Roscommon mother and daughter honoured for highlighting road safety issues

A Roscommon mother and daughter, have been awarded the Road Safety Authority (RSA) ‘Gertie Shields Supreme Award’ for road safety for 2023.

Clodagh and Méabh White from Roscommon Town were chosen as the overall winners by the judges for their tireless awareness efforts and contribution to road safety since their own personal experience in a car collision in 2016. The award was presented to Clodagh and Méabh by Minister of State for Transport Jack Chambers at the RSA’s Leading Lights in Road Safety Awards in the RDS.

Seven years ago, Clodagh and Méabh, then aged 12 years old, suffered serious injuries when they were in a crash with a larger vehicle and their car was propelled at speed into a wall. Méabh’s little brother Rian, who was also in the car, escaped with minor injuries. He is now nine years old. Rian’s rear-facing child seat had been inspected and adjusted by the RSA child car seat checking service - Check it Fits - just days beforehand, and they and his doctors at the time believed that it had saved his life. In addition to their awareness efforts since their horrific experience, they have been advocates of child car seat safety, highlighting the importance of ensuring they are fitted correctly and checked regularly.

Clodagh and Méabh were also the recipients of the Road Safety Champion category award at this year’s awards.

Speaking to the Herald, Clodagh and Méabh, said they are delighted with the awards. “We didn’t expect it. We’re completely flabbergasted,” said Clodagh. “We’re thrilled and incredibly humbled. There were so many deserving people out there.” Both Clodagh and Méabh feel that getting the message out about road safety was most important.

“We were incredibly lucky. Probably none of us should have come out of it alive,” said Clodagh, and she praised the RSA’s free child car seat checking service as life saving. 

“The car seat is a piece of safety equipment. It has to be in right or it can’t do it’s job,” she said. “And that is why we’re doing the work we are doing. We were only going half a kilometre when the crash happened. So whether you are going down the road or on a long journey, you should adopt the same mentality for safety.” 

They explained that physically they were continuing to live with the long term consequences of the serious injuries they suffered in the collision. However, with inspirational courage and resilience, they are not allowing it to define them.

Méabh, who is now in her first year of a pharmacy degree at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, said she feels very fortunate but also that she has a duty to spread the word. “I could have died that day. That is why I am so passionate about road safety among teenagers, especially when you consider all the fatal accidents this year involving young people. What is not seen behind every road death statistic is an empty seat at the dinner table, a loved one gone and a family devastated.

“There is only so much that teenagers will take in from adults, but they will listen to people their own age. I am forever grateful to the RSA and road safety is always going to be a huge part of my life," Méabh said.

Both Clodagh and Méabh said they would continue to share their story. “Everyone has a role to play to improve safety on the road," said Clodagh. "The bottom line is calm down, slow down, wear your hi-vis vest, wear your seat belt, and ensure your car seats are in properly.”