Phase 2 Action Plan – Supporting Actions

The following pages outline the Supporting Actions being undertaken by each of the partners of the Government Road Safety Strategy. As noted earlier, the actions listed here are not the only measures being undertaken by the partners involved in the Strategy. Each of the partners has their own objectives and planning processes, which will include many actions contributing to improve road safety.

Department of Transport

Over the course of the Phase 2 Action Plan, the Department of Transport will:

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Safe roads and roadsides	Identify and implement the required legislation to strengthen the Road (Local) Authority role in the management of road openings and road reinstatements by other sectors seeking access to the road for services, utilities and other uses.	Local Authorities, TII
2	Safe roads and roadsides	Establish a Road Safety Engineering Group to co-ordinate and optimise the identification and the delivery of road safety engineering interventions.	Local Authorities, NTA, TII
3	Safe and healthy modes of travel	Revise secondary legislation to incorporate amendments required as a result of the new Cycle Design Manual and update Traffic Signs Manual.	NTA, RSA, TII
4	Safe and healthy modes of travel	Publish a strategy to take a systems approach to reducing vehicle kilometres travelled, air pollution and congestion, thus enhancing the conditions for safe, healthy and sustainable modes of travel particularly in urban environments.	/
5	Safe road use	Develop and pass a new Road Traffic Bill and progress a consolidated Road Traffic Act.	/
6	Safe road use	Progressively implement the reform of the Road Safety Authority consequent on the Government decision of November 2024.	RSA
7	Safe road use	Support greater cooperation on Road Safety across the entire island in line with North South Ministerial Council objectives through the two-way sharing of lessons learned and best practices with relevant road safety bodies in Northern Ireland.	AGS, DOJ, RSA

8	Safe road use	Continue to implement and enhance verified owner measures, including at vehicle registration points, and share these data for the purposes of enforcement.
9	Safe work- related road use	Develop enhanced enforcement powers for An Garda Síochána and RSA Transport Officers to deal efef ctively with commercial vehicles including the adoption of fixed charges.
10	Safe work- related road use	Transpose the provisions of Article 13 of Directive 2014/47/ EU on the technical roadside inspection of the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles and national road traffic regulations and nominate competent authorities for roadside vehicles inspections for cargo securing practices.

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AGS, RSA

RSA

Road Safety Authority

Over the course of the Phase 2 Action Plan, the Road Safety Authority will:

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Safe roads and roadsides	Publish the Road Collision Facts every two years.	DOT, TII
2	Safe road use	Undertake annual, motorist self-report atti ude and behaviour studies to provide data on intoxicated driving, fatigue, seatbelt and mobile phone use, and self-report atti ude and behaviour studies with other road users (e.g., cyclists, motorcyclists) during alternate years.	/
3	Safe road use	Undertake quantitative surveys (observation and self-report studies) to collect and analyse data for the Strategy Safety Performance Indicators (SPI’s) and the EU Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) on an annual basis.	DOT, European Commission, HSE, Local Authorities, TII
4	Safe and healthy modes of travel	Publish national risk exposure injury rates for cyclists on an annual basis through a continuation of the Risk Exposure liaison group.	CSO, DOT, NTA, TII
5	Safe road use	Formalise the process with An Garda Síochána to confirm fatal and serious injury collisions through the introduction of quarterly case review meetings.	/
6	Safe road use	Produce and publish a report on e-scooter usage in Ireland, including casualty trends, survey data, hospital data and AGS detections.	AGS, HSE
7	Safe work- related road use	Develop a profile of work-related, fatal and serious road traffic collisions through analysis of the RSA Collision Database and Coronial Data, and update this on an annual basis to inform prevention initiatives.	HSA
8	Safe road use	Put in place an agreed annual and sustained commercial vehicle enforcement plan (including annual targets) to ensure compliance with EU Directive requirements in relation to driver hours, tachograph regulations and vehicle checks.	AGS
9	Safe Vehicles	Introduce pilot test of new NCT procedures, to include testing of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), which are now mandatory features for new vehicles.	/
10.	Safe road use	Equip RSA inspectors with new smart enforcement technologies to include an electronic inspection data capture (EIDC) solution, remote early detection equipment to facilitate the interrogation of SMART tachograph equipped vehicles while they are in-motion, mobile weigh pads, and equipment to detect exhaust system tampering.	/

