Tipp had highest road death toll of 2023

A total of 16 lives were lost on Tipperary roads in 2023, the highest number in the country.

Seven of those deaths arose from two separate road accidents within days of each other in Clonmel and Cashel in August.

Provisional road traffic collision figures released this week by the Road Safety Authority show that the number of road deaths in 2023 increased nationally by 19% compared to 2022. A total of 184 people died in 173 fatal collisions last year compared to 155 deaths in 149 collisions in 2022.

Dublin and Cork both had the second highest number of road deaths at 15, followed by Galway (13) and Mayo (12).

The RSA figures show that the majority of fatalities - 78% (144) - were male and 22% (40) were female. The number of pedestrian fatalities was slightly above 2022 (+1). The last time there was a higher number of pedestrian fatalities was in 2011 (47).

Almost half of fatalities occurred between 8pm and 8am, compared with 35% in 2022, despite lower traffic volumes during these hours. Over a quarter of fatalities were aged 16-25 years, compared with 16% in 2022.

Almost half (46%) of fatalities occurred between Friday and Sunday, where known. There were 34 passenger fatalities in 2023, representing 18% of the total road deaths that occurred in 2023.