Cork County Council’s Safety Officer Caroline Casey has been awarded the Road Safety Officer of the Year Leading Light Award for the second year in a row.
Caroline attended the Award Ceremony in Croke Park with Mayor of the County of Cork Cllr Patrick Gerard Murphy.
The award was presented by Liz O’Donnell, chairperson of the Road Safety Authority.
The Leading Light Awards recognise individuals, schools, businesses and organisations who campaign, educate and commit to improving road safety in their community.
The Road Safety Officer of the year category recognises innovative projects and initiatives that are sustainable, replicable and researched.
The judges commented that the calibre of entries this year was outstanding, making the task of picking the overall winners very difficult. The Leading Lights Judging Panel commented that “Caroline is a clear and deserving winner. Her work throughout the year for road safety has been outstanding”
Speaking to The Avondhu, Caroline said she was thrilled and honoured to win the award for a second year running. “It is just fantastic to be recognised and an honour to receive the top accolade in the country. I was delighted to have my family with me and to have the continued support of my work management is fantastic.”
Earlier this year, Caroline launched the “Your Life – Your Choice” Virtual Reality Road Safety Education program which aims to give students aged 15 to 18 a “felt experience” of being involved in a road traffic accident as a result of killer driver behaviours. This program has been on tour in secondary schools in Cork.
This programme compliments her Peer Learning based approach to safety education in primary schools where 5th and 6th class students teach younger classes about road, water and farm safety and community events and safety education talks for older audiences.
Commenting on the award, Cork County Council Chief Executive, Mr Tim Lucey said he was delighted that Caroline had received a Leading Light Award for the second year. “Cork County Council will continue to strive to make Cork a safer place and encourage everyone to use their common sense in decision making around their safety,” he said.
The Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Patrick Gerard Murphy stated: “I am immensely proud of the work that the Council and Caroline have put in to improving safety in the County. This award shows the commitment, creativity and passion that has been applied to this important issue.”
