Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 258: To ask the Minister for Transport the efforts being made by his Department to counter the number of road deaths; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34491/10]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The core objective of the 2007-2012 Road Safety Strategy, with its 123 Actions spread across the areas of Education, Enforcement, Engineering and Evaluation, is to reduce road deaths to no greater than 60 fatalities per million population by the end of 2012. This is an average of 21 road deaths per month or 252 deaths per annum. 2009 saw the lowest number of road deaths on record at 240, an average of 20 road deaths per month. The downward trend has continued into 2010 with 156 fatalities to end September, which is 21 less than on the same date last year.

While the core objective has been reached ahead of its target date, we must now concentrate our efforts in ensuring that the figure is not exceeded for each of the remaining years of the Strategy. The advancement of road traffic legislation forms a central part of this Government's strategic response to addressing road safety issues and reducing fatalities on our roads. The primary focus of the Road Traffic Act 2010, which provides for the reduction of the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) for drivers and mandatory testing at collision sites, is to advance the road safety agenda through changing driver behaviour, particularly in the area of intoxicated driving.