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The bedroom of 16-year-old Jaidyn Rice remains untouched since the evening of July 8, 2025, when she left her home in Bangor for a brief walk to a friend’s house but never returned. Tragically, Jaidyn was killed after being struck by a car that same night. In a separate incident on that evening, 12-year-old Lucas Trainor died in a road collision in Portaferry, County Down. Together, these losses contributed to the total of 56 people who died on Northern Ireland’s roads throughout 2025.
Despite years of effort by road safety officials and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), the number of fatalities remains a grave concern. Initiatives have ranged from reviewing speed limits to reforming driving licence regulations aimed at reducing deaths and serious injuries. PSNI Chief Superintendent Sam Donaldson acknowledges that although road deaths have significantly decreased over the past five decades, progress has recently stalled. The Department for Infrastructure, responsible for roads and motoring in Northern Ireland, has also reiterated its dedication to road safety amid ongoing changes to licensing laws.
For families like the Rices, the impact of such tragedies is overwhelming. Judith Rice, Jaidyn’s grandmother, described the moment she heard the news as suffocating, saying, “When you hear that news, the best way I could possibly describe it – you can’t breathe, you physically can’t breathe. Your chest just collapses and you’re praying for it not to be true.” Jaidyn’s mother, Elaine Clarke, recounted tracking her daughter’s movements via a location-sharing app and attempting to reach her by phone as she noticed Jaidyn’s location had stopped moving. When she arrived at the scene, emergency services were already present but unable to save her.
Jaidyn was remembered by her family and friends as a kind, thoughtful teenager with a natural ability to lead, evidenced through her involvement in the Army Cadets. At her funeral, her younger brother described her as glitter, “because she sparkled everywhere she went.” She was laid to rest wearing a white dress, a poignant symbol of the future she would never have. Meanwhile, Lucas Trainor’s death on the same night led to the two families coming together in mutual support. Legal processes are underway, with a 30-year-old man charged in connection with Jaidyn’s death, and a 51-year-old man charged in relation to Lucas’ crash.
Statistically, road fatalities in Northern Ireland declined from 71 in 2023 to 69 in 2024, and further down to 56 in 2025. Men aged 25 to 64 made up the majority of those losses last year, following a recent pattern. However, while deaths have decreased, serious injuries from road collisions have risen, with 1,008 people killed or seriously injured in 2024—an increase from previous years. Donaldson highlighted that the majority of fatal and serious crashes happen on rural roads, emphasizing the importance of adapting driving habits across different age groups. He noted, “There’s a message there all of us – if you’re a young new driver, slow down because you’re likely to cause an issue. If you’re a middle-aged driver you’re the people that are probably doing the most miles, but you’re the people that are getting caught speeding so change your mentality. And if you’re an older person or an elderly vulnerable person on the road, think about how you can keep safe as a pedestrian, think about how you can keep safe on the road.”
In response to ongoing concerns, the Department for Infrastructure recently opened a consultation on reducing speed limits, proposing 20mph zones in areas currently limited to 30mph. Both Elaine Clarke and Judith Rice support this approach, recalling how cars frequently sped past Jaidyn’s memorial in the weeks after her death. Elaine said, “As we were standing there, the cars were flying past, over the speed limit, just flying past.” Judith added, “The reality of it is you’re better being five minutes late than having fold-up chairs and going and sitting at your loved one’s grave every day. There has to be a change – and if anyone sharing the brutality of it and the devastation of it makes a difference, I ask anyone to please stop and think.
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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