This compares to 27 fatalities at the same time last year, and 56 during the whole of 2025. A spike in deaths and serious injuries in recent years comes after a decade when fatalities had been falling steadily. A ‘day of action’ earlier this week saw checkpoints set up in some of the areas with the worst collision records in an attempt to hammer home the road safety message. Alarmingly, half of drug tests by PSNI officers at the side of the road are showing a positive result. Government has an important role to play, with significantly greater investment needed in building safer roads, not least the long-stalled A5 project – scene of dozens of tragedies since plans for a major upgrade were first announced two decades ago.