Mayo gardaí handing out high-vis vests to save lives on the roads

AS the evenings get darker, gardaí in Mayo will be handing out high-vis vests to poorly-lit pedestrians and cyclists.

In an innovative move designed to reduce the death toll on the roads, all garda cars in Mayo are to carry a stock of high-visibility vests to be given out to pedestrians and cyclists who need them.

Be seen and be safe – that’s the message to all road users in Mayo as the evenings get darker.

As we prepare to gain an extra hour’s sleep this weekend, with the clocks going back at 2 a.m. on Sunday, October 25, the days are getting shorter as darkness falls earlier.

And Mayo County Council is reminding pedestrians, cyclists and motorists to make themselves more visible during the dark winter nights.

High-visibility vests are to be handed out by gardaí from the roads policing unit to poorly-lit pedestrians and cyclists as part of an initiative to reduce the county’s casualties.

The council is urging pedestrians to wear fluorescent or bright clothing in the daytime and reflective material at night to make themselves more visible to drivers.

At the same time, motorists are urged to use their headlights so that not only can they see other road users but they, themselves, can be seen.

Without reflective clothing or accessories a pedestrian or cyclist is only visible, in low beam headlights, from 30 metres away. By wearing or using reflective items they become visible at 150 metres, giving drivers five times the distance to notice and avoid them.

Hi-vis vests, provided by Mayo County Council, have been distributed to the roads policing unit. Gardai on mobile patrol from the unit will hand them out to pedestrians and cyclists who are not properly visible.

Said Noel Gibbons, road safety officer with Mayo County Council: “It is crucial when using the road at night-time and the darker mornings/evenings that you are seen. As always, we urge people to wear high-visibility vests, reflective bands and to carry a torch.”

Commented Sergeant James Malone of the Castlebar Traffic Policing Unit: “Already in 2020, 25 pedestrians and seven pedal cyclists have been killed on roads around Ireland. We are delighted gardaí are handing out the high-visibility vests because it helps to hammer home our 'Be Safe, Be Seen' message.”

Added the chairman of the county’s Roads and Transportation SPC, Ballinrobe-based Councillor Damian Ryan: “Too many people think it won't happen to me when they run across the road or ride their bike with no lights. The reality is, however, that it does happen every day and unfortunately a car is going to come off much better than the pedestrian or cyclist it hits.”