Pedestrians: be seen or face a fine

PEDESTRIANS who fail to wear hi-vis vests in dark, unlit areas face being fined, if one Mayo councillor gets his way.

That's the proposal from Westport-based Councillor Brendan Mulroy who has highlighted the increase in road fatalities involving pedestrians.

Councillor Mulroy, chairman of Mayo County Council's roads committee, wants the local authority to see if it possible to introduce by-laws allowing pedestrians in unlit areas to be fined €50 if they are not wearing hi-vis vests.

Speaking at a meeting this afternoon, he commented: “Sometimes you have to protect people from themselves.”

He asked councillors how many times had they been travelling on roads where visibility was poor and next thing a pedestrian appears.

By doing so in non-lit up areas pedestrians put their own lives in danger, and the person in the car, who faced a lifetime of regret for them and their family in the event of a fatal accident, and then there was the family of the victim too.

Councillor Mulroy said he was unsure if the council had authority to bring in such by-laws but he asked that the matter be looked at.

This isn't the first time Councillor Mulroy has raised his proposal. Previously the council wrote to various authorities about the matter but got no replies.