Accidents

Last night we were brought the tragic news that four young women have lost their lives in a car accident in Galway, these deaths followed the deaths of two more people on the road earlier yesterday in the Republic and one person in the north. We cannot underestimate the change in driving conditions these past weeks, in the morning and evening we are driving in virtual darkness, add rain and fog to this dim light and the conditions for serious accidents are all too visible. Each one of us must take responsibility for our driving in these conditions, I know some of the roads are in a poor state of repair, however that's not going to change in the near future, so it is important that we take care. Firstly, make sure your vehicle is in good working order, are all your lights working, have you good tyres, when was the last time you checked your oil and water levels, many accidents occur while people break down on the road so lets avoid that. Are you in good condition, have you slept well, if not drive with your window open if you must drive, if you have had too much alcohol the night before don't drive. It is time now to make changes to your driving, leave home earlier if you have to be somewhere, if you don't have to be somewhere don't drive unless it is necessary. If your walking or cycling to the shop or anywhere else wear high visibility clothes, these may not have street cred but they may save your life. Lets do our best to insure that the Gardai don't have to go to any more homes with bad news before Christmas, do you want to be responsible for an empty chair at the Christmas table this year, I don't.