Former Chair of the Lisburn Road Safety Committee, Trevor Lunn MLA, said: “This is Road Safety Week and it seems the perfect time to highlight the fact that this disastrous decision has led to the collapse of a number of the Road Safety Committees around Northern Ireland.
“It now appears that only nine of the 18 Road Safety Committees are still functioning. This is a damning indictment on Sammy Wilson’s decision.
“The present system is evidently failing and we need to see the reinstatement of funding for the Road Safety Council or see local councils promoting the existence of the Road Safety Committee in their own area.
“At present, there is no mechanism for the establishment of new committees. The events that are organised by the Road Safety Council and Committees are excellent for awareness-raising amongst school children and young drivers, and serious aspects of this are being lost. Sadly, more committees will probably fall by the wayside in future when they find it too complicated to operate without the support of the Road Safety Council.
“Minister Edwin Poots has indicated that if the Road Safety Council submits a strong business plan he may start funding them again. This has to happen because road safety is too important an issue for government to fail on.”
ENDS