Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 January 2021
151. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Transport if he will undertake a campaign with the RSA to step-up attention to safe cycling, particularly lights and high visibility clothing in view of the big increase in leisure cycling. [4195/21]
View answerThe Minister is acutely aware of the importance of safety for our cyclists.In order to create a statutory obligation on the wearing of reflective clothing, it would have to be made a criminal offence, under Road Traffic legislation, for any person not wearing high-visibility clothing. A person in breach of such a provision would fall to be issued with a fixed-charge notice or summonsed to court, depending on what procedure would be put in place for the processing of such offences. However, the Minister believes that the wearing of such clothing is best pursued by way of educational and publicity campaigns rather than by pursuing a punitive approach to the issue.
In this regard, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) - which has responsibility for the promotion of road-safety awareness, advertising and the dissemination of road-safety information -undertakes a number of campaigns to promote awareness among pedestrians and cyclists of the need for visibility on our roads. Several million high-visibility vests, armbands, rucksack covers, and other such items have been distributed by the RSA, an Garda Síochána, Road Safety Officers, Age Action, and the Vintners Federation in recent years, with support from other organisations, such as ESB Networks.
The wearing of high-visibility clothing for pedestrians at work is also promoted by the Health and Safety Authority. A number of measures have been included by the RSA in the Road Safety Strategy 2013 - 2020 aimed at increasing the wearing of high-visibility clothing among pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. The Rules of the Road also include a strong recommendation supporting the wearing of light, and preferably high-visibility, clothing.
These campaigns and their effectiveness are under constant review.