11	Safe and healthy modes of travel	Update and communicate rules of the road for active travel infrastructure.	Local Authorities, NTA
12	Safe road use	Review the content of the Rules of the Road to ensure it focuses on key road traffic regulations, is easily understood and accessible.	/
13	Safe work- related road use	Integrate third party infringements into EU Common Formula Risk Rating System.	DOT
14	Safe road use	Continue to improve the accessibility of Driver CPC periodic training through the identification of any further suitable certified courses that may be acceptable towards equivalency and explore the possible option of blended learning if appropriate to facilitate this.	AGS, HSA
15	Safe work- related road use	Develop, oversee and deliver a voluntary Driving for Work Standard (DFWS) and training programme in collaboration with industry and employers.	TCD
16	Safe road use	Analyse hospital discharge records to quantify the number of road users hospitalised following RTCs, and the number sustaining serious injuries according to the MAIS3+ medical definition and develop and disseminate reports on these to fulfil national and international reporting requirements.	ITERN, NOCA
17	Safe road use	Engage with stakeholders in health to examine if other clinical data sources can contribute to determine the extent of serious injuries from road traffic collisions in Ireland.	HSE, ITERN, NAS, NOCA
18	Safe road use	Continue to leverage the on-road driver assessment (ORDA) mechanism to support driver medical fitness evaluations by ensuring that the ORDA programme is quality assured and internationally recognised, and that ORDA providers have reached the required standard to assess driver’s on road driving abilities.	/
19	Safe road use	The National Office of Traffic Medicine will review of certificates relating to Road Safety including: • Update the Certificate in Road Safety, Mobility and Health course and promote greater uptake by road safety stakeholders • Update the Certificate in Traffic Medicine and promote greater uptake by medical and healthcare professionals	AGS, DOT, NTA, TII
20	Safe road use	Deliver the RSA communications, and awareness and partnership plan to motivate and encourage every Irish road user along their road safety journey, targeting particular audiences and topics including an increased focus on digital communications.	/

Transport Infrastructure Ireland

Over the course of the Phase 2 Action Plan, Transport Infrastructure Ireland will:

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Safe roads and roadsides	TII to provide training to local authority engineers, planners and relevant planning authorities to incorporate safe systems approach in their review of planning applications.	DOT
2	Safe roads and roadsides	Delivery of the EU Road Infrastructure Safety Management Directive – Statutory delivery, including the following programmes: • High Collision Location (HCL) Programme • Road Safety Inspection (RSI) Programme • Pavement skid resistance (SCRIM) Programme • National Road Pavement Condition Programme • Life Cycle Renewal Programmes for Road Signs and Road Lines to ensure appropriate luminosity	Local Authorities
3	Safe roads and roadsides	Deliver on average four Minor Safety Improvement Schemes on National Roads per year at road sections with low safety levels, as required by the RISM Directive.	Local Authorities
4	Safe roads and roadsides	Continue to deliver training (including CPD training) in accordance with the RISM Directive to maintain a high level of professional competency in Road Safety in Ireland - Road Safety Audit and Engineering.	/
5	Safe roads and roadsides	Maintain the National RSA Portal for Road Safety Auditor Approval and Road Safety Audit records.	/
6	Safe roads and roadsides	Continue to raise public awareness of Variable Speed Limits and Lane Control Measures on the M50.	/
7	Safe roads and roadsides	Develop a programme of Park and Share facilities to remove unsafe parking and manoeuvres and to reduce pedestrian activity on hard shoulders and junctions of National Roads, including delivering a minimum of four Park and Share sites on or adjacent to the National Road Network.	Local Authorities
8	Safe roads and roadsides	Publish the first mandatory Network Wide Road Safety Assessment for national roads (based on the outputs of Road Safety Strategy Phase 1 Action Plan Action 01).	/

9	Safe roads and roadsides	Continue to participate in International Road Safety Research Programmes – DG Move, CEDR, ITF and PIARC.
10	Safe roads and roadsides	Increase the length of divided roads on the National Primary Network by constructing 18km of new divided road on the N21 and N28.
11	Safe and healthy modes of travel	Progress the delivery of the National Cycle Network (NCN) as set out in the published plan.
12	Safe and healthy modes of travel	Deliver safety improvements to national roads adjacent to schools to reduce speeds and improve active travel.
13	Safe work- related road use	Co-ordinate the development and implementation of a driver education programme focused on preventing unsafe behaviours in road work zones.

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Local Authorities

Local Authorities

Local Authorities

DOT, Local Authorities, HSA, NTA, RSA

National Transport Authority

Over the course of the Phase 2 Action Plan, the National Transport Authority will:

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Safe roads and roadsides	Improve visibility, lighting and age-friendly seating at regional and local bus stops to enhance safety for those waiting for a bus.	BÉ, Local Authorities
2	Safe roads and roadsides	Continue to provide training to designers, project managers, engineers and local authorities on the delivery of safe designs based on documents including the Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets (DMURS) and the Cycle Design Manual (CDM).	TII
3	Safe and healthy modes of travel	Promote safe use of new cycling infrastructure.	DOT, RSA, TII
4	Safe and healthy modes of travel	Conduct a pilot (with supporting infrastructure) to examine the feasibility of introducing a ‘cyclist turning left on red’ provision. Take into account best international practice around other cycling priority measures and make recommendations.	DOT

Public Transport Companies

Bus Éireann

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Safe and healthy modes of travel	Implement measures to improve bus stop safety and accessibility, developing a set of best practices and recommending where legislative amendments should be considered.	Local Authorities, NTA
2	Safe and healthy modes of travel	Implement recommendations from Phase 1 national survey on school gate safety for bus collections and make recommendations to inform an action plan.	/
3	Safe vehicles	Progress the installation of CCTV in bus and operator fleet vehicles to protect passengers and other road users near the bus.	/
4	Safe work- related road use	Continue to leverage a fleet telematic system in the Bus Éireann fleet to enhance driver behaviour and skills.	/
5	Safe work- related road use	Continue to implement random alcohol and drug testing for Bus Éireann employees and school bus contract drivers.	/

