Nothing off table in dealing with road deaths ‘epidemic’, police chief says

Nothing is off the table when dealing with the “epidemic” of roads deaths in Northern Ireland, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has said.

A senior officer also told the Policing Board that speed enforcement was being prioritised on the A5 amid renewed concerns about the number of fatal accidents on the Co Tyrone road.

Two teenagers, including 17-year-old Kamile Vaicikonyte, died in a crash on the road this week.

Kamile was a pupil at St Ciaran’s College in Ballygawley and had taken part in a demonstration at her school calling for safety upgrades on the road the day before she died.

Stormont’s Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd is to meet the police to discuss safety concerns on the route.

More than 50 people have been killed on the road since 2006 with upgrade work hit by a series of delays and legal challenges.

Sinn Fein Policing Board member Linda Dillon asked Mr Boutcher if speed reduction measures were appropriate on the road and could they be policed.

The Chief Constable said: “Nothing is off the table as to what we will do to address this epidemic we are seeing on our roads.

“Not just here, on the island of Ireland. I know An Garda Siochana are having similar challenges with regards to road deaths.

“The figures are incredibly worrying.”

Mr Boutcher said partnership was needed between the police and other public bodies.

He said: “We will very much meet the Infrastructure Minister and we will do anything and everything within our power to make sure, whether through speed reduction, more visibility, that we do our part in making sure that we prevent these tragedies from occurring again.”

He raised concerns that budget pressures had led to 21 officers being cut from the PSNI’s road policing unit.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones told the board: “We are already prioritising speed enforcement on the A5.

“We have worked through where we need to have the speed detection vans and also the visible roads policing officers and they are already deployed and actively trying to do what they can.”