The Road Safety Authority (RSA) is today (August 28) issuing an urgent appeal to parents, guardians, teachers and motorists to make road safety a "top priority" as children across the country return to school after the summer holidays.

The call comes as the RSA publishes its Child Casualties Report 2020 - 2024 which highlights the risks faced by young road users.

According to the RSA, during this five-year period, 39 children aged up to 15 years lost their lives and a further 584 were seriously injured on Irish roads.

Children in this age group accounted for 5% of all road fatalities and 8% of all serious injuries.

The report reveals that:

Of the 623 children killed or seriously injured, almost half, 49%, were pedestrians. One quarter, 25%, were passengers, and almost one fifth, 18%, were cyclists.
71% of child casualties were injured on urban roads with a speed limit of 60km/h or less.
One in seven child casualties were injured while travelling to or from school.
Dublin and Cork recorded the highest share of child casualties, 31% and 9% respectively.
Nearly one in five, 19%, of child casualties were injured on a Friday, making it the most dangerous day of the week.
Older children were particularly at risk, with two in three serious injuries, and almost seven in ten fatalities involved those aged between 10 and 15 years old.

With traffic volumes set to rise sharply as schools reopen, the RSA is reminding drivers to be aware of increased number of vehicles, and of their responsibility to be alert and cautious around children walking, cycling, or getting on and off buses.

Furthermore, parents must not allow their children to travel in vehicles without being properly restrained, placing their lives and safety at risk.

The RSA's chief executive, Sam Waide said: “The return to school is always a busy time on our roads. Children, particularly those walking or cycling, are among the most vulnerable road users.

"Our latest report is a stark reminder of the devastating impact road traffic collisions can have on young lives and their families.

"We are asking every parent to talk to their children about safe road behaviour, every school to prioritise safety at the school gate, and every driver to slow down, stay alert, and give children the space and protection they deserve,” Waide added.

Separately, the RSA has confirmed that the average national waiting times for a car driving test now stands at 10.4 weeks.

The RSA emphasised that while this is an important step forward, it does not mark the end of the suthority’s efforts.

Waiting times remain above the RSA’s Service Level Agreement of 10 weeks, and some individual test centres are still experiencing delays.

 It also pointed to the full deployment of new testers and the opening of additional test centres in the coming weeks as key measures to drive waiting times down further.