How Many Pedestrians Die on Irish Roads Each Year?

Quick answer: 41 pedestrians died on public roads in Ireland in 2025, according to the Road Safety Authority (RSA). That was 22% of all 185 road deaths on public roads that year, making pedestrians the second-largest group of deaths after drivers, who accounted for 76 deaths. The total was up on 2024, when 171 people died on public roads.

A five-year picture

The 2025 figure is part of a longer pattern. An Garda Síochána and the RSA said in October 2026 that 178 pedestrians died on Irish roads between 2021 and 2025, with around 1,700 people seriously injured as pedestrians over the same five years. That is an average of more than 35 pedestrian deaths a year across the five-year period, so the 41 deaths in 2025 were above that recent average.

The wider trend also moved the wrong way in 2025. The RSA reported 185 deaths in 174 fatal collisions on public roads in 2025, compared with 171 deaths in 157 fatal collisions in 2024. That was an increase of 14 deaths, or 8%. The RSA noted that deaths rose among drivers and among vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, pedal cyclists and motorcyclists.

Who died on Irish roads in 2025

The RSA's breakdown of the 185 deaths on public roads in 2025 was:

• Drivers: 76 deaths, 41% of the total
• Pedestrians: 41 deaths, 22% of the total
• Motorcyclists: 30 deaths, 16% of the total
• Passengers: 21 deaths, 11% of the total
• Pedal cyclists: 14 deaths, 8% of the total
• E-scooter users: 3 deaths, 2% of the total

Two records in the same release show how broad the rise was. The number of pedal cyclists killed in 2025, at 14, was the highest since 2017, and the number of motorcyclists killed, at 30, was the highest since 2007. Deaths among passengers, by contrast, fell compared with 2024. Overall, around three quarters of those killed in 2025 were male and around one quarter were female.

When deaths peaked

The end of the year was the deadliest period in 2025. November recorded 21 deaths and December recorded 24 deaths, the two highest monthly totals of the year. February and June recorded the fewest, with 11 deaths each. The average was 15 deaths a month in 2025, compared with 14 a month in 2024.

The darker months deserve attention for pedestrians in particular. In 2024, almost a quarter of all deaths happened between 4pm and 8pm, and almost half of all deaths happened over the weekend, from Friday to Sunday. Seven in 10 deaths in 2024 happened on rural roads, defined by the RSA as roads with a speed limit of 80 km/h or higher. Walking on or beside faster rural roads after dark, without being clearly visible, is one of the highest-risk situations in the Irish figures.

Why two totals are published for 2025

Readers may see two different totals for 2025, and both are correct on their own basis. An Garda Síochána recorded 179 fatal collisions in 2025 resulting in 190 fatalities on public roads and in public places, including car parks. The RSA's official figure of 185 deaths in 174 fatal collisions covers public roads only. Incidents in car parks and other non-public roads are excluded from the RSA's official figures, in line with long-standing practice and EU convention. This article uses the RSA public-roads figure throughout, so that year-to-year comparisons stay on the same basis.

Staying safer as a pedestrian

The RSA and An Garda Síochána regularly urge the same precautions as the evenings draw in, and they follow directly from the patterns above:

• Wear high-visibility clothing when walking in the dark, and carry a light where there is no street lighting.
• Walk facing oncoming traffic on rural roads without a footpath, where it is safe to do so.
• Cross where drivers can see you, and do not assume a driver has seen you just because you can see their vehicle.
• Drivers should slow down where pedestrians may be present, watch for people at junctions and crossings, and never drive after drinking or taking drugs.

These steps cannot prevent every death, but visibility and speed are the two factors a walker and a driver can most directly control.

How these numbers were counted

These figures come from the RSA's provisional road traffic collision figures for 2025, published on 1 January 2026, based on analysis of provisional fatal collision reports from An Garda Síochána. A fatality in the RSA's reporting is a death within 30 days of the collision that is not the result of a medical cause or a deliberate act. All figures for recent years are provisional and subject to change as reports are finalised, so the 2025 total may be revised. For the latest reports across Ireland and beyond, see today's accident reports and the site's statistics pages, and for the Canadian comparison see Canada.