Iarnród Éireann

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Safe and healthy modes of travel	Deliver a programme of upgrades targeting 12 high-risk road/rail interfaces per annum with a particular focus on Level Crossing and bridge strike eliminations using technology improvements.	/
2	Safe and healthy modes of travel	Deliver road safety improvements at level crossings: • Infrastructure (e.g. signs and lines) • Introduce six safety cameras	/
3	Safe vehicles	Carry out a review of current road speeds at high-risk road/ rail infrastructure points (level crossings and bridges) on the rail network and make recommendations on appropriate speed limits.	/
4	Safe work- related road use	Work between Iarnród Éireann and the Commission for Railway Regulation to educate road users on the correct use of railway level crossings particularly unattended crossings and where road users are interfacing with Iarnród Éireann infrastructure.	/

The Justice Sector

An Garda Síochána

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Safe road use	Update on enforcement activity, including emerging trends.	/
2	Safe road use	Continue to publish quarterly data on roads policing statistics on www.garda.ie.	/
3	Safe road use	Promote and make maximum use of mobility applications.	/
4	Safe road use	Continuous review of roads policing equipment to maximise capacity.	/
5	Safe road use	Engage with key stakeholders to promote road safety.	/

The Department of Justice

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Safe road use	Identify and address matters relating to the high level of roads policing enforcement cases which end up in court.	AGS, Courts Service, DOT, RSA, TII

The Education Sector

Cycling Ireland

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Safe and healthy modes of travel	Expand, promote and support the existing Cycle Right Programme to include secondary schools and adult training.

The Department of Education

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Safe road use	Support the development and introduction of road safety education provision in secondary schools building on the introduction of Road Safety Matters in 2024 to Transition Year.	RSA
2	Safe road use	Examine the feasibility of providing Transition Year students with access to educational materials relating to the Driver Theory Test.	RSA

Health and Safety Authority

Over the course of the Phase 2 Action Plan, the Health and Safety Authority will:

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Safe work- related road use	Engage with the NSAI to explore the possibility of adopting and promoting ISO39001 accreditation standard or similar to assist employers’ management of work-related road safety to enable employers to comply with legal obligations on managing road risk.	NSAI

Fire Service

Over the course of the Phase 2 Action Plan, the Fire Service will:

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Safe vehicles	Continue leveraging working group with relevant expertise to develop and publish guidelines on how to deal safely with new vehicle types such as alternative fuel vehicles involved in collisions.	/
2	Post-crash response	Continue to deliver an Emergency First Response (EFR) first person on scene training programme for fire/emergency crews and make recommendations for a national rollout.	Local Authorities
3	Post-crash response	Implement recommendations from Phase 1 working group which reviewed potential improvements of standard operating procedures at emergency call centres aimed at improving the overall emergency service response time.	/
4	Post-crash response	Establish training for first responders/emergency services on how to respond to incidents involving electric vehicles.	/

The Health Sector

Health Service Executive

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Post-crash response	Provide emotional and psychological care and support to victims, families and emergency response team afef cted by a road traffic collision to ensure that they receive the appropriate care and support to recover from their traumatic experience that helps to lessen the impact of the event.	/

National Ambulance Service

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Post-crash response	Implement and refresh the Trauma Triage and by-pass protocol to ensure road traffic collision trauma patients have a clear pathway to appropriate care in the trauma system. Ensure that patients with suspected major trauma are taken directly to a Major Trauma Centre where travel times are within 45 minutes or if travel times exceed this, to the nearest Trauma Unit for rapid stabilisation and subsequent transfer to the Major Trauma Centre if the complexity of their injuries exceeds the capability of the Trauma Unit.	HSE

National Office of Clinical Audit

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Post-crash response	Analyse and report on data from the major trauma audit and hospital data to establish the extent of trauma and serious injuries as a result of road traffic collisions and to work collaboratively to ensure that data can give a complete picture of the incidence, cause, management and outcomes of traumatic injury.	HSE, RSA

National Office of Trauma Services

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Post-crash response	Ensure the appropriate specialist trauma care team is in place in the trauma receiving hospital to receive road traffic collision trauma patients, to provide specialist care and treatment in line with specific profiles of injury, to ensure the best possible outcome.
2	Post-crash response	Ensure definitive trauma care and rehabilitation pathways are in place once the road traffic collision patient has been stabilised so that the appropriate care, rehabilitation and support is in place so they can lead as productive a life as possible post injury.

Local Authorities

Over the course of the Phase 2 Action Plan, the Local Authorities (in collaboration with the CCMA and/or LGMA as appropriate) will:

No.	Safe System pillar	Supporting Actions	Supporting Stakeholders
1	Safe and healthy modes of travel	Establish a network across Local Authorities to share best practices for the implementation of active travel infrastructure.
2	Safe road use	Review the efef ctiveness of the Road Safety Working Together Group (RSWTG) in each Local Authority to coordinate multi- agency road safety policy and implementation at a local level, and implement any recommendations.

Figure from page 34