The Minister for Transport has said it is a great credit to everyone that the number of people who died on Irish roads in 2006 is the second lowest in 40 years.
Martin Cullen also said that he would end the current provisional licensing system in 2007 in an effort to improve road safety.
367 people died on Ireland's roads in 2006, 29 fewer than in 2005. Half of all those killed this year were under 30. One third of them were in their 20s, and more than 70% were men.
The Road Safety Authority has said its forthcoming campaigns will be aimed at young male drivers who make up just 6% of the population but represent one in five of road deaths.
Meanwhile, a man in his 70s was the latest person to die in a road accident. He was killed when his car crashed into a wall near Ballinderry in Moate, Co Westmeath, this morning.
And an 80-year-old woman was killed in a road accident in Co Meath just before 7pm yesterday.
The woman, who has been named locally as Ita O'Brien, was crossing the Coast Road in Laytown with her 73-year-old sister, Nuala O'Reilly, when they were both struck by a car.
The accident happened outside O'Reilly's Newsagent, which is owned by Nuala O'Reilly.
Both women were taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. Ita O'Brien, who is from Raheny in Dublin, died from her injuries. Ms O'Reilly is being treated for her injuries which are not thought to be serious.
