffic, 50 per cent of daytime collisions and 80 per cent of collisions at road junctions happen because drivers do not see the other vehicle. Using dipped headlights during the day aims to prevent accidents and has been shown to help reduce road collisions by up to 20 per cent. This is particularly important at this time of year with many extra vehicles on the road.

For more information contact

Fiona.Donovan@hse.ie    +353 91 548518

Laura.McHugh@hse.ie    +353 91 542589

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