Limerick’s Live 95 & IBI Road Safety Campaign

This Independent Boradcasters of Ireland (IBI) initiative is supported by the News Reporting Scheme, which helps fund public interest journalism content through Coimisiún na Meán and the Exchequer

Limerick’s Live 95 is one of 21 radio stations across the country taking part in the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland road safety awareness campaign.

In episode 1, broadcast on Live 95’s Limerick Today and hosted by reporter Tara Byrne, we focussed on the 20th annual AXA Roadsafe Roadshow held at the University Concert Hall in Limerick. The event brought together more than 1,400 Transition Year (TY) students across Limerick County to highlight the severe realities, consequences, and lifelong impact of road traffic collisions.

At the time of the broadcast, 11 people had already lost their lives on Limerick roads in the current year - matching the total number of fatalities for all of the previous year with three months still remaining.

The roadshow aims to target young prospective drivers (aged 17–25), who statistically represent the demographic most at risk of speed, distraction, and impaired driving.

Firefighters, Gardaí, and paramedics performed a live demonstration outside the venue, cutting apart a crashed vehicle, step-by-step, to illustrate the technical and urgent process of extricating trapped victims.

Mick Comerford is Retail Director with AXA Ireland: " It all starts with education... when you’re that age, you feel like you’re invincible... A lot of people don’t get a second chance, and we want everybody to not only drive for the rest of their lives... but also do it to be even older than I am ."

"I f you’re not the driver and you’re in the car, that you hold up your hand and say, ’I want to get out of this vehicle, I am no longer feeling safe .’"

Superintendent Michael Fleming (An Garda Síochána, Limerick Division): " While they’re students today, they’re the drivers of tomorrow... it’s about embedding the road safety message through any means we can ."

A Road Safety Authority analysis reveals that Drivers aged 17 to 25 account for roughly 1-in-5 (19%) of all drivers involved in fatal road collisions in Ireland, while more than 83% of young drivers involved in fatal crashes are male.

High-risk times for young drivers are concentrated between 8pm and 4am, with 35% of fatal young driver collisions occurring on weekends. More than 76% of young driver fatal collisions occur on high-speed rural regional and national roads (speed limits of 80 km/h or 100 km/h).

John Lyons, Station Officer, Limerick Fire Service: " I don’t think they realise the impact a crash has on their life, and the lives of their family, and the lives of others that may be involved until they either are involved in something or hopefully pick up something from what we’re doing here today. "

Laura Connolly was driving her car on the way to Cork Airport for a weekend away with her boyfriend Brendan, when another car crashed into their car in a head-on collision caused by a drunk driver. She tragically lost her boyfriend in the collision and described what it felt like to be fully conscious in the car in the aftermath and the emotional scars she continues to have: " I’m pushing myself out of my comfort zone to do this because I want people to realise that the impact of getting into a car and making a reckless decision... will last your whole life. "

" Getting home is not boring, it is absolutely everything. "

Official statistics published by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and An Garda Síochána emphasise the necessity of these educational events:

Following a historic low of 132 road deaths in 2021, road fatalities across Ireland have seen a concerning upward trajectory, reaching 185 fatalities on public roads in 2025 (an 8% increase year-on-year).

Vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and e-scooter users) represented nearly half (48%) of all road fatalities nationwide in recent RSA reporting.