A Cork secondary school teacher says research has shown that younger people who attend road safety lessons become better drivers.
Claire McCarthy from St Colman’s College Fermoy says the Department of Education should introduce mandatory classes in a bid to tackle the number of young people being killed and seriously injured in road traffic collisions.
Figures from the Road Safety Authority show 26% of the 158 people killed on Irish roads up to the end of last month were aged between 16 and 25.
Speaking to RedFM News, Claire McCarthy says it won’t take much to get mandatory safety classes off the ground in schools:
"I have had contact over the past number of years with the RSA and I would work closely with them in that they do have a number of programs available for post primary schools. This material is ready to go, this material is I suppose, available. However, the schools really need an opportunity to get teachers trained in this. I think schools are a really, really effective way in delivering that message."