This has been a month of sadness and loss as the nation learned of the passing of broadcaster Gay Byrne. The airwaves filled with tributes to him as a transformative person in Irish society over many decades.

As mentioned by Bob Collins in his funeral Mass in the Pro Cathedral, Gay’s talent was evident right from the start of ‘The Late Late Show’ in 1962. The show served as a forum for a “national conversation with ourselves”. As a masterful interviewer, he led the way in interrogating issues which for too long had been taboo.

Given his great career on TV and radio, there has been an abundance of tributes, but as current chairperson of the Road Safety Authority (RSA), I insist his road safety legacy is much more than a footnote in his illustrious career.

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Appointed by the then transport minister, Martin Cullen, Gay gave eight years of public service as chairman of the RSA, from its inception in September 2006 until his retirement in September 2014.

Gay’s appointment was a defining day for road safety. For decades he had provided fertile ground for a new Ireland in transition to modernise. Now he was being given the chance to sow the seeds of change himself, to become a champion for road safety.

His appointment was a masterstroke. It galvanised those working in road safety who saw him as a heroic public figure. For a new organisation, he was the glue which bonded staff around a common purpose: “Working to save lives”.

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It was the RSA’s ambition in its formative years that Ireland be among the safest and best countries in the world at implementing road safety practices. This wasn’t wishful thinking. Gay was going to make sure it happened. This year the European Transport Safety Council announced Ireland was the second safest EU member state in 2018.

Those who worked with Gay on road safety can testify what he was like in full flight in meetings with commissioners, civil servants and politicians. He was relentless and uncompromising. He oversaw and was instrumental in bringing about a period of radical change to road safety policies and laws.

Outwardly, his voice was instrumental in winning over public acceptance for action on road safety, changing attitudes. He used his celebrity to harness public support for major behavioural change about making our roads safer.

As a result, many lives were saved and injuries prevented. The facts don’t lie. In 2005, the year before he took up the role, 396 people died on our roads. So when he took up the challenge, people were dying on a daily basis. There was carnage.

In 2008, we recorded the lowest number of road fatalities, 279, since we began recording them in 1959, a trend that continued for four more consecutive years.

By the time he retired in 2014 the number of people dying had reduced almost by half, 193, compared with when he started with the RSA.

Gay would have been the first to say he didn’t do it single-handed. Success was dependent on the actions of many partners and stakeholders, from ministers to front-line gardaí. But success was also dependent on the willingness of the public to change. Because Gay commanded the respect of all, he was able to get their attention when needed. He turned road safety into a people’s project.

Gay was at the helm when the RSA launched two road safety strategies. The first ran from 2007 to 2012 and saw a 55pc decline in deaths. The second, launched with the then transport minister, Leo Varadkar, aimed to reduce road deaths annually to 124 or fewer by the end of 2020.

On the day Gay died, the number of people killed on our roads, in 2019, ironically stood at 124. We have some way to go yet to achieve the strategy target. What better or more fitting tribute to Gay’s memory and his legacy than to strive harder to reach this goal.

Gay’s time as a leader in driving concerted action to tackle the unacceptable toll of death and serious injury on our roads was a very important chapter in his life. It was a meaningful chapter which deserves our recognition.

When I took over, he was a hard act to follow but he was generous and encouraging to me in the handover.

I will leave the last word to Gay, taken from his introduction to the current road safety strategy: “The journey we are on, towards safer roads, is a virtuous circle, with benefits for everyone to share. And we have momentum now on this journey. And it is so important that we cherish and strengthen that momentum.

“It is all of us who own the success to date. And it is all of us who can and should and must and will carry that success on, keep that momentum going, to 2020 and beyond.”

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