Vol. 571 No. 4
494 Mr. Morgan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of cyclists who were charged and convicted for failure to provide adequate lighting on their cycles after dark in each of the past three calendar years; and his views on whether adequate lighting on cycles at nights is an important safety element. [22365/03]
The position regarding obligatory lighting of pedal cyclists is set out in regulations made under the Road Traffic Acts 1961 to 2002. There is no doubt that appropriate use of lights by cyclists is a serious road safety issue. In 2002 a total of 18 cyclists died on Irish roads, representing 4.8% of the total number of deaths. The figures up to 6 October this year indicate that nine cyclists have died, or 3.6% of the total killed.
The figures for breaches of lighting regulations by pedal cyclists for the years 1999 to 2001 are set out in the table following. The figures for 2002 are not yet available.
|
Year |
Proceedings taken |
Convictions or orders made without conviction |
|
1999 |
1,717 |
798 |
|
2000 |
1,706 |
660 |
|
2001 |
993 |
348 |
