9 people killed while cycling on Irish roads in 2018

— Pedestrian deaths increase, while number of motor vehicle occupants, motorist cyclists and cyclist killed decreases.
— Number of cycling deaths reduces to around average for last decade.
— Revision of official 2017 cycling deaths figure down to 14 not an error says RSA.

A total of nine people lost their lives while cycling on Irish roads in 2018, according to data released by the RSA and Gardai.

According the Provisional Review of Fatal Collisions released by the Gardai and RSA: “As of 12pm, 31 December 2018, there have been 142 fatal collisions, which have resulted in 149 fatalities on Irish roads.”

They added: “This represents a 1% increase in the number of fatal collisions (+1) and 4% fewer deaths (-7) compared to provisional Garda data for 2017.”

As the number of fatal collisions has increased marginally by 1%, this means the “safest year since records began in 1959” being reported by media outlets relies on 7 fewer deaths in collisions — this corresponds directly with the decrease in motor vehicle occupant fatalities from 91 in 2017 to 84 in 2018.

The RSA and Gardai said that has been an increase in the number of pedestrian fatalities of 10 deaths in 2018 compared to 2017. All of the 41 pedestrians deaths reported in the media to date have involved collisions with motorists.

A number of attempts by this website asking the Gardai to confirm the dates and counties of the fatal cycling collisions have gone unanswered beside standard holding replies — this leaves the details of one fatal cycling collision unconfirmed.

• The known breakdown of cycling deaths by county is as follows: Two in Dublin City and one in the following counties: Donegal, Wicklow, Limerick, Kildare, Kilkenny, Meath. This excludes one at an unknown location.
• The fatal collisions included four with car drivers, two with truck drivers, one with a driver of a minivan and one involving no other road user.

This website has previously reported on eight fatal collision cases in 2018. These were as follows:

• January 26: A 43-year-old man, Noel McDermott, was killed in a collision with a driver of a car in a rural area of Co Donegal. The collision happened on the Magheroarty to Ardsbeg Road near the village of Gortahork in West Donegal.

• March 18: A 60-year-old man died in hospital after a collision on March 7 at 7.15am on East Wall Road when the man, who was cycling, and a driver of a 40ft truck collided.

• March 20: A 17-year-old teenager, Max Mason, was killed in a collision with a minivan at around 5pm on the Golf Links Road, Bettystown, Co Meath.

• March 27: A 44-year-old man, Peter Healy, died in hospital a short time after he was in a collision with a truck driver. The collision occurred at Newpark Drive, Kilkenny at approximately 5.35pm.

• April 8: With no other vehicle involved, a man is reported to have fallen of his bicycle when travelling at high speed at the Sally Gap, Roundwood, Co Wicklow. He died as a result of his injuries five days later in hospital.

• April 18: A 19-year-old man was killed in Dublin in a collision between the bicycle he was cycling and a driver of a truck. The collision occurred on the N11 at the junction with Greenfield Park in Dublin City at approximately 3.15pm.

• July 7: A 16-year-old boy, Shane Duggan, died in hospital following a collision between his bicycle and a car driven by a woman in her 40s in Co Kildare. The collision happened at Oughterard, Straffan at 4.50pm on Tuesday, July 3. DublinLive reported he was cycling with his twin brother, Conor, who did not sustain physical injuries.

• November 25: A man in his 40s, Eamonn McAteer, was killed while cycling around 8pm when he was in a road traffic collision with a car driver at Ballcullane, Kilmallock, Co Limerick.

Another man, 63-year-old Francis Endicott, died of a heart attack durn a Pink Ribbon Charity Cycle at Ballylahan Bridge near Foxford Co Mayo on May 5. This death was reported on by a local newspaper when the case reached the Coroner’s Court in mid-December.

However, because of a lack of details provided by authorities, IrishCycle.com is unable to confirm if the Co Mayo case is or is not the ninth cycling road traffic death this year.

Questions stand of official revision of cycling deaths downwards for 2017

Data released by the RSA and Garda in a provisional report and press release for the road deaths in 2018 shows the number of cyclist road deaths in 2017 revised downwards from 15 to 14.

A spokesman for the RSA, Brian Farrell, said: “It’s not a mistake. It’s verified by Gardai and our research department.”

When asked which of the 15 cycling deaths officially recorded last year — and listed by this website — was re-classified, the RSA said it was an issue for the RSA’s Research Department when they open for business tomorrow.

Cycling campaigners had previously indicated that the official figures should be increased upwards rather than downwards.

It was claimed by the last May by Gardai press office that the a man killed on March 24 2017 at the junction of Bull Alley and Patrick Street in Dublin 8 was a pedestrian at the time of the collision. However, Garda evidence in the case when it was heard at the Coroner’s Court seems to contradict this and outlines how the victim was only dismounting his bicycle and fell on the ground just as he was hit, never becoming a pedestrian.

UPDATE 7/04/2019: The Garda press office confirmed that death which was unknown at the time of writing the above was in Co Clare on Friday 27/04/2018. Sergeant Jim Molloy said: “Cyclist in his 50s died on the 29^th April 2019 following a crash on the 27^th. The incident happened at Bodyke near Skariff and the cyclist was the only person involved.”