A Kerry County Councillor wants it to become compulsory for pedestrians and cyclists to wear hi-visibility clothing when on public roads.
Independent councillor Charlie Farrelly tabled a motion on the issue at the recent meeting of Kerry County Council.
Cllr Charlie Farrelly called on the council to write to the Road Safety Authority and the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan to introduce new road safety regulations that would make it compulsory for all pedestrians and cyclists to wear hi-vis tops when using any public road especially between sunset and sunrise.
He told the meeting 40 pedestrians and six pedal cyclists have died on our roads so far this year.
Cllr Farrelly says many people in his area, who’ve been driving late at night or in the early hours of the morning, have come across people out walking wearing dark clothes and with no high-visibility clothing.
He says any death on our roads is a death too many.
Meanwhile, Independent councillor Jackie Healy-Rae also tabled a motion regarding road safety.
He called on the council to survey the county’s roundabouts with a view to upgrading the lining on approach roads to clearly highlight to drivers what lane they should be in when using the roundabout.
Cllr Healy-Rae says he’s seen a lot of near misses on roundabouts as people are in the wrong lanes and feels some drivers have forgotten how to use roundabouts.
The council says the design of a roundabout dictates if road markings are required, and unless otherwise indicated the rules of the road apply in such cases.
