The Road Safety Authority's annual international road safety conference in Dublin Castle was addressed by Irish, UK and international speakers working in the area of road safety, with particular emphasis on support for survivors and families of victims of road collisions.
The event included presentations on the psychological effect of road collisions and the long-term impact they have on survivors' lives, as well as the experiences of front line staff, and the lasting impact of road collisions on victims' families.
Leo Varadkar TD, Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, said the conference was 'about reminding everyone of the added dangers we face when using the roads'. "More importantly, it's also about those who have been affected by road tragedy. It's an important reminder that when we speak about road safety, we are not talking about faceless statistics, but real people".
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Dr Edward Hickling, author and clinical psychologist from New York presented his research into the presence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in people seriously injured in road crashes. He said some studies up to six years after their collision showed as many as 40 percent of victims don't improve, even with treatment.
The Conference was chaired by Gay Byrne, Chairman of the RSA. Speakers included Brigitte Chaudhry, NGO coordinator of the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims who presented research of the impact of road deaths and injury; and Dr Howard Johnson, Specialist in the Health Intelligence Unit, Health Service Executive (HSE) who said the number of people admitted to hospital as a result of a collision fell from 6,700 to 5,500, a decrease of one fifth in just five years. His research also showed that the number of patients requiring intensive care following a crash fell by almost 10 percent. However, he added, the severity of injuries and profile of the victim remained unchanged in this period.
In addition to presentations, those who attended also heard three personal stories from people who were either seriously injured in a collision or had lost someone to a road collision.
