Drivers urged to slow down as road death toll rockets to 46 this year in Northern Ireland

​Police said the toll so far this year is 18 more than during the same period last year.

There were 28 road deaths to August 16 in 2022, and 27 to August 16 in 2021, according to PSNI statistics.

May of this year saw the most deaths on the roads, with 14 recorded in that month alone, compared to two in May 2022 and one in May 2021.

The warning came on Thursday (August 17) following the death of a man in his 20s in a collision involving a motorcycle and a lorry on the Blackpark Road in Toomebridge.

Chief Inspector Graham Dodds said a lack of attention, excessive speed for the conditions, and drink or drug-driving are behind most collisions.

The PSNI's head of road policing revealed that on one day alone - August 12 - one driver was arrested after being caught speeding at 104mph while under the influence of alcohol, and a restricted driver was prosecuted for driving at 96mph when they should have stayed below their 45mph limit.

Mr Dodds described the rocketing number of road deaths as "quite shocking".

"Every time you hear about a fatal or serious collision on the news, there is a family, a circle of friends, a community plunged into mourning," he said.

"These figures show that we as a society, we are still not taking road safety seriously enough. The responsibility for making our roads a safer place remains one that we all share.

"Inattention and speed, or more accurately excessive speed for the conditions, and drink or drug-driving are consistently the principal causes of the most serious road traffic collisions in which people are killed or seriously injured on roads in Northern Ireland.

"If we all stop speeding, more people live. If we all stop speeding, fewer people have to contend with life-changing injuries."

The update comes after the funeral took place for 19-year-old James Gordon who sadly lost his life when his green Kawasaki Ninja bike collided with a car outside Ballycastle last week.

A funeral service was held in Mr Gordon's home on Thursday (August 17) before he was later buried at Cullybackey New Cemetery.